BREDA, The Netherlands, November 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

World's Largest Industrial Auctioneer Will Sell More Than 7000 Items in the Last six Weeks of 2011

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, will conduct six unreserved equipment auctions in Europe and the Middle East in the last weeks of 2011. More than 7000 items will be sold at these auctions, with more equipment and trucks being added in the coming weeks. Every item will be sold without minimum bids or reserve prices, including heavy construction and earthmoving equipment, heavy haulage and transportation items (trucks and trailers), agricultural tractors and equipment, cranes, lifting equipment and many more used and unused industrial items.

In the first nine months of 2011, Ritchie Bros. sold more than 34,000 items to online and on-site bidders at auctions conducted in Europe and the Middle East. Ritchie Bros. typically sells more equipment in the fourth quarter of each year in this region.

"Many companies upgrade or re-align their fleets before the end of the year and our upcoming auctions are great opportunities to do so," said Guylain Turgeon, Managing Director EMEA, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "Equipment sellers choose to sell their equipment and trucks at unreserved Ritchie Bros. auctions because they appreciate the reliability and efficiency. Buyers from all over the world are attracted to our auctions because they need the equipment and trucks to finish their projects-and they know we offer a huge selection and sell every item to the highest bidder on auction day."

Upcoming auctions in Europe and Middle East:

• MOERDIJK, THE NETHERLANDS - November 24 & 25
• OCANA, SPAIN - December 1 & 2
• ATHENS, GREECE - December 6 (will be simulcast live at Caorso auction)
• CAORSO, ITALY - December 6 & 7
• ST AUBIN SUR GAILLON, FRANCE - December 8
• DUBAI, UAE - December 13 & 14

A complete auction calendar, equipment details with high-resolution photos and more information is available at http://www.rbauction.com.

Detailed Equipment Information

In July 2011, Ritchie Bros. introduced a range of new services designed to make buying and selling equipment at its auctions even easier. Ritchie Bros. now provides detailed equipment information at http://www.rbauction.com, with up to 50 close-up photos of each item, so equipment buyers can inspect thousands of machines from the comfort of home. They can also visit the auction site to test, inspect and compare items in person.

Mr Turgeon adds: "Every day, thousands of people take advantage of the services we offer on our 21-language website, including accessing auction results, arranging shipping, viewing equipment details and photos, and competing online with other bidders. The internet is a powerful medium for our selling and buying customers, but many equipment buyers still like to see and feel the items they're interested in before placing bids. At Ritchie Bros., we offer our customers the best of both worlds-they can inspect and compare, online and on-site."

People interested in selling or buying equipment, trucks or tractors in the upcoming auctions should contact the Ritchie Bros. offices or their local representatives, listed at http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/contactus.

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 http://www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at http://www.RitchieWiki.com.

WATCH a video interview with Guylain Turgeon: http://www.youtube.com/user/ritchiebros#p/c/60/UtCpbnRkD5E 

PHOTOS AVAILABLE-- Download high-resolution auction photos for your articles from

• http://www.rbauction.com/cms_assets/images/photos/media/current-auctions-events/moerdijk-wheel-loader-ramp.jpg
• http://www.rbauction.com/photos

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers