28 years, 400 auctions, and hundreds of thousands of items bought and sold

We recently marked a proud milestone at Ritchie Bros. On November 17th, 2015 we conducted our 400th unreserved public auction at our Donington Park, UK auction site! After 28 years of conducting auctions in Europe, returning to the UK seemed a fitting way to celebrate the big 400, as we conducted our very first European auction in 1987 in Liverpool, UK.

Shortly after the Liverpool auction, we began conducting auctions in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. And as more and more people discovered the benefits of buying and selling equipment and trucks with Ritchie Bros., we began to expand to other locations around Europe to serve our customers better.

Different sites, regular equipment auctions, same professional service

Today, we conduct regular unreserved public auctions at 10 locations in 7 European countries – France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K. – selling thousands of items every year from construction equipment and farm equipment to transport trucks and more. Like all of our auction sites, our European locations are chosen for their proximity to major transportation hubs including major highways, ports, and airports. Although much of the equipment sold at our European sites stays on the continent, thanks to our global auction network with online bidding, large numbers of items are also purchased and exported by buyers from all around the world.

And because bidders from all across Europe (and from around the world) participate in our auctions, we have reps who support multiple languages, plus we offer online bidding in 6 different languages.

A quick look at some of our European auction sites.

Caorso, Italy

Opened in 2010. Quick fact: located in the north of Italy, Caorso is ringed by 6 major centers – Milan, Verona, Turin, Bologna, Pisa, and Genova.

Donington Park, UK

Opened in 2012. Quick fact: this site is located beside the famous Donington Park motor racing track, the UK's first permanent park circuit.

Meppen, Germany

Opened in 2010, our Meppen site is located in the north west of Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands. Quick fact: Our Meppen site is home to the largest agricultural equipment auctions in Europe.

Moerdijk, the Netherlands

Opened in 1998, Moerdijk was our first permanent auction site in Europe. Quick facts: Moerdijk is 70 acres (28 hectares) in size and home to some of our biggest equipment and truck auctions in Europe.
Read a spotlight on our Moerdijk site.

Ocaña, Spain

Opened in 2010. Quick fact: we conducted our first auction in Spain in 2000, which was our second European location after opening our permanent site in the Netherlands.

St. Aubin Sur Gaillon, France

Opened in 2008. Quick fact: the 50 acre St. Aubin site is located approximately halfway between Paris and the port of Le Havre on the English Channel – France's 2nd largest port.

Equipment to sell? Contact us and take advantage of our global equipment selling network.

Find out more about selling with Ritchie Bros. or complete a simple form and a Ritchie Bros. representative will contact you to discuss how we can help you—whether you have one item or a whole fleet to sell.

Sell my equipment

Ritchie Bros.' auction site spotlight: Moerdijk, the Netherlands
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