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Canadian auctioneer Ritchie Bros is well established in the Netherlands — next month it plans to land in

23rd August 2007, Page 68
23rd August 2007
Page 68
Page 69
Page 68, 23rd August 2007 — Canadian auctioneer Ritchie Bros is well established in the Netherlands — next month it plans to land in
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the UK. Tim de Jong reports on a Dutch sale.

prices were high at the recent auction held in the Netherlands by Canadianbased auction house Ritchie Bros (RB), thanks partly to the shortage of vehicles on the Continent, which is also driving up prices in the UK.

RB is the biggest auction house of its kind in the world,with a network of 110 offices and 31 auction sites in 25 countries.The company dates back some 40 years and claims to sell more used trucks than anyone else.

In the 1990s the firm set up an auction site in Rotterdam; since 1999 its main European office has been in Moerdijk „just to the south of Rotterdam and conveniently close to the motorway that links the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

RB already has an office in Britain and is planning to set up an auction site here: its first UK sale is scheduled for September.

The site hosts five auctions a year — in all RB holds about 175 sales a year worldwide — and CM dropped in on a recent sale at Moerdijk to see what UK operators can expect when this international giant launches its sales over here.

There's nothing small about an RB sale — no fewer than 3,000 lots came under the hammer, and it appeared that everyone was there to spend money.

As you'd expect on the Continent this was very much an international affair: there were even bidders phoning in bids from outside the Netherlands.

Moerdijk is the largest sales site in Europe and RB sold vehicles to more than 2,000 customers from this site in 2006, making the Dutch auctions its busiest sales.

Bidders have to identify themselves in order to take part in an RB auction; the firm also asks to see a bank guarantee or a certified cheque.

Once registration cards have been signed auction catalogues are handed out — and there are no reserve prices on any of the vehicles that are up for grabs.

The auctioneer certainly earned his keep; he and his team of'bid catchers' were hard at work for three solid hours as lot after lot was presented.

The level of concentration from buyers and sellers alike was very high indeed.reflecting the ongoing shortage of desirable late-model trucks on the used market throughout Europe.

Some vehicles were presented in groups; as these lots were snapped up the auctioneer asked if the buyer intended to buy the other vehicles in the group, which helped maintain the momentum of this massive sale.

As well as phone bids RB accepts bidding online. Next to the auctioneer were two assistants monitoring computer screens for incoming bids, which they shouted in the direction of the auctioneer.

At this sale about el m (£677,000) was generated online. That sounds like a lot of money, but not in this context. Buyers of used trucks and equipment tend to be conservative:they generally want to examine potential additions to their fleets in the flesh. Evidently online bidding is a recent innovation at RB sales.

High-speed sale

The trucks rolled through at an impressive rate, which was understandable when 3,000 items have to be bid for. As well as trucks lots included a lot of construction equipment and smaller items such as agricultural tools.

The trucks sold at the auction we attended appeared to come from a number of countries and in general they were well past the first flush of youth. Most dated back 10 years or more, and they didn't look particularly well maintained.

Typical lots were Renault R-series,Scania 3-Series with day cabs and old-fashioned top sleeper pods, and some older Dafs and Volvo F-Series trucks The traders we spoke to were surprised that these older vehicles still fetched top prices Volvo. Mercedes-Benz and Daf tractor units dating back to 1998 and beyond were fetching well over 422,000 (£13.000) apiece.

One trader who is based just around the corner from the auction site was particularly impressed by the prices being realised. A couple of late-model Mitsubishi pickups fetched €18,000 (II 2,000) at the sale he was offering the same model on his forecourt for €14,000 (£9,500).

If buyers want to improve the condition of their purchases. Ritchie is happy to refurbish vehicles at Moerdijk.

Once a bidder has secured his equipment and vehicles he will have to assure himself that his purchases meet the legal requirements of the country he intends to export them to. Freight forwarders are available onsite to sort out any problems.

Buyers also have to organise transport from the auction site. often to the ports of Antwerp or of Rotterdam. Here again, RB can help it allows operators and exporters to maintain offices onsite,so buyers can get through the inevitable red tape with the minimum delay. •

Tags

People: Tim de Jong
Locations: Antwerp, Rotterdam

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