Auctioneering giant Ritchie Brothers will close the doors on its Prince George yard at the end of this year.
It's part of a larger consolidation of facilities into larger centres, according to Brian Glenn, the company's senior vice president and head of sales for Canada.
"Over the last two decades, there have been two strong emerging trends in the equipment industry: the growing comfort of customers to buy and sell online and an increasing number of selling customers wanting to take advantage of larger onsite events, as they draw more sizable crowds," he said in an email.
Four other yards, all located in the United States, will also be closed. Glenn said they're all located relatively close to other larger locations, "and in most cases, have been sending a lot of equipment to these sites for the past several years."
The Grande Prairie site will host an auction on Nov. 21 and 22 that will feature 2,512 items. By comparison, the next Prince George auction, set for Nov. 24, holds 711 items.
Six jobs will be affected locally.
"Our sales representatives which reside in Prince George and are dedicated to the North-Central B.C. region will continue to help those customers sell equipment," Glenn said. "And, if there is an opportunity to hold an off-site auction in Prince George in the future, we will be back."
The closure will deliver a blow according to Melissa Barcellos, the city's economic development officer.
She said the auctions drew buyers and sellers from across the province and the nation and provided a boost to local hotels and restaurants.
"Not only do these attendees spend money in our city, but outside investors attending the auctions get to see what Prince George is all about, including the significant business opportunities available in central and northern B.C.," she said.
The auctions have been an excellent source of used equipment for "start ups and younger companies that might not have the financial ability to purchase new equipment which can run into the six or seven-figure price range," Barcellos added.
She urged any other business thinking of closing down to contact her office before pulling the plug.
"Economic development will work to support businesses through challenging times to keep them in Prince George and help get their business back on its feet," she said.
Complete with a ribbon-cutting by then-mayor Colin Kinsley, the 60-acre site at the corner of the Old Cariboo Highway and Highway 16 east was opened in May 2003, replacing a 33-acre location on Highway 97 south.
It was built for $8 million and features a 1,000-seat covered and heated auction theatre and a state-of-the-art paint facility. There are no immediate plans for disposing of the property, Glenn said.
Ritchie Brothers specializes in heavy equipment but has moved its share of novel items over the years.
In 2007, the Moose Springs Resort, formerly Baldy Hughes Canadian Forces radar station, was sold for $650,000 to Edmonton-based Prowler Leasing in an auction that lasted eight minutes.
It was eventually converted into the Baldy Hughes Treatment Centre and Therapeutic Community and, in December 2010, the provincial government bought the site for $3 million from Prowler.
