Ritchie Bros. Sells US$78+ Million in its Largest-Ever Ontario and Manitoba Auctions

May 17, 2022 - Last week, Ritchie Bros. conducted its largest-ever auctions in Ontario and Manitoba, selling US$54+ million of equipment and trucks in Toronto and US$24+ million of assets in Winnipeg.

Together, the multi-day online auctions attracted a combined 11,900 registered bidders to compete for a total of more than 6,400+ items.

"We bulldozed past our previous Toronto sales record, set last May, with gross transaction value up approximately 35% year over year," said Ryan Pottruff, regional sales manager, Ritchie Bros. "There was a lot of demand from consignors to be a part of this event, so we made full use of our Thunder Bay satellite yard and an additional offsite location in the Toronto area to ensure there was enough room for everyone, and it paid off. Consignors were very pleased with the strong pricing we achieved during all three days of the auction."

Approximately 91% of the equipment in the Toronto auction was sold to Canadians, including 65% sold to Ontarians. The remaining 9% was sold to international buyers from as far away as Ecuador, Egypt, and the Netherlands.

"We got more money for our trucks than we anticipated," said Toronto consignor James Dick of James Dick Construction. "We've been in the snow plow business for a lot of years, but we want to focus more on our aggregate and hauling business going forward."

One province over, in Manitoba, Ritchie Bros. conducted a one-owner auction for Borland Construction Inc., one of the region’s oldest and largest heavy construction companies. The online auction attracted bidders from 28 countries, but Canadians purchased 94% of the assets, including 70% sold to Manitobans.

"Borland runs a very diverse operation and has an impeccable maintenance program, resulting in a ton of interest for their late-model equipment," said Sam Webber, territory manager, Ritchie Bros.

"We don't think anyone could do a better job than Ritchie Bros. in creating demand for our equipment," said Henry Borger, president, Borland Construction.