International sellers maximize return on assets at US$45 million Ritchie Bros. Orlando auction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 2007

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) conducted a US$45 million unreserved public auction in Orlando, Florida this week, attracting buyers from as far away as Australia and sellers from as far away as Puerto Rico. Almost 2,900 construction, transportation, material handling and other industrial equipment items from over 240 consignors were sold at the two-day auction, which attracted 1,800 registered bidders from 48 countries, including 48 U.S. states and 11 Canadian provinces and territories.

Over 740 of those bidders participated in the auction over the internet, live and in real time, using the Company’s online bidding service, rbauctionBid-Live. More than 500 lots, representing almost US$12 million of the gross auction proceeds, were sold to internet bidders. Ritchie Bros., the world’s largest auctioneer of trucks and industrial equipment, conducted the auction at its permanent Orlando auction site on October 10 & 11, 2007.

“The crane market continues to be hot, with global demand still exceeding supply,” said Steve Kriebel, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. “The large selection of cranes in this auction attracted interest from all over North America, and even internationally. One highlight was a 1999 Link-Belt crawler crane, which sold for US$485,000.”

“The auction went extremely well,” said Gary Seybold, Ritchie Bros. Regional Manager. “Once again, we attracted buyers from around the world, many of them over the internet, helping us deliver good returns for our consignors. But the most interesting aspect of this auction was the number of out-of-state sellers we had, especially from the Caribbean. They are willing to send their equipment to Florida because they know we generate consistently strong prices for our consignors. Our unreserved auctions are a valuable outlet for their surplus equipment.”

Pembroke Park, Florida-based Westwind Contracting Inc., a full-service engineering contracting company, sold almost 30 items in the Orlando auction, including three late model Komatsu wheel loaders.

"The main reason we use Ritchie Bros.’ services is that they are trustworthy, and they provide excellent service,” said Waldy Polizzi, Westwind Vice President. “They have always given us good advice in the past, have always taken special care of our equipment and display our machines very well. We have the utmost confidence in them; therefore we've never felt the need to go to the yard to check on them or our products for sale. As an added bonus, their Florida auctions attract many international buyers, which has allowed us the luxury of getting above-market value for our equipment. We have always been very pleased with the outcome of each and every auction."

Equipment highlights in the auction included a 2006 Link-Belt 80-ton crawler crane, 125 wheel loaders, over 190 excavators, 64 scissorlifts, 60 boom lifts, and more than 60 truck tractors.

Over 12,000 items will be sold in 44 unreserved industrial and 26 unreserved agricultural auctions coming up on the Ritchie Bros. auction calendar. Details on all Ritchie Bros. auctions are available on www.rbauction.com.

About Ritchie Bros.
Ritchie Bros. is the world’s largest auctioneer of industrial equipment, operating through over 110 locations in more than 25 countries around the world. The Company sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum, marine, real estate, and agricultural industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com.

Investors and potential investors should note that this information may not be indicative of the overall financial performance of the Company for this or any period.

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For more information contact:
Kim Schulz, Corporate Communications Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Head office tel: 1.800.663.8457 or Email: kschulz@rbauction.com
Or
Gary Seybold, Regional Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Orlando auction site tel: 863.420.9919

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