April 2009 Vol. 64 No. 4
Business
Ritchie Bros. Opens New Auction Site In Houston
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers held a three-day unreserved industrial equipment auction from March 25-27 at its new permanent auction site in Houston, 15500 Eastex Freeway.
The company has been conducting unreserved public auctions at its former site off the I-10 East Highway since 1992, but needed more capacity to hold larger truck and equipment auctions.
The new 130-acre Houston site replaces the former 40-acre auction facility and yard. The former property and buildings will be sold in a June Ritchie Bros. unreserved auction. At a Ritchie Bros. unreserved auction, there are no minimum reserves or prices — everything sells to the highest bidder on sale day regardless of price, and the owner is not permitted to participate in the sale.
“This new location is great for our customers and is more than triple the size of our previous site,” said Alan McVicker, regional manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “Customers are excited and looking forward to our first auction in this new facility. It’s located minutes from the Houston Intercontinental Airport and is even visible from the air during landing and take-off. There will be ample customer parking and more space, both in the yard and in the auction theater, meaning we won’t have to turn away equipment anymore. With the former yard, we were just plain running out of room. We
believe in our unreserved auction methods, and look forward to selling our former property on I-10 by unreserved auction.”
Approximately 100 acres of the new site are developed with 30 acres remaining undeveloped to facilitate future expansion. It also features a new 35,123-square foot auction building with a 744-seat auction theater in addition to a 33,878-square foot double lane building for equipment refurbishing.
More than 2,500 truck and equipment items from over 200 consignors were sold over the course of the three-day public auction. 713.455.5200, www.rbauction.com
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