Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Ritchie Bros.) is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world^[1]. The company has over 110 locations in 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum, and marine industries.

Ritchie Bros. is a public company. Its common shares are traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol RBA.^[2]

Contents 1 History 1.1 The Ritchie Brothers 1.2 The Early Auction Years 1.3 Expansion in the U.S. 1.4 International Expansion 1.5 The Role of Technology 1.6 Going Public 1.7 Network of auction sites 1.7.1 Acquisitions 1.7.2 Notable Auctions 1.7.3 50th Anniversary 2 The Company Today 2.1 Senior Leadership Team 2.2 Board of Directors 3 References 4 External Links

History

The Ritchie Brothers

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers was established in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. The three Ritchie brothers—Ken, John and Dave Ritchie—took over the OK Used Furniture Store from their father in 1955. They entered the auction business in 1958 when they needed CA$2,000 to pay a bank debt on short notice. A friend suggested they conduct an auction to get rid of some surplus inventory from the furniture store. They conducted their first auction at the Scout Hall in Kelowna in 1958 and discovered a new way of doing business.^[3]

Starting with that first auction at the Scout Hall, Ritchie Bros. maintained a strict policy of conducting unreserved auctions—meaning there were no minimum bids and no reserve prices. The brothers also established a policy of not allowing bid-ins or buy backs by the sellers. These policies became important in distinguishing the company from other equipment auctioneers.^[4]

The brothers began conducting more regular auctions and in 1958 incorporated Ritchie Bros. Auction Galleries Ltd. to formalize their new business.^[5] Ritchie Bros. began selling used equipment in the 1960s. In 1963 Dave Ritchie moved to Vancouver, B.C. and rented an auction site on S.E. Marine Drive. He set up the company’s first equipment auction in Vancouver shortly after.^[6]

The Ritchie brothers conducted their first major unreserved industrial auction in Radium Hot Springs, B.C. on June 7, 1963. They sold CA$663,000 of equipment in one day—by far the largest auction in the company’s history.^[7]

The success of the Radium Hot Springs auction convinced the brothers that they could make more money auctioning used equipment than selling furniture, so they sold their furniture store in Kelowna and went into the auction business full-time.^[8]

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers established one of the trademarks of its auctions at the Radium Hot Springs auction. It was raining on the day of the auction. Instead of making the bidders walk around in the rain during the auction, they set up the auction under the eaves of a nearby shop and drove the equipment in to be sold piece by piece. The crowd stayed dry and the ramp-and-stage method became a fixture at Ritchie Bros. auctions thereafter.^[9]

The Early Auction Years

Most of the company’s earliest auctions were held in British Columbia. Ritchie Bros. began expanding into other parts of Canada in the mid-1960s, conducting its first auctions in Alberta (in 1964), the Yukon (1964), Saskatchewan (1965), Manitoba (1968), and other parts of Eastern Canada shortly thereafter.^[10]

In 1965 Ken Ritchie left the company to spend more time with his family and the company’s name was changed from Ritchie Bros. Auction Galleries Ltd. to Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Ltd.^[11] Ken established his own auction company but return to work with his brothers in 1968. He stayed with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers until 1980.^[12]

In 1968 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers held its first auction with gross proceeds in excess of CA$1 million, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.^[13] Edmonton was also the site of the company’s first permanent auction site (on company-owned land), which was established in 1976. Until then, Ritchie Bros. had been conducting its auctions on leased land.^[14]

Expansion in the U.S.

Ritchie Bros. established its first presence outside Canada in 1969 when it became incorporated in Washington State, USA.^[15] The company held its first auction outside Canada in 1970, in Beaverton, Oregon, and gradually began expanding throughout the United States.^[16]

In 1974 John Ritchie left the company, selling his share of the business to his brother Dave. In 1975, Dave Ritchie—the sole company shareholder—decided to sell partnerships in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to some of his key employees: Dick Bartel, C. Russell (“Russ”) Cmolik, Ken Ritchie, and Bill Gronberg.^[17] Over the coming years, the partnership expanded to include Bob Carswell, Marvin Chantler, Ed Banser, Roger Rummel, Bob Brawley, Ken Asbury, John Wild, Marty Pope, Mark Clarke, Don Chalmers, Sylvain Touchette, Frank McFadden, and Mike Ritchie.^[18] When Ritchie Bros. went public in 1998, Ken Ritchie and Bill Gronberg no longer owned shares in the company.

By 1985 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers had sold more than US$1 billion dollars of equipment through unreserved auctions. It took only three more years for the company to gross another US$1 billion dollars in sales.^[19]

International Expansion

In the late 1980s Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers began to look overseas for further growth opportunities. The company conducted its first auctions outside North America in 1987, in Liverpool, the U.K., and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The equipment sold at the Liverpool auction had been used to rebuild the Falklands Islands following the war there.^[20] Further international expansion followed with the company’s first auctions in Australia (1990), Mexico (1995), the Middle East (1997), and Africa (2003).^[21]

In 1991 the company achieved another milestone when it conducted its 1000th unreserved auction. It conducted its 2000th auction in the year 2000.^[22]

The Role of Technology

In 1989 Ritchie Bros. became the first industrial auction company to enable remote bidding via video when it broadcast its Edmonton auction live at the Agricom trade show in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Video simulcasts were held at trade shows in 1993 and 1995, followed in 1997 by a three-way videoconferenced auction that linked separate auction sites in St. Paul, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; and Clinton, Wisconsin. Equipment was located at all three sites, and interested buyers could bid at any of the sites, which were linked via video.^[23]

The company launched its website, rbauction.com, at the ConExpo trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in 1996. The site featured a searchable database that enabled customers to see all of the equipment being sold in upcoming Ritchie Bros. auctions.^[24]

In March 1999 Ritchie Bros. broadcast an auction over the Internet for the first time.^[25] In March 2002, Ritchie Bros. introduced its real-time Internet bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live.^[26]

Going Public

In 1998 the year that Ritchie Bros. went public, the company’s annual gross auction proceeds exceeded US$1 billion for the first time ever.^[27] Its common shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RBA in March 1998, followed by listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April 2004.^[28]

Network of auction sites

Investing in permanent auction sites has been a company priority since the 1970s. Ritchie Bros. opened its first permanent auction site in Nisku (Edmonton), Alberta, Canada in 1976. Before going public in 1998, the company opened additional permanent auction sites in Vancouver, B.C. (in 1979); Prince George, B.C. (1980); Denver, Colorado (1985) – the first site in the U.S.; Phoenix, Arizona (1987); Toronto, Ontario (1988); Tampa, Florida (1995); Atlanta, Georgia (1996); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1991); Houston, Texas (1993); Fort Worth, Texas (1994); Olympia, Washington (1994); and Halifax, Nova Scotia (1997).^[29]

Since then, Ritchie Bros. has added auction sites in eight other countries. Today, the company has 43 auction sites in 10 countries worldwide:^[30]

• USA: Albuquerque, NM; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Chehalis, WA; Columbus, OH; Denver, CO; Fort Worth, TX; Hartford, CT; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; North East, MD; Orlando, FL; Phoenix, AZ; Sacramento, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Raleigh-Durham, NC; St. Louis, MO; Tipton, CA
• Canada: Chilliwack, BC; Edmonton, AB; Grande Prairie, AB; London, ON; Montreal, QC; Prince George, BC; Regina, SK; Saskatoon, SK; Toronto, ON; Truro, NS
• Mexico: Polotitlan, MEX
• Europe: Caorso, ITA; Meppen, DEU; Moerdijk, NLD; Moncofa, ESP; Ocana, ESP; St. Aubin sur Gaillon, FRA; Donington Park, UK
• The Middle East: Dubai, UAE
• Asia: Narita, JPN
• Australia: Brisbane, QLD; Geelong, VIC

Acquisitions

In 1999 Ritchie Bros. acquired Forke Brothers, an equipment auction company based in Nebraska, USA and one of its major competitors. The company moved its U.S. headquarters to Lincoln, Nebraska following the acquisition.^[31] Ritchie Bros. made its foray into the agricultural equipment auction business with the acquisitions of All Peace Auctions of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada in 2002; LeBlanc Auction Service in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada in 2004,^[32] Dennis Biliske Auctioneers of Buxton, North Dakota, USA in 2006; Clarke Auctioneers of Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada in 2007;^[33] and Martella Auction Company of Tipton, CA in 2009.

Notable Auctions

Among the notable auctions conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers: construction and other equipment used to rebuild the airport, shipyard and other facilities after the Falkland Islands war (1987); almost 9,800 items and pieces of equipment used in the US$1 billion cleanup operation following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska (1990); and the equipment used to build the Confederation Bridge that links the province of Prince Edward Island with the Canadian mainland (1997).

Ritchie Bros. also conducted the world’s largest industrial equipment auction in Orlando, FL in February 2012. The company sold more than US$203 million worth of equipment and trucks over six days (February 13 – 18, 2012). The auction featured more than 10,000 heavy equipment items and trucks and attracted more than 8,600 bidders from 88 countries.

50th Anniversary

Ritchie Bros. celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. As a gift to the heavy equipment industries it launched RitchieWiki in September 2008 at MINExpo INTERNATIONAL in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2008 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. conducted 340 unreserved industrial and agricultural auctions generating gross auction proceeds of US$3.57 billion.^[34] The company sold more than 253,000 lots from 37,000 consignments and processed 277,000 bidder registrations. Of those, 84,000 were successful buyers with a total of 16,000 buyers purchasing their equipment online.^[35] 

The Company Today

In 2012 Ritchie Bros. sold US$3.9 billion of equipment at 328 unreserved auctions worldwide, including more than US$1.3 billion sold to online bidders.

Industrial auction results

	Year ended December 31, 2012	Year ended December 31, 2011
Number of industrial auctions	221	228
Bidder registrations	389,500	385,000
Buyers	99,250	95,550
Consignments	42,100	41,300
Lots	287,000	286,500

Average industrial auction

	Year ended December 31, 2012	Year ended December 31, 2011
Gross auction proceeds	$16.5 million	$15.5 million
Registered bidders	1,760	1,690
Consignors	190	181
Lots	1,300	1,180

Senior Leadership Team

• Peter Blake - Chief Executive Officer
• Rob Mackay - President
• Bob Armstrong - Chief Strategic Development Officer
• Rob McLeod - Chief Financial Officer
• Steve Simpson - Chief Sales Officer
• Andrew Muller - Chief People Officer
• Kenton Low - Chief Marketing Officer

Board of Directors

• Robert Murdoch - Chairman of the Board
• Peter Blake - Director & CEO
• Beverley Briscoe - Director
• Eric Patel - Director
• Edward Pitoniak - Director
• Christopher Zimmerman - Director
• Robert Elton - Director

References

1. ↑ Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
2. ↑ About Ritchie Bros. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
3. ↑ News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
4. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 23
5. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 17
6. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 24
7. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 25
8. ↑ RB History. Funding Universe. 2008-09-09.
9. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 25, 27
10. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 35, 39
11. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 35
12. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 39, 48, 70
13. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 39
14. ↑ History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
15. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004)
16. ↑ History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
17. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 46
18. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 48, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 88
19. ↑ History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
20. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 79
21. ↑ History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
22. ↑ History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
23. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 91, 98;
24. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 104
25. ↑ Company History. Funding Universe. 2008-09-09.
26. ↑ News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
27. ↑ March 31, 1999 Annual Report – English Annual Report. Sedar. 2008-09-09.
28. ↑ News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.
29. ↑ April 6, 1998 Long Form Prospectus – English Company Documents. Sedar. 2008-09-09.
30. ↑ List of Ritchie Bros. auction sites on rbauction.com
31. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 116
32. ↑ News Release. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, 2004-02-06.
33. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 124;
34. ↑ Ritchie Bros. Annual Report 2008. 18-08-2009.
35. ↑ Media Quick Facts. Ritchie Bros. Official Corporate web site. 18-08-2009.

External Links

• Official Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers website