RSSThe sale of used construction equipment has become big business over the past few years and it looks like continuing.
Major players in the industry, such as
As an example of the pull of such events, Ritchie Bros. says that the US$203 million (€163 million) of equipment sold over six days at its Orlando, Florida, USA, auction site in February, 2012, was the largest in its history.
The company’s first auction was in 1958 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, when CA$2,000 (US$1,770) of furniture was sold. The highest bid ever placed at a Ritchie Bros. auction was €34 million (US$46 million) for the 220ft (86m) mega-yacht Apoise, at an auction in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in March 2010, while the highest bid placed on a piece of equipment at a Ritchie Bros. auction was US$3.7 million for a Liebherr LR 1800, 800tonne crawler crane at an auction in Sacramento, California, USA, in April 2006.
In April, 2014, over 9,400 people (the most at one auction) registered to bid on-site or online at an auction at the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, auction site (April 2014), although the most lots ever sold at a Ritchie Bros. auction were over 10,000 heavy equipment items and trucks sold over six days at the company’s Orlando, Florida, USA, auction site in February, 2012.
These are impressive figures in an industry that has blossomed over the last 20 years, and that is set to increase as older equipment is replaced by new, and as the emerging countries look for even more reliable equipment to handle huge infrastructure projects.
Indeed, Ritchie Bros. says that it has already planned its premier global auction in Orlando, Florida, from February 16 – 20, 2015.
“Our February Orlando auction is one of the most anticipated global equipment events of the year, attracting thousands of enthusiastic bidders from all around the world,” says Steve Kriebel, regional sales manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.
“Our 2014 February auction attracted more than 8,600 registered bidders from 84 countries and all 50 US states. At this auction each year we see visitors on site from South America, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, as well as thousands more participating around the world online.”
Meanwhile, IronPlanet, a leading online market place for buying and selling used heavy equipment, which backed by Accel Partners, Kleiner
The company says that its online auction format benefits sellers, who gain unique access to international markets, and are able to make significant cost and time savings on transport. “Furthermore, buyers are also able to realise exclusive benefits: access to a wide range of equipment at fair market prices that come with guaranteed inspection reports and IronPlanet’s IronClad Assurance,” says the company.
IronPlanet says its buying process is simple. Customers can preview upcoming auctions and search equipment by type, make and location. Before auction day, prospective buyers can place a PriorityBid if they wish. This service will automate bidding on the buyer’s behalf if they are unable to attend the auction. Once the auction is over, IronPlanet handles all the steps of the payment process.
“Ultimately, online buyers are able to benefit from a greater degree of choice and convenience, both whilst browsing and when buying. They can make significant cost and time savings by accessing a wide range of machines in an instant, whereas land-based auctions can be costly to attend, based on geographical location, particularly if it proves to be a fruitless endeavour.”
When IronPlanet recently spoke with a selection of European buyers, the company says they highlighted their increasing preference towards using online facilities when buying used construction equipment. In fact, only 15% prefer land-based auctions.
“What we are seeing is quantifiable evidence that an online platform such as IronPlanet is being viewed as a convenient and secure method of both selling and buying used construction equipment,” says Felipe Urrutia, vice president European sales at IronPlanet.
“91% of the audience surveyed indicated that they expect to buy used construction equipment in the next 12 months, but a large percentage of those will be dissatisfied by the restraints a land-based auction places on their business. Both logistically and economically, the online arena is the most efficient option.”
In order to ensure that buyers have total confidence in the machine they are buying, IronPlanet offers its IronClad Assurance guarantee, a symbol that “reassures a buyer that one of IronPlanet’s inspectors has personally visited the item and conducted a detailed inspection of key components, taken photographs, taken selected measurements and retrieved oil and fluid samples for lab analysis.” The findings from each inspection are available online for buyers to review before bidding on the piece of equipment up for auction.
“IronPlanet provides assurance that this inspection report is a fair representation of the equipment in its true condition so there are no hidden surprises.
“As the online route continues to become better equipped to satisfy buyers demands, its popularity is only set to increase. Quite simply, online is now the most practical means of buying and selling used construction equipment for businesses,” says the company.
A new entrant to the used equipment industry is Swiss-based company Equippo, which launched on November 17, and which offers “international equipment deals, made easy.”
A Swiss start-up, Equippo has launched its new marketplace for global used equipment sales.
Equippo.com links sellers of used heavy equipment and buyers in international export markets such as Peru, Poland or Russia. Equippo claims to be the first internet market place to offer complete transaction management for both buyers and sellers, navigating customs duties, shipping costs and heavy hauling costs even down to police escort fees for international equipment transactions. This allows used equipment buyers in developing markets to benefit from the international equipment market.
Of Equippo’s launch, industry professional and founder Michael Rohmeder says: “All professional sales organisations I know try to reach end-users in export markets. All buyers I know are always keen to save money by looking across borders. But in reality, direct transactions are rare exceptions.
“Our vision is to break down trade barriers and make global deals extremely easy with a combined e-commerce and real people approach.”
Rohmeder teams up with Philipp Knobel to offer more than four decades of industry and technical experience.
It says it differentiates itself from other sources of equipment buying by emphasising easy transactions, total transaction management and multi-lingualism. Its website is available in four languages: English, Russian, Spanish and Polish, “making it simple for sellers to reach international buyers in important developing markets.” Sales and support are offered in nine languages.
Equippo uses proprietary, state-of-the art technologies to provide a novel process for buying used heavy machinery internationally and online.
“We currently have around 60 machines listed, including rollers, screeds, excavators, loaders, and some rock trucks. We will focus on construction plus road building equipment at the launch and move in to more categories before Q1, 2015,” says Santana Inniss, manager, content, social and inbound.
“We have just completed a piece on resale value risk, which includes our projections for where Tier/Stage 4 equipment can be operated in the world five years from now. It is a detailed infographic, but we have not published it yet.” RSS
