Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer, has announced it signed a long-term lease on approximately 41 acres of land in Meppen, Germany. The global auction firm intends to begin construction of a new auction site there in December, with plans to complete construction by mid-2010. This will be the Company's sixth auction site in Europe.

Since 2004, Ritchie Bros. has been conducting agricultural equipment auctions in Meppen in cooperation with Agravis, an agricultural equipment dealer and service facility. At a recent auction in Meppen on November 19, 2009, a selection of 640 tractors, trucks and other agricultural equipment items were sold to a crowd of more than 850 registered bidders.

"Ritchie Bros. is attracting more people and selling more equipment at its unreserved auctions around the world," said Guylain Turgeon, Senior Vice President and Managing Director Europe, Middle East and Asia. "Even as we are successfully entering new markets, such as India and Turkey, Europe is a region we continue to develop. Every day we're expanding our European network, reaching out to new customers. Having a new auction facility in Germany enables us to continue to offer the high standard, full-service auctions our selling and buying customers appreciate so much."

Last week, Ritchie Bros. conducted unreserved equipment auctions in Poland, Germany, Spain and successfully held its first ever auction in Turkey. Together, these auctions attracted more than 2,150 on-site and online bidder registrations. More than 2,800 truck and equipment items were sold last week in these countries, generating more than 27 million euros in gross auction proceeds.