Ritchie Bros. to conduct Grand Opening auction at new Salt Lake City site

Company will welcome bidders from around the world to compete on more than 1,100 heavy equipment items on auction day

SALT LAKE CITY, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new regional auction unit in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 22, 2010 with a multi-million dollar unreserved public equipment auction starting at 8:00 a.m. Ritchie Bros. senior management and Tooele County Commissioners will also participate in a mid-morning ribbon cutting ceremony to officially mark the opening of the new Salt Lake City auction site - the Company's 41st auction site globally.

Ritchie Bros. has been conducting unreserved public auctions at temporary locations in Salt Lake City since 1986. The upcoming April 22nd Grand Opening auction will be the 27th auction held by the Company in Salt Lake City since then. Close to 1,100 equipment items will be sold to the highest bidders on auction day - regardless of price - with no reserves or minimum bids. Equipment highlights include a large selection of trucks and trailers, aggregate and compaction equipment, agricultural tractors, 60 hydraulic excavators, 35 golf carts, 25 trenchers, wheel loaders, crawler tractors and pipelayers.

    WHO:      Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial
              auctioneer
              Tooele County Commission Chair, Colleen S. Johnson;
              Tooele County Commissioner, J. Bruce Clegg;
              Ritchie Bros. Chief Operating Officer, Bob Armstrong;
              Ritchie Bros. Senior Vice President, Steve Simpson;
              Ritchie Bros. Divisional Manager, Mike Johnston;
              Ritchie Bros. Area Manager, Keith Spicer

    WHAT:     Grand Opening auction and ribbon-cutting ceremony for
              Ritchie Bros.' Salt Lake City auction site.

    WHEN:     Thursday, April 22, 2010
              Grand Opening unreserved public auction
              8:00 a.m. auction start time
              Ribbon-cutting ceremony to be held between 10:30 a.m.
              and 11:00 a.m.

    WHERE:    Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers' Salt Lake City auction site
              1428 East Hardy Rd, Lake Point, UT
              Sale site tel: +1.801.250.1836

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. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 41 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. 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, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

PHOTOS of equipment being sold in the upcoming Salt Lake City auction can be downloaded from http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/media/photos-and-videos/current-auctions.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers