Ritchie Bros. Opens New Facilities in the U.S. and Canada

April 20, 2007
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers recently announced the results of two large unreserved auctions. The largest was a two-day grand opening auction at the company's new Columbus, Ohio, auction facility, with buyers purchasing more than U.S. $29 million in gross auction sales. The other large auction, held at the newly built 20-acre auction facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is believed to be Canada's largest-ever unreserved agricultural auction, with more than CA $14 million (more than U.S. $12 million) worth of agricultural equipment and real estate sold.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers recently announced the results of two large unreserved auctions. The largest was a two-day grand opening auction at the company's new Columbus, Ohio, auction facility, with buyers purchasing more than U.S. $29 million in gross auction sales. The other large auction, held at the newly built 20-acre auction facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, is believed to be Canada's largest-ever unreserved agricultural auction, with more than CA $14 million (more than U.S. $12 million) worth of agricultural equipment and real estate sold.

“The strength of these results demonstrates that our growth strategy is working," said Peter Blake, CEO of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “We are developing facilities in regional centers where there is strong demand for our unreserved auctions, and we are able to connect our customers who sell equipment to a global marketplace through our auctions.”

The two-day auction April 11 and 12 in Columbus broke a number of company records for that region, including the highest gross auction sales, the most registered bidders — both in-person and online — the highest online gross auction sales, and the most auction lots sold.

More than 1,800 registered bidders participated in the two-day unreserved Columbus auction. More than 700 of these bidders registered to use the company's real-time bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live, which allows people to participate in the auction live and in real-time over the Internet. Buyers made online purchases of close to U.S. $7 million during the auction, and were winning bidder or runner-up bidder on 40 percent of lots available online.

“As with all our facilities that we build around the world, we made a concerted effort to find the perfect location when choosing this Columbus site," said Scott McGregor, Ritchie Bros. area manager. “Half the population of the United States is within a 500-mile radius of Columbus, making it a convenient place for both buyers to travel to and consignors to send their equipment to.”

Charlotte, N.C.-based Sunbelt Rentals was a major consignor at the two-day Columbus auction. “We like the way Ritchie Bros. conducts its auctions,” said James Dennis, director of fleet operations for Sunbelt Rentals. “Unreserved lets people realize they have a chance at purchasing something. It allows them to know that somebody's going to buy that equipment and everyone has a fair chance. As a consignor at a Ritchie Bros. auction, I can honestly say that an unreserved auction doesn't scare me. Ritchie Bros. attracts the buyers and as a consignor you know it's going to sell on auction day for global market value."

Currently on the upcoming Ritchie Bros. auction calendar, there are more than 21,200 truck and equipment items featured in more than 40 unreserved industrial auctions and more than 70 unreserved agricultural auctions. Details on all upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions are available on www.rbauction.com.

Ritchie Bros. is the world's largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, operating through more than 110 locations in more than 25 countries around the world. The company sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial equipment including equipment and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum, marine, real estate, and agricultural industries.