Ritchie auctions 1,800 pieces of equipment in Spain

Industrial auctioneer, Ritchie Bros., raked in more than US$23 million at an auction in Moncofa, Spain on 17 and 18 September.

At the Moncofa auction site, Ritchie sold more than 1,800 cranes, trucks and heavy equipment and attracted more than 1,040 on-site and online builders from 46 countries. Highlights of the auction included: Spanish purchasers bought about $13 million in equipment and trucks and an unused 2008 Grove GMK5220 220 ton all terrain crane that went for more than $1.5 million.

"When you've got equipment to sell, you want to reach as many potential buyers from as many places as possible; that's what keeps prices strong," said Jeroen Rijk, division manager for Ritchie Bros. "The economy is still down in Spain and other parts of Europe, but there is still work going on around the world that's creating a need for equipment. We had a huge crowd bidding in Moncofa last week, and that strong demand resulted in good returns for our consignors. In general, prices were stronger than we've seen for some time."

The Moncofa auction was followed by what the company says was a successful auction in Panama. It was the company's first auction in Central America since 1998. The auctioneer said hundreds of people from 20 countries registered to bid at the Panama auction, which had more than 300 pieces of equipment from about 30 consignors.