Ritchie Bros. to sell large selection of United Rentals equipment at upcoming North East, MD auction

Ready-for-work lifting, aerial, dirt and general equipment rental items located at four United Rentals locations in KY, NY, NJ as well as Ritchie Bros.' North East, MD auction site

NORTH EAST, MD, March 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE andTSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, will sell more than 440 lifting, aerial and general equipment items for United Rentals, Inc. ("United Rentals") - the world's largest equipment rental company - at an unreserved public auction in North East, Maryland on March 26 & 27, 2012. United Rentals' equipment items, which include a selection of scissor lifts, boom lifts, forklifts, telescopic forklifts and more, will be sold on Day 1 (March 26) of the two-day auction and are located at five different locations in MD, KY, NJ, and NY - the auction itself takes place at Ritchie Bros.' permanent auction site in North East, MD. Interested bidders can go to any of the five locations ahead of auction day to inspect the equipment or they can view detailed equipment information on the Company's website at www.rbauction.com. All the equipment items will be sold to the highest bidders on auction day - regardless of price. There are no minimum bids and no reserve prices for the items being sold. Bids can be made in person at the North East auction site, online in real time at www.rbauction.com or by proxy.

United Rentals maintains the largest fleet of rental equipment in the world; the company owns more than 200,000 items of equipment and replaces items when they reach a certain age. Most recently, Ritchie Bros. held an exclusive one-owner sale for United Rentals at an unreserved public auction on November 2, 2011. "The November auction was a great success and we found a formula that allows both local and international buyers to benefit" said Kevin Parr, Eastern Regional Vice President for United Rentals. "The staging of equipment in various geographic locations allows local buyers to test, inspect and compare the equipment with ease, and Ritchie Bros.' marketing network adds the confidence of competitive international buyers, which in turn creates a truly global market. We are very pleased with Ritchie Bros.' flexibility in being able to adapt to the needs of our business — they really are the best at what they do."

"United Rentals has the most robust service program of anybody in the rental business," added Mike Jordan, Regional Fleet Manager for United Rentals. "We maintain a preventative service program with up-to-date service and warranty checks. Interested buyers will find a good variety of our equipment at the upcoming auction in North East, including ground heaters, dirt equipment, aerial equipment, generators and more, People interested in finding a wide variety of good quality rental and construction equipment should visit the locations to see the equipment and then participate at the auction."

"We're pleased to continue to bring the best of the rental and heavy equipment auction industries to local and international buyers," said Rob Blackadar, Vice President, Sales, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "With the convenience of our auctions, including the ability to bid in person, online or by proxy, and the reputation of United Rentals and their second-to-none maintenance program, people will be able to bid with confidence on auction day knowing they have all the information they need at their fingertips, especially with all the detailed equipment information available on our website."

The detailed equipment information, including multiple high-resolution photos of each item and where each item is located, can be viewed at www.rbauction.com/unitedrentals.

The auction in North East will be conducted over two days:

• Day 1 (March 26, 2012; 10am start) - Featuring United Rentals Equipment: Day 1 of the auction will be a Virtual Ramp auction, meaning the equipment items will be displayed on a large screen in front of the crowd of on-site and online bidders. Select items will also be available in a Timed Auction format.
  
  
• Day 2 (March 27, 2012; 8am start) - Featuring a selection of construction and transportation equipment items from more than 150 sellers: bidders can participate in-person at the Ritchie Bros. permanent auction site in North East, online at www.rbauction.com, or by proxy. Select items will also be sold in a Timed Auction format.

Equipment being sold on Day 1 of the auction is available for inspection ahead of the auction - and pick-up after purchase - at these five locations:

Ritchie Bros. North East, MD auction site (130+ equipment items, including skid steer loaders, boom lifts, scissorlifts, telescopic forklifts, and more):
3201 West Pulaski Highway, North East, MD, M-F 8am-5pm
Auction site tel: [phone]

United Rentals Ridgefield Park, NJ location (145+ equipment items, including crawler tractors, hydraulic excavators, scissorlifts, boom lifts, and more):
222 Bergen Turnpike, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660, M-F 7am-5pm

United Rentals Lexington, KY location (45+ equipment items, including hydraulic excavators, boom lifts, telescopic forklifts, scissorlifts, and more):
2150 Trade Center Drive, Lexington, KY 40509, M-F 7am-5pm

United Rentals New Windsor, NY location (80+ equipment items, including heaters, boom lifts, concrete equipment and more):
124 Windsor Highway, New Windsor, NY 12533, M-F 7am-5pm

United Rentals East Syracuse, NY location (30+ equipment items, including telescopic fork lifts, boom lifts, light towers, concrete equipment, and more):
7178 Schuyler Road, East Syracuse, NY 13057, M-F 7am-5pm 

Auction details:

• Auction Location: 3201 West Pulaski Highway, North East, MD 21901
• North East auction site phone: [phone]
• Toll-free Ritchie Bros. contact for United Rentals equipment: +1.855.331.5787
• Date: Monday & Tuesday, March 26 & 27, 2012
• Times: Monday, March 26 — 10am start; Tuesday, March 27 — 8am start
• The auction is open to the public; registration to bid is free
• How to register and bid:
  
  • Online at rbauction.com - register online in advance and bid online in real time on auction day; a refundable bid deposit may be required; first-time bidders should register several days in advance of the auction
  • In person at the Ritchie Bros. North East auction site
  • By proxy - phone the North East auction site to place a proxy bid
• Interested buyers can visit the five locations to inspect, test and compare items for themselves (M-F 7am-5pm at United Rentals and M-F 8am-5pm at Ritchie Bros.' North East auction site) straight through to auction day
• Interested buyers can also apply for pre-approved financing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. Visit www.rbauction.com/financing for more information
• Full auction and equipment details, specifications and photos are available at www.rbauction.com
• All equipment is being sold "As is, where is"

About Ritchie Bros.
Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE andTSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. Ritchie Bros. offers services that enable the world's builders to easily and confidently exchange equipment. The Company conducts hundreds of unreserved public auctions each year, selling a broad range of used and unused equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. Ritchie Bros. has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 43 auction sites worldwide. The Company maintains a website at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

ATTENTION MEDIA: Photos and other media resources are available for use at http://www.rbauction.com/media.
Members of the public and the media can follow Ritchie Bros. on Twitter @RitchieBros.

Jose Vargas, Corporate Communications Specialist, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Mobile: [phone] or email [email protected]

Or

Rory Mullarney, National Accounts, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Mobile: [phone] or email [email protected]