Metal theft is a growing problem in the UK. Thieves who successfully steal copper cabling and/or railway tracking, etc. can make ill-gotten gains worth thousands of pounds. Jane's Police Review magazine has stated that metal theft is now the fastest-growing crime in the country, with the annual damage to industry estimated at £360m+.

Air conditioning systems are also often a target for metal thieves who are bent on stealing copper coils and aluminium from fixed units, to then sell on to unscrupulous scrap metal dealers.

The good news is that hiring air con units from an air con hire specialist can be the ideal alternative for business owners who are worried about metal theft at their premises, and who simply do not have the money to increase security, or to replace a fixed system.

The problem’s beginnings can be traced back to India and China

The metals most commonly stolen in Britain are copper, aluminium, brass, and bronze. And raised demand for these metals (from dealers and dishonest building and construction companies, etc. UK-wide) stems from the dramatically rapid industrialisation in India and China, which has caused the price of metal in Europe to rise.

Metal theft can create other problems

The theft of the aforementioned metals can also put people’s lives in danger. For example, an ICE train derailed near the Dutch city of Zevenaar: the cause of the accident was the theft of 300 metres of copper cable. And in Germany five years earlier, criminals dismantled and carted away some 5 kilometres (3 miles) of rail track near the city of Weimar, causing at least 200,000 Euros’ worth of damage. It was a miracle that no fatalities occurred as a result of these thefts.

As we have seen, fixed air conditioning units are often targeted by thieves – for the copper and aluminium coils and windings they contain. And with air con systems often being regarded as ‘an easy hit’ for robbers, the demand for hired portable air con units is escalating in tandem. But not only as a stopgap until a replacement, fixed (i.e. ‘built in’) system can be installed, but as a permanent solution: companies that hire equipment are realising that renting air con units from an air con leasing specialist is a more cost-effective option, as well as offering other benefits.

What a specialist air con rental firm will do

If part or all of a fixed air con system is stolen, a specialist portable air con hire team will respond immediately to an emergency call-out. At their depots located nationwide they will have a vast range of units and will know which are most appropriate for each environment.

As well as being a cost-effective solution, hired air con units are reliable, and can be:

• Used immediately;

• Hired on a short contract basis, and then returned;

• Added to a fixed air con solution when extra cool air is required;

• A better alternative to replacing a fixed system.

A key point here is that fixed units are most commonly targeted by crooks because they see them "on show", can monitor the comings and goings of staff at targeted premises and also work out how to access the systems, before actually carrying out thefts.

Hired mobile units are different. They are not as obvious as fixed units, and usually can only be visible to the public when they are temporarily in use. This makes it difficult for burglars, as they cannot be 100 per cent sure that the units will always be on site, when they will be used, or if they are even still there.

Added-value security devices can also be hired

Finally, good air con rental firms hire out portable air con units on a short or long contract basis with added-value security devices being part of the hire packages they offer.

Devices include: ‘active’ systems, such as anti-tamper alarms; and ‘passive’ systems: anti-vandal condenser cages, pipework protection covers, and non-copper pipework. The extra cost of hiring these is outweighed by the savings made through avoiding equipment theft, unit replacement and, crucially, system downtime.