From 2003 to date, 14 206 stolen vehicles microdotted by DataDot Technology South Africa (SA) have been recovered by the police and tracking companies.
The value of these vehicles exceeds R2.13-billion.

Thefts of vehicles microdotted by DataDot numbered 24 in 2003, with ten vehicles recovered.

Microdotting of all new cars sold in South Africa became compulsory in 2011.

In 2012, thefts of vehicles microdotted by DataDot reached 3 897, with 2 221 cars recovered.

The rate of stolen cars recovered was 57%, says DataDot Technology SA marketing and strategy chief Kheepi Moremi.

In contrast to this, the national average motor vehicle recovery rate is between 30% and 35%.

Also, around 0.6% of all vehicles in South Africa are stolen. However, this figure is 0.3% for vehicles fitted with DataDot, notes Moremi.

“This means that microdots can decrease the chances of thefts or hijackings by up to 50%.

“Microdotting acts as a deterrent to theft because no one wants an item that is marked in this way. Organised crime does not want to bring that risk into their distribution network.”

Microdots are tiny polyester particles inscribed with unique information, linked to a specific asset. Each dot is no larger than 1 mm. The dots are applied using a special adhesive.

The dots are sprayed on a minimum of 67 sites, using 10 000 microdots in total. The details on the dots are only legible using a microscope or special ultraviolet light.

It is impossible to remove all the dots. The dots mean it is possible to link the vehicle and most of its parts to the owner.

Microdots have in recent years proved far more useful that originally imagined.

One example is where KwaZulu-Natal police investigated the hit-and-run death of a South Coast runner training for the Comrades Marathon.

By following the details on the microdots found on car parts left at the scene, police arrested a 31-year-old Eshowe businessman for culpable homocide.

DataDot’s microdots also assisted the police in identifying stolen car parts during a raid on a workshop in Sandton. The police and DataDot identified 33 parts linked to 14 theft and hijack cases.

DataDot manufactures its products locally.

DataDot Technology SA currently microdots around 55 000 vehicles a month.

About 5 000 of these are used vehicles and the rest new vehicles, says Moremi.

“We handle around 85% of the vehicle market in South Africa.”

To date, the company has fitted 2.4-million vehicles with microdots.

The technology has gained popularity in South Africa, notes Moremi.

When the company started out 13 years ago, it supplied a single rental car company, before scaling up to local vehicle assemblers such as Toyota and Nissan.

Prior to 2011, when microdots became compulsory on all new vehicles sold in South Africa, DataDot microdotted “a mere” 10 000 to 12 000 vehicles a month.

Moremi estimates that DataDot has cornered around 85% of the domestic vehicle market.

The cost to microdot a vehicle at a fitment centre is around R530, down from R1 000 when microdotting was introduced in South Africa, as economies of scale kicked in.

Around 90% of DataDot’s business is in the automotive industry.

However, the company realises that it has to expand its customer base to remain a sustainable company, says Moremi.

City Power, in Johannesburg, has, for example, specified that all new transformers have to be microdotted.

“We completed that job,” says Moremi. “We have also done some work in the mining industry on equipment and tooling.”

Another market providing growth potential is the used-car market.

The car parc in South Africa is around 11-million in size, notes Moremi.

“So if you take our 2.4-million vehicles, there are eight-million to nine-million vehicles still to be microdotted.”

He believes that gun owners will also benefit from microdotting.

“There is a White Paper out suggesting that all guns must be microdotted.”

There are around seven-million registered gun owners in South Africa.

Household assets are also a growing market.

“It is often difficult for the police to trace the owner of recovered stolen goods, which is where microdots come in handy. They also act as a deterrent,” says Moremi.

Vehicles, home assets and bicycles each have their own registry. Microdot details are captured, as well as images of the goods.

It is especially poorer households, without home insurance, that are keen to have their goods returned if stolen, explains Moremi.

“We are working with the police on a number of pilot projects to microdot household assets,” says Moremi.

The dots are fitted by an accredited data fitter, with the details registered online. A household kit costs R189.

“We use fitters because the police consider it best that only one person knows where the dots are applied. The police have viewing rights by the appropriate level and sector,” notes Moremi.

Neither the national cycle nor household registries feature contact details.

“We do not want to create an online shopping list.”