With increasingly large volumes of cranes, aerial lifts and telehandlers going under the hammer, C&A spoke with the company to find out more about how it sees the used equipment market developing, the impact of Covid-19 and how the pandemic has inadvertently coincided with the company’s drive to provide a complete online offering - with it breaking a number of company records along the way. We also take a look at the various data and analytics tools the company has generated over the past 18 months to discover how they are able to help both buyers and sellers better understand market and pricing trends as well as when and where to sell equipment.
Humble beginnings
In 1955 the three Ritchie brothers - Ken, Dave and John - took over their father’s business, the OK Used Furniture Store in Kelowna, Canada. Barely three years had passed before they were faced with an unexpected debt repayment demand from their bank for $2,000. Unable to pay it, a close friend advised them to organise an unreserved auction to sell off their large inventory. The auction not only raised sufficient funds to repay the loan in full, but also presented a new way of doing business.
A short while later Ritchie Bros was incorporated in order to host auctions of used furniture. Then, in 1963, they decided to put everything they had into a single contract and hold their first heavy equipment auction. The auction proved a huge success, generating close to $600,000 in revenues, with the brothers deciding to sell the furniture shop to focus on used equipment auctions. And the rest, as they say, is history…
This story is from the July/August 2020 edition of Cranes & Access.
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This story is from the July/August 2020 edition of Cranes & Access.
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Wind safety developments
A serious wind farm accident in 2008 led to a decade long process of safety improvements in the sector and offers a casebook example of how to build an understanding of safety between all those involved. Will North spoke to two of those leading the efforts, Klaus Meissner and Ton Klijn, who explain the resources available to ensure safe lifting on wind farms.
Bringing Battersea Back To Life
London’s iconic art deco style coal-fired Battersea Power Station was constructed in various stages between 1929 and the mid-1950s. By 1983 however the entire site was decommissioned to be left empty and decaying on the south bank of the River Thames until 2013 when work was approved to begin a long-term restoration and transformation project set to cost £9 billion.
The higher hundreds
In the second of a two-part report, Will North looks at All Terrain cranes between 130 and 180 tonnes. While some models in this class target taxi crane work, it also marks the point where five-axle carriers become standard with most models designed for project work.
Unconventional power
Conventional fuels may be the energy source of yesterday, and renewables the innovation of the present, but tomorrow’s fuel could well be fusion power. The name of ITeR, originally the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, puns on the latin ‘The Way'. The project is supported by the european union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the united States. The global joint venture partners clearly believe fusion power is the way forward.
XCMG XGC220T
The XCMG XGC220T is a telescopic crawler crane with a capacity of 220 tonnes. This model by Yagao comes in an XCMG branded box and includes an instruction sheet printed in Chinese and English.
Taxi drivers
The 100 to 180 tonne class of All Terrain cranes covers both taxi cranes capable of taking on multiple daily jobs, through to larger more project oriented cranes. it also marks the point where four axle carriers give way to five axle cranes. in the first of two articles, Will north looks at the choice available in the 100 to 120 tonne class and talks to the leading manufacturers about the considerations driving their latest developments.
Cattaneo CM 221
Cattaneo is an Italian manufacturer of self-erecting tower cranes, its CM 221 has a maximum capacity of 1.8 tonnes at 8.9 metres radius. The maximum jib length is 22 metres with a tip capacity of 600kg.
Big truck mounts come of age
In recent years much of the new product development in the truck mounted platform market has been concentrated on models mounted on 3.5 to 7.5 tonne chassis where there has been considerable innovation and market growth. it is now the turn of the very largest machines.
New man in the driving seat
In June, Ainscough Crane Hire appointed Peter Gibbs as chief executive, two months after he had stepped in as interim chief executive after the sudden departure of Jeremy Fry. Fry had lasted barely a year in the position after taking over from Janet Entwistle who also left at very short notice.
Ready for take-off?
When you think of disruptive technology within our industry it probably doesn’t get any bigger than the use of virtual reality (VR) for operator training.
