Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world’s largest auctioneer of agricultural and industrial equipment, last week held a grand opening auction at its new permanent auction site in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Saskatoon mayor Don Atchison participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to start the auction, attended by hundreds of buyers from around the world, who purchased more than CD $8 million (about U.S. $7.6 million) worth of agricultural equipment at the unreserved auction.

More than 1,700 registered bidders participated in the auction in person and on-line, from seven countries, 16 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces. Bidders registered for the auction from as far away as Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy and Mexico.

The new 60-acre site is one of 35 auction sites the Vancouver, B.C.-based company has around the world.

This week Ritchie Bros. will hold auctions in Prince George, B.C.; Detroit; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis; and Effingham, Ill.