05.08.2008

Ritchie Bros opens new site

Industrial equipment auctioneers Ritchie Bros has opened a brand new site in France – its second permanent site in Europe. The new 20 hectare facility is situated in Saint Aubin sur Gaillon to the west of Paris - and is now part of 38 auction sites operated by Ritchie Bros. throughout the world.
The opening at the end of June was marked by a ceremony and party attended by about 300 customers and VIPs.
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The grand opening

Jeroen Rijk (Ritchie Bros. Divisional Manager-Europe), Guylain Turgeon (Ritchie Bros. Senior Vice President and General Manager for Europe, Asia & Middle East), Nicole Drouillet (Mayor of Saint Aubin sur Gaillon), Robert Murdoch (Ritchie Bros. Chairman of the Board), David Dahirel (Ritchie Bros. Divisional Manager) and Jean-Luc Recher (President of the Eure Madrie Seine Community of Communes) had the honour of cutting the ribbon at the official inauguration ceremony.

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The new Ritchie Bros site at Saint Aubin sur Gaillon

At the ceremony Guylain Turgeon and Robert Murdoch announced the Group's expectations in Europe. For Robert Murdoch, the objective at Saint Aubin sur Gaillon will be to expand from one thousand lots per sale to more than 1,700. He also stated that, in the long term, there would certainly be another permanent auction site in France. Such a site would probably be located in the south as France is one of the largest European markets.

He said that within two years time Spain and Italy would also have permanent sites. Currently the only permanent sites in Europe are in France and the Netherlands.
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The new site's first auction

The opening auction - the 8th unreserved auction in France - attracted 221 buyers from 34 countries around the world. The buyers acquired the 1,030 lots up for sale for a total
amount of €9.6 million. More than 380 registered buyers participated in the auction, including 300 on site and 80 on line (via www.rbauction.com).
Twenty-four individuals purchased 65 lots via the Internet for a total of €1.2 million - 12.5 percent of the sale.