Unused crawler crane breaks record for highest value item ever sold in a
    Denver auction

DENVER, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold more than 800 equipment items, including more than 30 cranes, in a multi-million dollar unreserved public auction at its permanent auction site in Denver, Colorado on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. The unreserved auction attracted more than 1,600 on-site and online bidders from more than 25 countries as far away as the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia, Ecuador and Canada.

"End-users from all over the world participated on-site and over the internet on auction day and were particularly interested in the large selection of unused and late model cranes being sold. Bidding was very competitive with most of the cranes being purchased by out-of-state buyers who were present on-site," said Steve Merich, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "Overall, we were very pleased with the outcome of the auction. The performance on the cranes far exceeded our expectations and those of our consignors. It demonstrates the effectiveness of our global market strategy, even in a tough economy."

The two highest value cranes - a 2008 Manitowoc 14000 220-ton self-erecting crawler crane and a late model 2008 Manitowoc 14000 220-ton self-erecting crawler crane - were two of more than 40 items sold for Energy Transportation Inc. The unused 2008 Manitowoc 14000 220-ton, purchased by a buyer from Texas for US $1.275 million, broke the site record for the highest value item ever sold in a Denver auction. The other late model 2008 Manitowoc 14000 220-ton self-erecting crawler crane was purchased for U$1.2 million by a California buyer.

More than 16 rough terrain cranes manufactured by Grove were sold mostly to out-of-state buyers. Two of the rough terrain cranes, a 2005 Grove RT875E 75-ton and a 2005 Grove RT760E 60-ton, were purchased by an out-of-country buyer from Ecuador. The highest priced rough terrain crane in the unreserved auction - a 2006 Grove RT9130E 130-ton - was purchased for $670,000 by a buyer from Los Angeles.

Other cranes sold in the unreserved auction included a 2007 Liebherr LMT1100-41 all-terrain crane, hydraulic and conventional truck cranes and carry-deck cranes.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 39 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

ATTENTION MEDIA: Photos of the late model cranes including the unused 2008 Manitowoc 14000 220-ton crawler crane are available for your use at www.rbauction.com/media or by calling Kim Schulz at the contact number below.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

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