A German lift manufacturer has found itself at the centre of one of Europe’s most audacious art thefts — and turned the moment into a viral marketing coup.
Böcker, a family-run firm based in North Rhine-Westphalia, discovered this week that one of its mechanical lifts had been used in the spectacular €88 million jewel heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. On Sunday, thieves parked a truck fitted with a Böcker lifting platform outside the world-famous museum, used it to scale a terrace, and broke into the Apollo Gallery, escaping within seven minutes with priceless crown jewels belonging to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie.
The day after the theft, Böcker responded on social media with a post that quickly captured global attention. The image featured the company’s Agilo lift superimposed over a photo of the Louvre crime scene, along with the tongue-in-cheek caption: “The Böcker Agilo transports your treasures weighing up to 400kg at 42m/min — quiet as a whisper.”
Speaking to AFP, managing director Alexander Böcker said the company decided to add “a touch of humour” to the situation. “The crime is, of course, absolutely reprehensible — that’s completely clear to us,” he said. “But it was also an opportunity to use the most famous and most visited museum in the world to get a little attention for our company.”
Online reaction to the bold post has been overwhelmingly positive. Users hailed it as a “brilliant marketing move,” with one commenter quipping, “Your messaging takes the crown.”
According to Böcker, the lift had been sold years ago to a French rental company. The thieves are believed to have “borrowed” it under false pretences after arranging a fake demonstration last week.
Fresh footage of the heist circulating online shows two men — one in a motorcycle helmet, the other wearing a high-visibility vest — calmly descending the Böcker ladder from the museum’s balcony before fleeing the scene.
Paris prosecutor Laura Beccuau said four unarmed suspects carried out the theft around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, threatening guards with angle grinders. Nine pieces from the Napoleon and Empress Eugénie collection were targeted, with eight stolen, including a diamond-studded tiara, necklace, and brooch. One piece — the emerald-set imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds — was later recovered broken outside the museum.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the robbery, calling it “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History,” and vowed that the stolen works would be recovered and the culprits brought to justice.
For Böcker, what began as an unwelcome link to a high-profile crime has unexpectedly elevated its name to global recognition — albeit in the most unlikely of circumstances.
