IronPlanet Inc. is stepping into the crowded pack of online used construction equipment e-tailers by unveiling a Web site devoted to selling machinery to customers while also guiding them through the often taxing acquisition process.
Its e-commerce venture recently received $10 million in financial backing and is set to launch its full service equipment brokerage at the end of the month. "Over $100 billion worth of used heavy equipment is bought and sold each year in the U.S. alone. The Web is the perfect vehicle for reducing the costs and solving the traditional problems associated with these transactions," said Ted Schlein of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, which is partly funding the operation.
IronPlanet, Menlo Park, Calif., is trying to eliminate many of the risks associated with online purchase by establishing standardized equipment inspections, appraisals and insured transactions. It offers listing, bidding and securing services such as financing, transportation, insurance and maintenance support. The site will also sell mining equipment.
A wealth of data about aerial work platform maker Time Condor Corp. can be viewed at the company's re-designed Web site, at www.timecondor.com.
Office equipment, computer software and other business is reportedly sold at group discounts at www.volumebuy.com, which also features real-time "buyer pooling."
The J.W. Winco Standard Parts Catalog and Supple-mental Service Parts Catalog can be browsed at the updated www.jwwinco.com Web site. The company has a large selection of levers, handwheels, metric casters and wheels, and metric tools for industrial and commercial equipment users.
