auction
RITCHIE BROS.
RAMPING UP AT NEW MALTBY SITE BY PETER HADDOCK Ritchie Bros. has held its final auction of the year at its new facility at the old Maltby Colliery near Rotherham. It was the first time the business will get back to doing its famous ramping of equipment on the site itself, which previously used to be home to hundreds of coal miners. Over the coming months and years, the 26-hectare site will be transformed into a state-of-the-art live auction and equipment care facility. To see the full scale of the site and learn how it’s already transforming the services Ritchie Bros. is able to offer buyers and sellers alike, Peter Haddock went to site to take a tour and meet with Ritchie Bros. Sales Director, Rupert Craven. Driving into the new site it’s not apparent just how big its footprint is. What I first thought was the yard itself, I later discovered that in the plans, this space will actually become a very big customer carpark. It was only when I was taken up onto the huge spoil pile neighbouring the site, that I could understand how its planned transformation will take Ritchie Bros. and its customers to the next level, as Rupert explained. “Ever since we first started
78
PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEER
our auctions in the UK, in 1987 we had the vision to grow the business and acquire our own facility. Having outgrown our previous home in Donington Park, we actively started looking for our own premises a few years ago. In Maltby, we have found a site that will accommodate all of our plans, a partner in Hargreaves Land that shares our vision and a community that is equally as excited as we are to breathe a new life into what was the employment hub of the town. “This transformation includes clearing the site, by knocking down the main colliery building, whilst renovating other structures to create a huge space, where we will be able to store equipment all year round. We also have plans to develop additional services for customers that are looking to invest in their equipment, to achieve higher potential values at the auction.”
Like most people, before meeting Rupert, I made the assumption that Ritchie Bros. focused purely on unreserved auctions. But on visiting its rbauction.co.uk website before my visit, I discovered there was more to Ritchie Bros than meets the eye. So I was keen to find out more from Rupert about the other services it now offers.
Other Services “We are well known for our live auctions, but what people don’t realise is that we can help them release the value of their used equipment and assets in numerous ways, especially as we now have a site that can store them all year round. “For example, one of the things that people really don’t know about, is that we can actually come to their yard or any specific location to assess and purchase their equipment directly from them. This goes for single units or entire fleets, so we will simply make an offer, pick up the equipment and the customer can invoice us for immediate payment. It’s very similar to services like we buy any car. And just like people
