Ritchie Bros. Auctioneersrit has sold more than 200 cranes in five weeks at its first unreserved public auctions of 2012 in North America, Europe, and the Middle East — with close to 90 cranes already scheduled to be sold globally by the end of April. Every crane was sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price — with no minimum bids or reserve prices. The highest dollar value crane sold so far this year: a 2008 Liebherr LTM1400-7.1 400-ton all terrain crane sold for US$2.1 million (€1.6 million) to an online bidder from India at a Ritchie Bros. auction in France on March 6, 2012.

“Our great selection and global footprint make Ritchie Bros. the best place in the world to buy and sell cranes,” said Steve Simpson, chief sales officer, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, in a press statement. “For our crane-buying customers, we provide one of the largest selections of ready-to-work cranes in the world and for our crane sellers we provide a global audience of bidders unmatched anywhere else in the equipment industry. As a result, we have already set a new crane sale record this year.”

So far in 2012 Ritchie Bros. has sold more than 70 rough terrain cranes, 25 all terrain cranes, 15 carry deck cranes, 15 crawler cranes, 10 conventional truck cranes, as well as 20 hydraulic truck cranes, 15 tower cranes, and more. These cranes have been sold in auctions held in the United States, Canada, Dubai, France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands.

At its upcoming auctions around the world, the company has close to 90 cranes already scheduled to be sold by the end of April. The line-up includes more than 40 rough terrain cranes, 15 hydraulic truck cranes, 10 all terrain cranes, as well as conventional truck cranes, crawler cranes, tower cranes, and more — with more cranes to be added.