Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers sets the stage for six-day unreserved public auction in Orlando, FL

More than 6,000 heavy equipment items and trucks currently featured to sell over six days in Orlando, FL between February 18 - 23, 2013 - with items being added to the unreserved public auction daily

ORLANDO, FL, Jan. 24, 2013 /CNW/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, is preparing for a six-day unreserved public auction at its permanent auction site in Orlando, Florida from February 18 - 23, 2013. More than 6,000 heavy equipment items and trucks are already featured in this year's February Orlando auction—with new items being added daily. Bids in the auction can be made on site at the 200±-acre Orlando auction site, online in real-time at www.rbauction.com or by placing proxy bids in person or by phone.

Last year's Ritchie Bros. February Orlando auction was the largest heavy equipment auction in the world setting multiple site and Company records. In total, more than 8,600 registered bidders from 88 countries participated in the auction and competed for more than 10,000 items, which the Company sold for more than 800 equipment owners. Of $203 million in purchases, bidders from outside Florida purchased US$160 million of equipment (79 percent), including US$73 million purchased by out-of-country bidders (36 percent).

"Our annual Orlando auction has become one of the most anticipated global auction events, attracting thousands of enthusiastic bidders from all around the world," said Steve Kriebel, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "The auction maintains one of the largest, most diverse and universal audiences of consignors and bidders of any industry. Because of this, the extensive selection of equipment featured in the auction ensures that there is something available for all types of buyers in any location."

Online participation records were also broken during last year's six-day unreserved public Orlando auction: more than 4,070 of the registered bidders participated online using the Ritchie Bros. real-time online bidding service available at www.rbauction.com and purchased more than US$47 million of equipment. Internet bidders were the winner or runner-up bidder on 44 percent of the lots available.

VIRTUALLY ALL HEAVY EQUIPMENT INDUSTRIES REPRESENTED AT UPCOMING ORLANDO AUCTION
A major highlight of the annual six-day Orlando auction is the thousands of used and unused, late-model equipment items including: forklifts, loader backhoes, wheel loaders, articulated dump trucks, motor graders, motor scrapers, crawler tractors, crawler loaders, pavers, skid steer loaders, multi-terrain loaders and much more.

Here is a current snapshot of what bidders can expect to view, inspect and purchase over the course of the auction. For the latest equipment listings, please visit www.rbauction.com.

·    More than 335 boom & scissor lifts

·    More than 270 excavators

·    More than 200 wheel loaders

·    More than 160 crawler tractors

·    More than 130 truck tractors

·    More than 1,500 industrial support items, including landscape equipment, air compressors, generator sets, light towers, heaters, pressure washers and other miscellaneous consumer items

·    And much more!

Consignments for the Orlando auction are still being accepted; anyone interested in selling equipment and trucks in the auction can contact the Ritchie Bros. Orlando site at +1.863.420.9919.

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 13 - 18, 2012: QUICKFACTS

Orlando, FL - February 18 - 23, 2013: Auction details

·    Location: Ritchie Bros. permanent auction site in Orlando at the corner of I-4 & US Hwy 27 (700 Ritchie Rd.), Davenport, FL 33897

·    Orlando auction site telephone: +1.863.420.9919

·    Date(s): Monday, February 18 to Saturday, February 23, 2013

·     Auction start time: 8:00 a.m. daily

·    The auction is open to the public; registration to bid is free; a refundable bid deposit may be required

·    On-site registration begins on Thursday, February 14, 2013

·    Interested buyers can come to the auction site to inspect, test and compare items Monday - Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. until the day of the auction (please note that the auction site will also be open on Sunday, February 10 and Sunday, February 17 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest seller of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, energy, mining, forestry,  marine and other industries. Ritchie Bros. offers compelling solutions that make it easy for the world's builders to buy and sell equipment with confidence. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world (rbauction.com).  The Company also operates an online marketplace through Ritchie Bros. EquipmentOne (EquipmentOne.com) and a range of value-added services, including equipment financing for customers through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (rbauctionfinance.com). The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide.

PHOTOS & VIDEO FOR MEDIA USE: High-resolution photos, including aerial photos of last year's February Orlando auction, are available for use at http://www.rbauction.com/photos. A six-month / 37 second time lapse video showcasing Ritchie Bros.' Orlando, Florida auction site in 2009 can be downloaded from YouTube and embedded on media websites and blogs at http://youtu.be/7h7artEjASw. Members of the public and the media can follow Ritchie Bros. on Twitter @RitchieBros.

SOURCE: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

For further information:

Jose Vargas, Corporate Communications Specialist, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Mobile: +1.604.765.2909 or email CorpComm@rbauction.com

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