More than 2,100 equipment items for the construction, transportation and other industries were sold, generating $28 million, at the Dubai auction held by Ritchie Bros Auctioneers, the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment.

Interested buyers could bid either in person at the Dubai auction site, by proxy, over the internet using rbauctionBid-Live, or at a live auction simulcast at the company’s permanent auction site in Moerdijk, the Netherlands.
The event was among 11 unreserved auctions conducted in eight countries during late November, which generated a total of $175 million.
The highlights of the auctions included the $28 million auction in Dubai, (on November 26 and 27, 2007); a $25 million auction in Olympia, Washington (November 28 and 29); and a $62 million auction in Moerdijk, the Netherlands (November 28, 29 and 30). Buyers had the choice of bidding at all 11 auctions either in person, by proxy or live and in real time over the internet using the Ritchie Bros online bidding service. In addition, Ritchie Bros held live simulcasts of auctions being conducted in other countries at its Dubai and Moerdijk sites, giving customers the option of bidding live and in person on an even greater selection of equipment.
Dubai witnessed over 550 people from 47 countries registering to bid onsite, online and in a live auction simulcast in the Netherlands.
“The auction went extremely well,” says Steve Barritt, area manager. “Although our online bidding service is easy and convenient for bidders who are unable to attend an auction in person, the live auction simulcast at our Moerdijk site opened up another avenue for our European customers, enabling them to bid live and in person on equipment being sold in the Middle East. At the same time, our Dubai consignors benefited from an increased audience of bidders for their equipment.”
More than 40 per cent of the lots in the Dubai auction went to buyers from outside the UAE, including a 2004 Grove GMK5100 100-tonne, all-terrain crane that was sold for $890,000 to an online bidder from the Netherlands; five 2006 Mercedes-Benz Axor 4140B mixer trucks sold to an onsite bidder from Saudi Arabia; two Caterpillar D8R crawler tractors sold to an internet bidder from the US; and eight 2008 60-tonne lowboys sold to an onsite bidder from Algeria.
In Moerdijk, Ritchie Bros attracted more than 1,200 registered bidders from 63 countries to the unreserved public auction at this permanent auction site. About 3,700 used and unused equipment items for construction, transportation, agricultural and other industries were sold in the auction.
More than 2,600 lots, representing 85 per cent of the total gross auction proceeds, were sold to out-of-country bidders. On Day Two of the auction, onsite bidders in Moerdijk – who were able to bid live and in person on more than 250 items being sold in the company’s Milton Keynes (UK) auction – bought almost 40 per cent of the equipment in the Milton Keynes auction.
“This was one of our biggest European auctions ever, and we were pleased to give our customers around the world so many different ways of participating,” says Ralf Harders, regional manager. “We had people from more than 60 countries bidding on site and online, helping our consignors achieve global fair market value for their surplus equipment. For example, an onsite bidder from Romania purchased a number of wheel loaders, an internet bidder from Australia purchased a motor grader, and an onsite bidder from the UK purchased a 2007 articulated dumptruck.”
In Olympia (Washington), Ritchie Bros conducted its second-largest Olympia auction in the company’s history, selling more than 2,200 trucks and industrial equipment items for $25 million. The company has conducted 69 unreserved industrial auctions in Olympia since 1979. More than 2,800 people from 22 countries, including 41 US states and 10 Canadian provinces and territories, registered to bid in the auction either on site, by proxy or online. Almost 800 people registered to bid online using rbauctionBid-Live, and more than $5 million of equipment was sold to internet bidders.
Ritchie Bros has also announced the purchase of a 60,000 sq ft office building in Lincoln, Nebraska where it expects to relocate its US administrative headquarters and 60 employees shortly. The company’s existing property in Lincoln is currently listed for sale.