Albury police are seeking help to identify thieves who stole a $100,000 excavator from a Lavington business.
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Noise barrier business Wallmark was targeted on Catherine Crescent about 3.15am on March 9.
Video footage released by police on Monday shows the 1.7 tonne orange and black Kubota excavator being driven out of the industrial site on a dual axle trailer.
A dark dual cab Holden Colorado utility with added front lights was involved in the theft.
It appeared to have other items in the tray of the vehicle, with police also noting the tray had a slightly different colour to the utility's cab.
Police said the vehicle was grey or blue in colour.
Wallmark co-owner Brad Hewines said the machine was last tracked to a town several hundred kilometers away before the signal was lost.
"We'd just like to get any information we can to police to help recover the machine and trailer," he said.
"It's certainly a waste of time and resources trying to find it.
"Even though insurance does pay for it in the end, it's still a cost."
Mr Hewines said the excavator hadn't recently been used and the incident hadn't impacted any jobs.
He said there had been other recent offences at the site.
"We've been here for 18 years and we've only been targeted a few times," he said.
"We've just recently had a couple of incidents.
"It's not the first time stuff has been stolen."
Detective Chief Inspector Jy Brown said the incident showed how people could fall victim to opportunistic thieves.
"It's frustrating that someone has stolen valuable equipment vital to the operation of the business, and reinforces our advice to everyone to do everything they can to avoid becoming the target of opportunistic thieves," he said.
"We always advise everyone in the community - residential and business - to ensure homes and businesses are locked and secured.
"If you have a security system make sure it's turned on, keep an up-to-date property inventory including serial numbers or unique characteristics of the property, and ensure security lights cover main areas around premises, and that fences are sturdy and gates have key locks."
Investigators are seeking information, including dashcam footage.
Anyone with information can call police on (02) 6023 9299 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
