Last week Ritchie Bros. conducted its largest Grande Prairie, AB auction ever, selling 4,900+ equipment items for CA$82+ million (US$63+ million)—surpassing the previous gross transaction value (GTV) record by 32 percent.
A record 12,350+ online bidders from 53 countries registered for the November 23 – 26, 2020, Grande Prairie event. Approximately 91 percent of the equipment in the auction was purchased by Canadians, including 52 percent purchased by Albertans, while international bidders from as far away as Mexico, Romania, and Taiwan purchased nine percent. Due to COVID-19, the auction was conducted 100% online.
"With 4,900+ items to sell, we set up our first-ever, four-day Grande Prairie auction and the results were record breaking," said Terry Moon, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "We saw strong pricing for the construction and transportation equipment in the auction, including 121 excavators sold for $19+ million! At the end of the auction we had set new records for lots sold, number of bidders registered, and gross transaction value."
Leading up to the auction, buyers flocked to the company's website to check out the equipment selection. On rbauction.com, the Grande Prairie webpage received more than 582,000 unique page views, with 57,000 items added to customer personal watch lists.
Mr. Moon continued, "We also sold a large selection of pipeline equipment in this auction, including 80+ pipelayers. One of these pipelayers, consigned by NTL Pipelines, was painted pink and sold for $245,000 in the auction. All proceeds from the sale of the pink pipelayer have been generously donated by NTL's owner, John Neudorf, to a charity made in his late sister's name: the Community Foundation of Northwest Alberta Eva Marie Fund. We are glad we could help."
More than 375 owners consigned equipment to the Grande Prairie auction, including a complete dispersal for TalCan Oilfield Contracting Ltd.
"I certainly miss attending the auction in person and chatting with all my friends in the industry, but Ritchie Bros. sure has made buying and selling online easy," said Taud Schall, Owner of TalCan Oilfield Contracting. "We are very pleased with the results we achieved in the Grande Prairie auction last week. I was particularly impressed by the work of the auctioneers, who highlighted the care we took with our equipment and did everything they could to get that next bid. I'd also like to thank my sales rep, who was always willing to go the extra mile. Thank you, Ritchie Bros."
Sales highlights:
- Three 2019 Komatsu PC490LC-11 hydraulic excavators sold for a combined CA$1.05 million
- A 2017 John Deere S690 RWA combine sold for CA$410,000
- A 2015 Kenworth T800 T/A tri-drive w/ Manitex TC700 boom truck sold for CA$405,000
- A 2018 John Deere 850K LGP dozer sold for CA$337,500
- A 2018 John Deere 772G AWD motor grader sold for CA$335,000
AUCTION QUICK FACTS: GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB (NOVEMBER 2020)
- Gross Transaction Value (GTV): CA$82+ million (US$63+ million) *32% increase over previous record auction in Mar. 2016
- Total Number of Lots: 4,900+
- Total Registered Bidders: 12,350+
- Total Number of Consignors: 375+
Ritchie Bros. currently has more than 75,000 items available in its upcoming auctions. For a complete list of equipment, visit RitchieBros.com.
