Ritchie Bros., the world's largest industrial auctioneer, has opened its year-end 'Finish Strong' campaign across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), urging businesses to review surplus and idle equipment while buyer demand remains strong.
That demand also meets a growing backlog. Rising costs and economic uncertainty have led many businesses to hold assets longer through 2026. For those with a fiscal year-end, surplus equipment is an open item to resolve before the books close; for everyone else, year-end is the moment to reassess a fleet rather than carry it into another year.
"Year-end is when businesses decide what next year looks like," remarked Ghislaine Duijmelings, General Manager at Ritchie Bros.
"It is the point when a business has the clearest view of what it owns, what it actually used, and what it will need in 2027. Our job is to turn that view into a decision, with a trusted valuation, a local team that knows the market, and a buyer base that reaches well beyond it," she stated.
Local expertise, global reach
As businesses look to finish strong in 2026, the experiences of sellers throughout the year show the value of planning ahead. For established operators, selling is a scheduled part of fleet management rather than a year-end reaction.
In January this year, UK plant hire company Plantforce, which sells more than 400 machines a year through Ritchie Bros., brought a package of excavators, dumpers, telehandlers and rollers to the Maltby site, most under three years old, with a global buyer audience in view rather than a domestic clear-out.
"We look at renewal as part of how we protect service quality," says Sam Mercer, CEO of Plantforce.
The same approach applies at very different scales. In Australia, Metcalf Crane Services is bringing its entire fleet of more than 100 lots, including several high-capacity cranes, to buyers worldwide through Marketplace-E after 30 years in business.
In the Benelux, Collé Rental & Sales used Ritchie Bros.' Early Bird Marketing Package, a dedicated landing page, video and a coordinated campaign, to build buyer interest ahead of its last November auction, where a 2017 Palfinger P260B sold amid strong bidding from multiple markets.
"I bring the machines here and I'm very well looked after," says Wilhelm Steffens, logistics planner of German landscaping company Grewe Gruppe, a Ritchie Bros. customer since 2019.
"I don't have to worry about anything else. Ritchie Bros. does all of that for us," he added.
His comments come as Ritchie Bros. kicked off its Germany auction today (October 20) primarily out of its main yard in the country at Meppen (Lower Saxony) offering heavy equipment, farm machinery, and commercial vehicles.
Most of the value in a year-end sale is decided before the sale date and Ritchie Bros. teams handle inspection, appraisal and refurbishment, and arrange transport from the seller's yard to wherever the buyer is.
The campaign runs to the end of the year, with regional market insight and the full EMEA auction calendar already set with Prestafarm France set for launch tomorrow (October 21). It will be an unreserved off-site auction. The Unreserved Auction in the UAE is scheduled to take place in December (9 and 10).
The list includes:
•Netherlands (Unreserved Auction) – 21 – 22 October
•UK & IE Unreserved Auction – 21 – 22 October
•Spain Auction – 27 October
•Italy Auction – 3 November
•France Auction – 10 November
•Germany Unreserved Auction – 18 – 19 November
•UK & IE Unreserved Auction – 18 – 19 November
•Australia National Unreserve Auction – 24 – 25 November
•Spain Unreserved Auction – 25 – 26 November
•UK Agricultural Auction – 1 December
•France Unreserved Auction – 1 – 3 December
•Netherlands Unreserved Auction – 2 – 3 December
•Italy Unreserved Auction – 3 – 4 December
Ritchie Bros., an RB Global, company, is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets.