The makers of the furniture lift used by the Louvre thieves have told Sky News the device is “certainly not intended for burglaries” after publishing a tongue-in-cheek advert making the most of the product’s sudden fame.
Bocker manufactures the Agilo furniture lift that was used in Sunday’s daring daytime heist.
The day after thieves made off with a haul of France’s Crown Jewels worth €88m (£76m), the firm posted a photograph showing the lift inside the police cordon next to the Paris museum with the tagline “when you need to move fast”.
Posted on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, it shows the vehicle’s ladder propped up against the side of the building, telling prospective buyers the lift can carry “up to 400kg of treasures at 42m per minute – as quiet as a whisper”.
CEO Alexander Bocker told Sky News he and his wife, marketing manager Julia Scharwatz, realised their product had been used in the heist when they saw photos from the scene on Sunday afternoon.
“We were shocked that our lift had been completely misused for this robbery, as it is not approved for transporting people,” he said. “And certainly not intended for burglaries.
“Once the initial shock had subsided and it was clear that no one had been injured, black humour took over.
“We brainstormed a bit and played slogan ping pong. My wife finalised it with her marketing team on Monday morning.”
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Users have generally seen the funny side, with one Instagram comment saying the post “might be the best ad I’ve seen this year” and another suggesting the company deserves “the Oscar for the cleverest advertising”.
Mr Bocker said “99% of the feedback ” has been “thoroughly positive”. “We understand that not everyone shares this sense of humour. Humour rarely, if ever, appeals to everyone, but the vast majority laughed heartily.”
As of Friday afternoon, more than 40,000 people had liked the post on Instagram.
The CEO said his company has had enquiries from around the world and “many congratulations on our successful marketing campaign”.
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The lift used by the thieves belonged to one of the firm’s customers, who rents out furniture lifts in the Greater Paris area, he explained.
“During a demonstration on how to use the furniture lift, it was apparently stolen and reported as such by our customer,” Mr Bocker said. “It appears that the company’s branding has been removed and the number plates replaced.”
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The Louvre reopened to visitors on Wednesday, having shut shortly after the heist took place on Sunday morning.
The eight stolen objects remain missing and the thieves, who escaped on motorbikes, are still at large.
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Museum director Laurence des Cars offered to resign when she appeared before French senators on Wednesday, admitting that the four-minute raid was a “terrible failure” and that the site’s security cameras, which do not offer full coverage of the building’s facade, were inadequate.
It came just months after employees went on strike, warning of chronic understaffing and under-resourcing, and saying there were too few eyes on too many rooms.
