Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers , the world’s largest industrial auctioneer, will be conducting a complete equipment dispersal for L.J. Webb Contractors Inc., a Geneva, Nebraska-based bridge and culvert building contractor. The auction is being held on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 starting at 8:00 a.m. on the company’s property located at 918 N. 13th in Geneva, and will be unreserved, with no minimum bids or reserve prices; every item will be sold to the highest bidder on auction day.
More than 480 lots from over 20 consignors will be featured in the unreserved auction. Of those items, over 320 pieces of equipment are being sold as part of the complete dispersal for L.J. Webb. Equipment highlights include crawler loaders, hydraulic excavators, pile hammers and extractors, hydraulic and conventional truck cranes, almost 30 crawler cranes, as well as flatbed and pickup trucks. The company’s main yard, packed completely full, has generated spillover of additional equipment into two other yards. As a result, all the equipment in the unreserved auction will be sold using the Ritchie Bros. proprietary virtual ramp technology, with a large projection screen set up in the company’s main workshop. The shop will also accommodate seating for up to 400 bidders on auction day.
“After two years, the opportunity to hold another unreserved auction in the Lincoln area and so close to our US head office is very exciting for us. We have an excellent line-up of industrial and transportation equipment, including a large number of crawler cranes, which is uncharacteristic for a sale of this scope and for a town the size of Geneva,” said Mike Schure, Territory Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “L.J. Webb is a highly respected family business with a long-standing history in the region and we’re very pleased they chose us to conduct this auction for them.”
Larry Webb established L.J. Webb Contractors Inc. in 1969 as a culvert operation. In the 1980s, L.J. Webb employed up to nine culvert crews and eventually geared the business towards bridge building with two culvert crews and four bridge crews. The company has worked on bridge building projects throughout Nebraska and Kansas.
“Even though we’ve never sold through Ritchie Bros. before, we’re confident that an unreserved auction will bring us the global exposure and bidding activity we need to get the best value for our equipment,” says Robert Webb, Vice President of L.J. Webb. “I’ve done this job my whole life and feel like I was raised on a construction site. It has been a really gratifying career and I am proud of the work we’ve done over the years but now I am ready to move on to the next phase of my life and try something new.”
Auction Details: —————- – Location: 918 N.13th Geneva, NE 68361 Auction site telephone: + 1.402.759.4160 – Time and date: 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, 2009 – Open to public; registration to bid is free – Internet bidders must register online before auction day at www.rbauction.com; at least 2-3 business days is recommended for first-time internet bidders – Interested buyers can register to bid in person at the auction site. Visit the auction site to register to bid in person; photo I.D. is required. Customers can inspect equipment at the auction site in the days leading up to the auction. – More specific details and photos of equipment being sold at the auction are available at the Ritchie Bros. web site at www.rbauction.com About Ritchie Bros.