‘Quiet as a whisper’: How a German firm turned the freight lift used in the Louvre heist into a sales pitch

A German lifting equipment manufacturer has achieved global brand recognition—not through a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign, but as an accidental accomplice in the recent, daring jewel theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

After the museum theft, Dortmund’s Böcker Maschinenwerke GmbH is openly advertising the same lift truck model used in the crime.

The crime, executed in broad daylight, saw the audacious robbers make off with eight invaluable French crown jewels, including pieces belonging to Empress Eugénie and Empress Marie-Louise, wife of Napoleon I.

The crucial role of the German-made elevator in the seven-minute heist has been turned into viral marketing. Böcker posted a picture of their Agilo model outside the Louvre with a catchy, tongue-in-cheek caption promoting its efficiency and stealth. The ad read: “IF YOU’RE IN A HURRY. The Böcker Agilo carries your treasures up to 400 kg at 42 m/min. Quiet as a whisper thanks to its 230 V electric motor.”

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Alexander Böcker, the company’s managing director, admitted that the unique circumstances presented a business opportunity too good to pass up. “When it became clear that no one had been injured in the robbery, we took it with a touch of humour,” he said, acknowledging that using the world’s most visited museum as a backdrop was a chance to “get a little attention for our company.”

The specific lift used in the crime was one sold years ago to a French rental client, a type of machinery common in Paris due to the small elevators in older apartment buildings.

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Police have noted that the thieves had replaced the license plates and removed company-specific labelling to mask the truck’s origins. While the company condemns the “absolutely reprehensible” crime, their quick-witted marketing has ironically brought a spotlight onto their “whisper quiet” lifting capabilities.