Ritchie Bros prepares for China debut

Industrial auctioneer Ritchie Bros claims a first among auction companies in being granted wholly owned foreign enterprise status by the government of China. It is preparing to hold its first unreserved public auction at the Beijing Tianzhu Free Trade Zone in 2013.

Ritchie has formally leased land in the Tianzhu Free Trade Zone (Shunyi, Beijing) in preparation for its first unreserved public auction in China. The Tianzhu Free Trade Zone is connected to one of China’s largest roll-on, roll-off ports in Tianjin, which will prove a big plus for equipment buyers and sellers.

Ritchie has been working with Chinese buyers and sellers for many years. The company’s customer base includes Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and construction companies that have been selling their equipment at auctions overseas and learning about the international equipment market.

The unreserved auction format means that each item sells on auction day to the highest bidder, regardless of price, with no minimum bids or reserve prices. Interested buyers can bid on equipment on auction day at the auction site, or live and online at the Ritchie Bros. website, or they can also place a proxy bid.