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{{Disclaimer 4 2 Template|articlep2link=Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Français)|articlep1link=http://www.fr.ritchiewiki.com/wikifr/index.php/Ritchie_Bros.|articlep4link=Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Español)|articlep3link=http://www.es.ritchiewiki.com/wikies/index.php/Ritchie_Bros.}}[[Image:RbaOcmyk 50combo cg.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]'''Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers''' ('''Ritchie Bros.''') is the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/index.jsp Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> Ritchie Bros. has more than 1,000 employees and over 110 locations around the world, including 38 auction sites. The company sells, through unreserved public [[Auction|auctions]], a range of used and unused industrial equipment and assets for the [[Construction|construction]], [[Transportation|transportation]], marine, material handling, [[Mining|mining]], [[Forestry|forestry]], petroleum, real estate and [[Agricultural|agricultural]] sectors. Ritchie Bros. is a public company. Its common shares are traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol RBA.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/media_quick_facts.jsp About Ritchie Bros. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> == History == ==== The Ritchie Brothers ==== [[Image:OK Used Furniture (Kelowna).jpg|thumb|right|200px|The OK Used Furniture Store (Kelowna, B.C.)]]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.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/e_news/20060508/20060501_kelowna_pr.pdf News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> Starting with that first [[Auction|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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 23</ref> The brothers began conducting more regular auctions and in 1958 incorporated Ritchie Bros. Auction Galleries Ltd. to formalize their new business.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 17</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 24</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 25</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Ritchie-Bros-Auctioneers-Inc-Company-History.html RB History. Funding Universe. 2008-09-09.]</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 25, 27</ref> ==== The Early Auction Years ==== Most of the company’s earliest [[Auction|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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 35, 39</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 35</ref> Ken established his own auction company but return to work with his brothers in 1968. He stayed with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers until 1980.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 39, 48, 70</ref> In 1968 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers held its first auction with gross proceeds in excess of CA$1 million, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 39</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/rba_history.jsp History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> ==== Expansion in the U.S. ==== Ritchie Bros. established its first presence outside Canada in 1969 when it became incorporated in Washington State, USA.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004)</ref> The company held its first auction outside Canada in 1970, in Beaverton, Oregon, and gradually began expanding throughout the United States.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/rba_history.jsp History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 46</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 48, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 88</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/rba_history.jsp History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> ==== 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 79</ref> Further international expansion followed with the company’s first auctions in Australia (1990), Mexico (1995), the Middle East (1997), and Africa (2003).<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/rba_history.jsp History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> In 1991 the company achieved another milestone when it conducted its 1000th unreserved auction. It conducted its 2000th auction in the year 2000.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/rba_history.jsp History. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> ==== The Role of Technology ==== In 1989 Ritchie Bros. became the first industrial [[Auction|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&nbsp;separate auction sites in&nbsp;St. Paul, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; and Clinton, Wisconsin.&nbsp;Equipment was located at all three sites, and interested buyers could bid at any of the sites, which were linked via video.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 91, 98;</ref> 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 104</ref> In March 1999 Ritchie Bros. broadcast an auction over the Internet for the first time.<ref>[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Ritchie-Bros-Auctioneers-Inc-Company-History.html Company History. Funding Universe. 2008-09-09.]</ref> In March 2002, Ritchie Bros. introduced its real-time Internet bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/news_releases/127_n.jsp News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> ==== 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.<ref>March 31, 1999 Annual Report – English [http://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;issuerNo=00010198 Annual Report. Sedar. 2008-09-09.]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/news_releases/177_n.jsp News. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> ==== Network of Auction Sites ==== Investing in permanent auction sites (on company-owned land) 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).<ref>April 6, 1998 Long Form Prospectus – English [http://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;issuerNo=00010198 Company Documents. Sedar. 2008-09-09.]</ref> Since going public in 1998, Ritchie Bros. added 15 permanent auction sites (and replaced one, in Florida), bringing the worldwide total to 28: Moerdijk, the Netherlands (opened in 1999); Brisbane, Australia (1999); Albuquerque, New Mexico (1999); Statesville, North Carolina (1999); Montreal, Quebec (2000); Chicago, Illinois (2000); North East, Maryland (2001); Grande Prairie, Alberta (2002); Orlando, Florida (2002); Sacramento, California (2005); Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (2006); Buxton, North Dakota (2006); Nashville, Tennessee (2006); Columbus, Ohio (2007); Kansas City, Missouri (2008); Saint Aubin sur Gaillon, France (2008). The company also maintains auction sites on leased land in Valencia, Spain; Toluca, Mexico; Caorso, Italy; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Melbourne, Australia; Hartford, Connecticut; and Las Vegas, Nevada.<ref>February 21, 2008 Annual Information Form and August 8, 2008 – English [http://www.sedar.com/DisplayCompanyDocuments.do?lang=EN&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;issuerNo=00010198 Anuual Information. Sedar. 2008-09-09.]</ref> In total, Ritchie Bros. currently has 38 auction sites in 10 countries. The company intends to add two or three new auction sites each year to this network. ==== 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.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 116</ref> 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,<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/news_releases/183_n.jsp News Release]. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, 2004-02-06.</ref> Dennis Biliske Auctioneers of Buxton, North Dakota, USA in 2006; and Clarke Auctioneers of Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada in 2007.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rodengen, The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004), p. 124;</ref> ==== Notable Auctions ==== Among the notable auctions conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers: construction and other equipment used to rebuild the airport, shipyard and other facilities&nbsp;after the Falkland Islands war (1987); almost 9,800 items and pieces of&nbsp;equipment used in the US$1 billion cleanup operation following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska (1990);&nbsp;and the equipment used to build the Confederation Bridge that links the province of Prince Edward Island with the Canadian mainland (1997). == The Company Today == In 2008 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. conducted 340 unreserved industrial and agricultural auctions generating gross auction proceeds of US$3.57 billion.<ref name="null">[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/2008_RBA_AnnualReport.pdf Ritchie Bros. Annual Report 2008. 18-08-2009.]</ref>&nbsp;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.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/media_quick_facts.jsp Media Quick Facts. Ritchie Bros. Official Corporate web site. 18-08-2009.]</ref>&nbsp; <br> [[Image:Kelowna 50 photo.jpg|thumb|right|400x270px|Ritchie Bros. celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008]]Ritchie Bros. also conducted the largest auction in company history in February 2008. The five-day auction at the company’s auction site in Orlando, Florida featured 6,200 lots, generated in excess of US$190 million in gross auction proceeds and attracted over 6,000 registered bidders from 71 different countries. The year also marked the company’s 50th anniversary in business.<ref>[http://www.rbauction.com/about_ritchie_bros/media_quick_facts.jsp About Ritchie Bros. Ritchie Bros. website. 2008-09-09.]</ref> Ritchie Bros. celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. ==== Management ==== *CEO: Peter J. Blake *President: Robert (Rob)&nbsp;Mackay *COO: Robert (Bob) S. Armstrong *CFO: Rob McLeod *Senior VP - Human Resources &amp; Administration: Victor (Vic) Pospiech *Senior VP - National Accounts &amp; Transportation: Robert (Rob)&nbsp;Whitsit *Senior VP - Canada &amp; Agriculture: Kevin Tink *Senior VP - U.S. West: Steven (Steve)&nbsp;Simpson *Senior VP - U.S. East: Curtis&nbsp;(Curt)&nbsp;Hinkelman *Senior VP - U.S. Central, Mexico, Central &amp; South America: David (Nick) Nicholson *Senior VP - Europe, Middle East, India &amp; China: Guylain Turgeon ==== Board of Directors ==== *Chairman: Robert (Bob) W. Murdoch *Peter J. Blake *Beverley A. Briscoe *Eric Patel *Edward B. Pitoniak *Christopher Zimmerman *James Micali == References == <references /> == External Links == *[http://www.rbauction.com/index.jsp Official Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers website] [[Category:Organizations_and_Associations]]

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