Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA), or simply Ritchie Bros., is a publicly traded company legally domiciled in Canada with headquarters in

Westchester, Illinois Westchester is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 16,892 at the 2020 census. History The area now known as Westchester was occupied by German farmers beginning in the mid-19th ...

. Its common shares are traded on the

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and the

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History

The Ritchie Brothers

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers was established in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, when the three Ritchie brothers – Ken, John and Dave Ritchie – took over the OK Used Furniture Store from their father in 1955. They entered the auction business in 1958. The brothers began conducting auctions more regularly and in 1958 incorporated Ritchie Bros. Auction Galleries Ltd. to formalize their new business.Jeffrey L. Rodengen, ''The Legend of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers'' (Write Stuff Enterprises Inc., 2004) Ritchie Bros. began selling used equipment in the 1960s. In 1963 Dave Ritchie moved to

Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

and rented an auction site on S.E. Marine Drive. He set up the company's first equipment auction in Vancouver shortly after.

The early auction years

Most of the company's earliest auctions were held in

. Ritchie Bros. began expanding into other parts of Canada in the mid-1960s, conducting its first auctions in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

(in 1964), the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

(1964),

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

(1965),

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(1968), and other parts of

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

shortly thereafter. In 1965, Ken Ritchie left the company to spend more time with his family and the company's name was changed from Ritchie Bros. Auction Galleries Ltd. to Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Ltd. Ken established his own auction company, but returned to work with his brothers in 1968. He stayed with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers until 1980. In 1968, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers held its first auction with gross proceeds in excess of CA$1 million, in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton was also the site of the company's first permanent auction site (on company-owned land), which was established in 1976. Until then, Ritchie Bros. had been conducting its auctions on leased land.

Expansion in the U.S.

Ritchie Bros. established its first presence outside Canada in 1969 when it became incorporated in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. The company held its first auction outside Canada in 1970, in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...

, and gradually began expanding throughout the United States. In 1974, John Ritchie left the company, selling his share of the business to his brother Dave. In 1975, Dave Ritchie – the sole company shareholder – sold partnerships in Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers to some of his key employees.

International expansion

In the late 1980s, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers began to look overseas for further growth opportunities, in the UK and the Netherlands, and then in Australia and other countries.

Going public

In 1998, the year that Ritchie Bros. went public, the company's annual gross auction proceeds exceeded US$1 billion for the first time ever. Its common shares were listed on the

under the symbol RBA in March 1998, followed by listing on the

in April 2004. Since then, Ritchie Bros. has added auction sites in eight other countries. Today, the company has 40+ auction sites worldwide.

Acquisitions

In 1999, Ritchie Bros. acquired Forke Brothers, an equipment auction company based in Nebraska, USA and one of its major competitors. The company moved its U.S. headquarters to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

following the acquisition. Ritchie Bros. made its foray into the

agricultural equipment Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the farm implements that they tow or operate. M ...

auction business with the acquisitions of All Peace Auctions of

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in Northern Alberta, northwestern Alberta, Canada, within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) ...

, Canada in 2002; LeBlanc Auction Service of

Estevan, Saskatchewan Estevan is the eleventh-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History T ...

, Canada in 2004; Dennis Biliske Auctioneers of

Buxton, North Dakota Buxton is a city in Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 348 at the 2020 census. Buxton was founded in 1880. History Buxton was founded in 1880 in Buxton Township as a townsite along the Great Northern Railroad in 1 ...

, USA in 2006; Clarke Auctioneers of

Rouleau, Saskatchewan Rouleau is a town in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Canadian Prairies. It lies within census Division No. 6 and Rural Municipality of Redburn No. 130. As of 2021, the population was 505 (a decrease of 6.5 percent from the 2016 census ...

, Canada in 2007; and Martella Auction Company of Tipton, CA in 2009. In August 2016, the company announced its plan to acquire IronPlanet, Inc., an online auction company. The deal was approved by the DOJ and closed in May 2017. In 2016, Ritchie Bros. also acquired Petrowsky Auctioneers based in North Franklin, CT and Kramer Auctions, a Canadian agricultural auction company based in North Battleford, SK. In 2018, Ritchie Bros. acquired Leake Auction Company, an Oklahoma-based collector car auctioneer. In August 2021, the acquisition of Euro Auctions, a Northern Ireland auction house that buys and sells industrial plant, construction equipment, and agricultural machinery for £775 million was announced. That acquisition attempt was discontinued in April 2022. In March 2023, Ritchie Bros. completed the acquisition of U.S. auto retailer IAA Inc. in a stock and cash deal worth $7billion. It was announced in May 2023 a new name for the parent company, RB Global.

Operations

In 2022, Ritchie Bros. reported US$6 billion in total Gross Transactional Value (GTV).

Management

Jim Kessler was appointed Ritchie Bros.' CEO after the departure of Ann Fandozzi in December 2023 due to a dispute over equity compensation. The company also fired its CFO Eric Jacobs. Other notable management team members at Ritchie Bros. include, Matt Ackley (Chief Digital Officer), Carmen Thiede (Chief Transformation & People Officer), Jeff Jeter (Chief Revenue Officer), Baron Concors (Chief Product & Technology Officer), Kevin Geisner (Chief Strategy Officer), and Darren Watt (Chief Legal Officer).

References

External links

* {{Authority control, state=expanded Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Business services companies established in 1958 Distribution companies of Canada Canadian auction houses 1958 establishments in British Columbia Canadian companies established in 1958 Companies in the S&P 400 1998 initial public offerings