Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to conduct complete equipment dispersal for Aurora Blacktop Inc. at unreserved public auction in northern Illinois

After 65 years in business, Aurora Blacktop Inc. will end operations at its asphalt plant due to owner retirement. Aurora Blacktop's assets include real estate, asphalt plant and equipment.

AURORA, IL, July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, will conduct a complete equipment dispersal for Aurora Blacktop Inc. on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at an unreserved public auction in Aurora, IL. The auction features more than 270 industrial equipment items that formed part of an asphalt plant operation in Bristol, IL. Highlights include a selection of wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, motor graders, truck tractors, dump trucks and other industrial and plant equipment. The auction will be held at 10:00 am (local time), it is open to the public and it is unreserved — meaning no minimum bids and no reserve prices. Bids can be made on site, online in real time at www.rbauction.com or by proxy.

Aurora Blacktop Inc.'s real estate assets will be sold by Brummel Realty, LLC. They include an asphalt plant, which operates on 28.69± acres and features a 9x14 ft. 8 bin cold feeder w/30 in. x 156 ft. collecting feed disch. converter; a Value King 5x12 ft. vibratory single deck scalping screen; an Astec RSS2512-6098272 25 in. x 78 ft. drum feed converter; and more. In addition to the asphalt plant, the first parcel of real estate also features a 135x60 ft. American building (office & storage); a 135x60 ft. wick pole building; and a 16x20 ft. 2-story office building.

"Aurora Blacktop Inc. has been a family-run business for more than three generations and 65 years," said Danny Shepley, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "A lot of love and hard-work has gone into this business and it shows in the condition of their operation, the equipment and their land. The plant can process up to 450 tons of material per hour and there is currently over 100,000 tons of raw material on the ground. All you have to do is press the button and it is ready to heat up in two days!"

Other real estate items featured in next week's Aurora auction include four parcels of farmland (surrounding the first parcel and totaling 110± acres) subdivided as follows:

• 35.26± farm acres, including a 16X20 ft., 2-story office building
• 34.98± farm acres
• Selling together as one lot, two subdivisions: 19.63± farm acres and 20.12± farm acres

Added Mr. Shepley: "Before we hold the sale of the real estate, we will be selling a wide range of industrial and well-maintained plant equipment. Interested bidders are encouraged to stop by the auction site ahead of the auction to test, inspect and compare equipment items."

Industrial and transportation equipment highlights at the upcoming unreserved public auction in Aurora include:

• A selection of motor graders, including a 2005 Noram 65E
• A 2007 Caterpillar 980H wheel loader
• A 2006 Link-Belt 290LX hydraulic excavator
• A 2006 Gradall XL4100 II 6x4 mobile excavator
• A 2005 Inertia 5066LRP Hawk HSI portable impact crusher
• A 2003 Roadtec RX50B crawler profiler
• A selection of transport trucks, including a 2008 Mack CXU613 Pinnacle T/A truck tractor
• Five Mack RD688S and three Mack RB690s dump trucks

Auction details:

• Complete dispersal for Aurora Blacktop Inc.
• Auction location: 1250 East Beecher Rd., Bristol, IL 60512
• Site phone: +1.815.941.6400
• Real estate properties and asphalt plant will be sold by Brummel Realty LLC
• Equipment will be sold by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
• Every auction is open to the public; registration to bid is free; a refundable bid deposit may be required
• How to register and bid:
• In person at the auction site
• Online at rbauction.com - register in advance and bid online in real time on auction day; a refundable bid deposit may be required; first-time online bidders should register several days in advance of the auction
• By proxy - phone the auction site to place a proxy bid

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. Ritchie Bros. offers services that enable the world's builders to easily and confidently exchange equipment. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling a broad range of used and unused equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com

ATTENTION MEDIA: 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