Melbourne Brothers are turning their GPS monitoring system, Strong GPS, right into a booming enterprise

Melbourne Brothers are turning month-long lockdown into a booming business by developing a GPS tracking system that prevents vehicle theft

  • The Melbourne man, Trent Torkar, feared his motorcycle might be stolen
  • Disenchanted with expensive GPS trackers on the market, he set out to build his own
  • Solid GPS was used in the bedrooms of the brothers Trent and Nathan Torkar. born
  • The units only come to life when motion is detected, which saves battery life
  • Owners can track their possessions and share the live data with the police

Trent Torkar couldn’t bear the thought that someone might steal his precious motorcycle.

The Melbourne courier had lost sleep over it.

When a mini crime wave hit his suburb, he decided to really protect his bike by tracking it down.

Trent and Nathan Torkar built a booming GPS tracking business while trapped in Melbourne’s COVID crisis

Solid GPS costs $ 147 for the device and just $ 6.99 a month or $ 69.99 a year for cellular coverage

Solid GPS costs $ 147 for the device and just $ 6.99 a month or $ 69.99 a year for cellular coverage

Anyone who has had their bike stolen knows that some thieves are no less interested in surveillance cameras placed outside of homes.

Countless motorcycles were simply picked up, clamped on the trunk of a ute and driven away.

Trent quickly realized that GPS trackers could be the best way to make sure he got his bike back if that ever happened.

A quick search found that most of the trackers available were expensive, used outdated 3G technology, and had poor battery life.

That was when Solid GPS was born.

With the help of his brother Nathan, the two developed a GPS tracker that only draws power when it is moving.

It would use the latest technology, be inexpensive, and ultimately do the job.

While the Melburnians endured painful bans for months, the brothers set about expanding their business.

Business is booming today and the couple now want to expand and hire someone else to keep up with demand.

None of the men had a university education, Nathan worked as a laborer and worked on the railroad.

“I’ve always wanted to start a business,” he told Daily Mail Australia. ‘I just didn’t know what and then it fell into my lap.’

The brothers had only just got Solid GPS up and running when COVID-19 threatened to shut them down.

Victoria was the worst state in the country for car theft last year.  A new GPS device is used in the fight against crime

Victoria was the worst state in the country for car theft last year. A new GPS device is used in the fight against crime

Motorcycle thefts are expected to move north when Australians return to the streets

Motorcycle thefts are expected to move north when Australians return to the streets

Car theft continues to worry Australians across the country.  A new GPS tracking device might just be their savior

Car theft continues to worry Australians across the country. A new GPS tracking device might just be their savior

“We had an office but it was closed due to COVID so we were forced to work from our study,” said Nathan.

“I have a soldering iron in the room so hopefully I won’t die of poison.”

The company only sold about 40 units between January and April.

Sales gradually rose in the months that followed as bored and trapped Australians researched how to better protect their property.

“November is our best month. It’s going well and we’re almost completely self-sufficient, ”said Nathan.

The trackers allow users to set digital boundaries around their loved ones, with alerts sent to their phones as soon as the tracker crosses the boundary.

An additional feature also allows users to instantly create a digital border around their vehicle when they take it out.

“When you turn it on, it creates a small radius of 75 meters around your last GPS point. If your tracker leaves this area, you will be notified, Nathan said.

With crime expected to pick up again across Australia once the COVID lockdown ends, the brothers plan to open their own warehouse to meet demand for the product.

“I want to produce here,” said Nathan.

“We can just hire someone in Australia to make the boards and I think that will give a lot of goodwill as a lot of these things are made overseas.”

WHAT IS SOLID GPS?

Tracker offers the longest battery life on the market at 3-6 months (depending on how often it sends out a signal), has its own SIM card, which was developed for operation in over 550 available networks worldwide, and has a compact design easily hide from any thief.

Via the app and the online dashboard, owners can track their vehicle (or other object) at any time of the day and quickly find it in the event of theft. The accuracy of the locations is within 5m and can be reported to the police when stolen vehicles are reported. Current customers are using the trackers to protect automobiles, machinery, and even recyclable business waste.

Solid GPS trackers cost $ 147 for the tracker and a monthly fee of $ 7 per month or $ 69.99 per year for ongoing tracking and management through the app (on Android and iPhone).

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