Chinese bidder for Icelandic crane

Online auctioneer IronPlanet has received its highest ever bid for a piece of equipment, after a Chinese bidder visited its stand at Bauma.

"We have had a slow start to the show," said Tom Cornell, Iron Planet managing director for Europe, "but it's been very exciting and the quality of visitors has been excellent.

"This morning we received our highest ever bid for a single piece of equipment, € 580,000 for a 300 tonne capacity Liebherr LTM 1300 based in Iceland. Despite the volcanic dust covering the country, the bidder used our online inspection report to evaluate the crane and placed a bid."

The bid goes forward to the first World Crane Auction on 16 June 2010. It is an IronPlanet event in association with KHL Group. The co-operation brings IronPlanet's experience and expertise in running online auctions together with KHL's strong position and reputation in the crane sector.

Cornell also said that there had been huge interest in its daily auction, with attention being particularly focused on a Caterpillar 777F rigid hauler. "This is the first time a 777F has come to auction ever," said Cornell, "and interest has understandably been very high amongst potential bidders.

"We've also had enquiries from a Hungarian company who are asking us to host a 'Private One owner' sale at their yard. The advantage to them is that they'll be able to invite customers to look at the equipment in the iron, while we'll be able to provide a global audience of active bidders on-line," added Cornell.

To visit the World Crane Auction website click here