Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Vancouver, British Columbia, has set a new company record by selling 918 cranes between January and June of 2010—more than any other January to June period in the company's 50+ year history.
The cranes were purchased by buyers from 44 countries at various Ritchie Bros. unreserved auctions around the world. Approximately 72 percent of the cranes were purchased on-site and 28 percent were purchased online; 79 percent were purchased by out-of-region and out-of-country buyers.
"Ritchie Bros. has sold a record number of cranes this year, proving we are the marketplace of choice for crane owners around the world," said Stephen O'Duggan, territory manager. "With our transparent business practices, global reach, and extensive equipment search and inventory of cranes, every unreserved auction we conduct serves as a 'global crane auction' for consignors to sell their cranes and get a maximum return on their assets.
O'Duggan actually has first-hand experience: Before working with Ritchie Bros., he ran Mark Equipment Corp., a company his father started in 1968. In June 2006 he sold off the company's assets, including eight cranes, in a Ritchie Bros. unreserved public auction in Hartford, Conn.
"The reason I chose Ritchie Bros. to sell my company's cranes was their ability to attract the right buyers and deliver fair market value on auction day," he says. "I was also attracted by Ritchie Bros.' global reach and was amazed when most of my cranes were sold to buyers from far outside the region."
O’Duggan believes the company’s sale of several large, high-dollar-value cranes this year demonstrates confidence among crane owners in the auctioneer’s business model and ability to market and attract the right buyers for their cranes. Crane buyers are also confident because they know they can come to Ritchie Bros. auction sites and see the whole crane assembled in working condition, he says. ”They know every item we sell has a clear title, and with the help of uShip—our transportation service partner—they can easily transport the crane from our site to theirs," he adds.
At a June auction in Denver, Colo., the company sold a 440-ton 2006 Manitowoc 16000 self-erecting crawler crane sold for $2.5 million to a repeat buyer from California. In October 2009, the same California buyer purchased a 220-ton 2008 Manitowoc 14000 self-erecting crawler crane for $1.2 million. Both cranes were consigned by Energy Transportation Inc., a Wyoming-based heavy-haul and crane and rigging company.
Other cranes sold this year include more than 70 tower and all-terrain cranes at the company's Ocana Grand Opening auction in Spain in June. The largest crane featured in the auction was a 2007 Liebherr LTM-1250 all-terrain crane, which sold for $1.2 million (1 million euro) to an online buyer from Chile.
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