Ritchie Bros. sells more than US$47 million of heavy equipment and trucks at unreserved public auction in Fort Worth, Texas

More than 3,050 heavy equipment items and trucks were sold to the highest bidders, including a large selection of low hour, late-model equipment items 

FORT WORTH, TX, May 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold more than US$47 million of equipment items and trucks at a two-day unreserved public auction held at its permanent auction site in Fort Worth, Texas on May 14 & 15, 2014. The auction set a new record for online sales in the state of Texas, with online buyers purchasing close to US$23 million of equipment items or 49 percent of total gross auction proceeds. Equipment highlights included 12 2013 John Deere 210G LC hydraulic excavators, including two that sold for US$160,000 each to a local buyer from Texas; six 2011 Caterpillar 320DL hydraulic excavators, including two that sold for US$145,000 each to a buyer from Michigan; more than 200 transport trucks and much more. In total, more than 3,050 equipment items and trucks were sold in the unreserved auction for more than 445 sellers. Every item in the two-day, unreserved public auction was sold to the highest bidder, without minimum bids or reserve prices.

"This auction offered the largest amount of high-quality, low hour, late-model equipment that I have seen during my time with Ritchie Bros. at our site," said Adam Kawulok, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "We had strong results in all sectors, particularly with our heavy construction and transportation selection. Across the board, our customers recognized the value of the Ritchie Bros. auction experience. Buyers took the time to visit the site, inspect the equipment, put a value on it and set competitive prices in the purchase of their new assets during the auction. They were able to obtain good quality, late-model equipment and professionally-maintained transport trucks at the fair market price."

More than 3,600 people from 58 countries, including 49 U.S. states, and all 10 Canadian provinces, registered to bid in person or online at the auction. More than US$21 million of equipment was purchased by buyers from the state of Texas while more than US$25 million (or 54%) was sold to buyers located outside the state. Buyers participated from as far away as the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Vietnam.

Among the sellers in the auction was the Texas Facilities Commission. The Commission sold more than 440 heavy construction and transportation equipment from their surplus inventory in this week's auction.

"This is the third Ritchie Bros. auction that the Texas Facilities Commission has sold equipment in and results continue to be strong on the sale of our assets," said Marios Parpounas, Director of State and Federal Surplus Property, Texas Facility Commission. "We sold a large quantity of equipment - everything from pick-ups to dozers - and it still amazes me how much more equipment there was at the auction. It's no surprise their auctions attract such large groups of bidders, given the sheer magnitude of inventory available. Ritchie Bros. is the only heavy equipment auction company that I know with the capacity to handle anything from a large fleet like ours to a single truck or dozer."

AUCTION QUICK FACTS: FORT WORTH, TX - MAY 14 & 15, 2014

• Gross Auction Proceeds - US$47+ million
• Amount sold to online bidders - close to US$23 million (* new state of Texas record)
• Unique bidders (total) - 3,600+
• Unique online bidders -  2,300+
• Lots sold - 3,050+
• Number of sellers - 445+

The Ritchie Bros. auction calendar currently features more than 95 unreserved public auctions around the world, including the next Fort Worth auction taking place on July 23 & 24, 2014. Visit www.rbauction.com for a complete list of upcoming auctions.

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. ^TM 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^TM 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: 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