Last week, buyers from around the world visited Ritchie Bros.' 200-acre Orlando, FL site for the year's largest equipment auction. In just five days, Ritchie Bros. sold a record 10,700+ items for US$172+ million.

February is auction season in Florida and Ritchie Bros.' Orlando auction is the biggest of them all, attracting record crowds year after year. This year's unreserved auction on February 15 - 19 attracted more than 9,850 bidders from 79 countries. Out-of-state buyers purchased US$137+ million of equipment (80 percent), including US$40+ million purchased by out-of-country buyers (23 percent).

"Orlando is one of our flagship operations—and it's clear from the results this week equipment buyers and sellers value the solutions we provide," said Ravi Saligram, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "We're very pleased to have been able to help 985 consignors sell equipment this week, including both end-users and dealers. Due to the diverse buying audience we attract from different sectors and geographies we achieved consistent and solid pricing all week through most asset classes, with particularly strong results for low-hour, late-model, well-maintained equipment. I am very proud of our team's efforts in conducting a world-class sale."

Bidders participated in the auction in person, online in real time at rbauction.com, and by proxy. Online buyers purchased US$64+ million of equipment (38 percent). All items were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.

"This is not just a U.S. auction; this is a global event with participation from around the world," said Terry Dolan, President (USA & Latin America), Ritchie Bros. "People travel from across the globe to attend this auction, and thousands more participate online from as far away as Belgium, Costa Rica, Colombia, Vietnam, and more."