Online bidding introduced in 2002 and now available in seven languages at rbauction.com

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (November 3, 2011) – Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world’s largest on-site and online industrial auctioneer, reached and exceeded US$5 billion of online equipment sales in the fourth quarter of 2011. Ritchie Bros. (www.rbauction.com) hit this significant milestone on October 6, 2011 at an unreserved public auction at its auction site in Hartford, CT. Ritchie Bros. introduced its real-time online bidding service in March 2002 as an enhancement of the live auction experience. The usage of the service has grown steadily, and in April 2010 the Company introduced online bidding in six additional languages. Today close to 50% of the people bidding at Ritchie Bros. auctions participate online in real time; the others participate in person at the auction site.

“The idea in designing the online bidding service was to give people an online experience that comes as close as possible to matching the live experience,” said Bob Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “When you’re participating online you can see the assets being sold, you can hear the auctioneer, you can see the numbers changing right before your eyes. It’s as close as possible to being there without the smell of diesel.”

In April 2010 Ritchie Bros. launched a new 21-language website at the Bauma trade show in Germany. The new rbauction.com features current inventory and equipment search in 21 languages, auction results in 14 languages and live online bidding in seven languages, which has opened up online bidding to an entirely new group of Ritchie Bros. customers around the world.

“What I love about the online bidding service is the ability it provides me to bid at many auctions, all at once, and from a single location,” said Luis Carlos Iglesias, Owner and Managing Director of Tractores y Refacciones del Norte, a Mexico-based heavy equipment and parts dealer. Luis Carlos has been bidding online at Ritchie Bros. auctions since the service was launched in 2002. “Seeing equipment notices and equipment from my own home or office allows me to spend more time on my business; it’s very valuable to me.”

In July 2011, Ritchie Bros. introduced detailed equipment information in 21 languages on rbauction.com, giving customers the ability to do a virtual equipment inspection before bidding online or on-site. Equipment can also be inspected in person at the auction site. Detailed equipment information includes up to 50 high-resolution photographs of each item, allowing customers to clearly see key components of an item, along with a multi-point summary of those components and comments on basic functionality.

“Before detailed equipment information I was making lots of calls to find out specific details about the equipment,” said David Kampe, Owner of Inland Contracting Ltd., a concrete construction company based in British Columbia, Canada. “Now I can find out the hours on a machine quickly and all the close-up photos provide me details on the undercarriage, tire wear, etc. I no longer need to make any phone calls, which saves me a lot of time.”

See a behind-the-scenes look at the Ritchie Bros. online bidding service by visiting http://youtu.be/XUP4nBAyyr8.

Facts about online bidding at Ritchie Bros.

• Amount sold online (2002 – 2011): US$5+ billion
• Amount sold online (January – October 2011): US$880 million
• Registered bidders – total (January – October 2011): 318,000
• Registered bidders – online (January – October 2011): 152,000 (48%)
• Amount sold online (2010): US$830 million
• Registered bidders – total (2010): 343,000
• Registered bidders – online (2010): 146,000 (43%)
• Online bidding introduced: 2002

Upcoming auctions in Europe

• Rome, Italy – Nov 12
• Meppen, Germany – Nov 22
• Moerdijk, The Netherlands – Nov 24-25
• Ocana, Spain – Dec 1-2
• Athens, Greece – Dec 6
• Caorso, Italy – Dec 6-7
• St Aubin Sur Gaillon, France – Dec 8

About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. Ritchie Bros. offers services that enable the world’s builders to easily and confidently exchange equipment. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling a broad range of used and unused equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 43 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

The European construction markets of today are turbulent ones. This was revealed in their collapse in Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland. A combined effect of high public debt and speculation-propelled bubbles, built-up during the pre-2008 ‘boom years’, caused the construction markets of these countries to break apart. The bursting of the residential construction bubble was particularly powerful – according to the forecasting group Euroconstruct, there were 2.5 million residential completions in Europe during 2007, but this year’s total is expected to be less than 1.5 million.

Figures from the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) show that overall, European construction output has fallen from its 2007 high of €1,597 billion to an expected €1,186 billion this year, a -25% drop. At the FIEC’s two day annual conference, which took place during June in Sofia, Bulgaria, the federation’s Vice-President Jacques Huillard asserted a message of caution. Due to public investment in the civil-engineering and public non-residential segments, and the boosting of energy efficient renovation of private residential buildings by a number of tax incentives and direct subsidies, Huillard affirmed that EU and national stimulus packages have softened the downturn to an extent. However, he maintains that most of these stimulus packages have been insufficient to guarantee an environment of sustained revival of economic activity, and stresses that a number of measures announced have not been implemented as of yet. Overall, sentiment on future outlook for the industry remains weak. Some key contractors are forecasting a 20% drop in 2011 business.

This current and future drop-off in infrastructure projects and its consequent reduction in cash flow, combined with the restricted avenues of asset finance, have left many companies looking to downsize their fleets and dispose of excess equipment before the values of their used goods potentially soften in response to the weak market conditions.

IronPlanet offers the solution for such companies, including a free equipment valuation. As a leading online auction for buying and selling used construction and agricultural equipment, IronPlanet offers a simple-to-use and efficient service. IronPlanet has a unique ability to reach out to a global audience of buyers. The appeal of such a marketplace is hard to overvalue. In heavily affected countries and regions, local-market sales are failing to bring in audiences, and so those who are trying to sell their used equipment need a non-traditional, innovative channel to reduce their stock. CEER Res Omnia SRL, based in Bologna, Italy, is a company that rents and sells used construction equipment, and is a market leader in the region. Due to the financial climate, CEER recently found itself with an excess of stock.

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The Dubai office will serve as the regional sales hub and spare parts distribution centre of LiuGong, and provide technical support to the company’s large customer base in the Mena region, said a company statement.

An ISO 9001 quality certified company, LiuGong’s product ranges from earth moving equipment such as wheel loaders, excavators, bulldozers and motor graders; compact equipment including skid steer loaders; road equipment like pavers and rollers; and forklift, cranes and concrete equipment.

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