Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers breaks ground on regional auction unit in Manchester (Hooksett), New Hampshire

First phase of construction of future 54-acre regional auction site to be completed at the end of 2013

MANCHESTER, NH, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, broke ground on its new regional auction site in Manchester (Hooksett), New Hampshire earlier today, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The new 54-acre property will serve as the Company's first regional auction site in the state of New Hampshire and as a replacement auction site for Ritchie Bros.' 15-acre regional auction site near Hartford, CT. The first phase of construction is officially underway with the ground breaking that took place earlier today. Ritchie Bros. officials were joined by project consultants, developers as well as local representatives from the Town of Hooksett, NH, including Hooksett Town Administrator, Dr. Dean E. Shankle.

"The Town has been working with Ritchie Bros. for nearly two years to get to this ground breaking, so it is an exciting day for all of us," said Dr. Shankle. "Their business is international in scope, they have an excellent reputation in their field and we are very pleased to have them become part of the Hooksett business community."

With a strong customer base in the New England market, Ritchie Bros. has been actively searching for a central and easily accessible property in the New England area for close to 10 years. Ritchie Bros. finalized a lease and development agreement on the 54-acre property located at 39 Hackett Hill Road in the township of Hooksett in early May of this year. The new regional auction site in Manchester, NH will replace Ritchie Bros. auction site at 106 West Stafford Rd., in Stafford Springs, CT, which is approximately 125 miles from the new Manchester property.

"The new regional auction site in Manchester, NH is conveniently located for our buying and selling customers," said Stephen O'Duggan, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "It is directly off of Interstate 93, just 15 miles from the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and 58 miles north of downtown Boston, allowing for easy access from a transportation perspective."

Ritchie Bros. has a long history of conducting auctions in the New England market. The Company conducted its first auction in New Hampshire in 1985 and in Connecticut in 1990. The Company's first auction at the Hartford (Stafford Springs), CT auction site was in 2006. Since that time, the Company has held 25 additional auctions at that site, attracting more than 15,000 bidder registrations and selling more than 11,000 items.

"The first phase of construction is expected to be completed later in 2013 and it will include substantial earthwork improvements to develop the property into a working auction site of 25 acres," said O'Duggan. Approximately 18 of the 25 acres will be used for displaying equipment prior to an auction. The remaining acreage is engineered to allow for future expansion which will include more display space and the construction of new auction facilities and services.

Auction facilities planned as part of the first phase of construction will include a temporary large auction tent with full in-person and online bidding capabilities and seating capacity for 300± people, an equipment check-in building, equipment washing facilities with closed loop water recycling technology and a paved parking area for customers.

Ritchie Bros. will continue to conduct unreserved public auctions at its Hartford (Stafford Springs), CT auction site until the new auction site is ready later this year. The next auction at Ritchie Bros.' site in Hartford, CT is June 18, 2013.

About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest seller of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, material handling, energy, mining, forestry, marine and other industries. Ritchie Bros.™ solutions make it easy for the world's builders to buy and sell equipment with confidence, including live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding (rbauction.com), the EquipmentOne™ secure online marketplace (EquipmentOne.com), a professional corporate asset management program, and a range of value-added services, including equipment financing for customers through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (rbauctionfinance.com). Ritchie Bros. has operations in more than 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at RitchieBros.com.

ATTENTION MEDIA: If interested in obtaining a photo of today's groundbreaking ceremony, please submit your request to [email protected]. Additional photos and other media resources are available for use at http://www.rbauction.com/media. Members of the public and the media can follow Ritchie Bros. on Twitter @RitchieBros.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers