Sue McGregor, Managing Director of Canada, IronPlanet, discusses how equipment owners may hold onto equipment for too long.  She gives four reasons why now may be the time to sell.  For more information on making the most of your fleet, and to check out key tips, read the article on page A20 in Equipment Journal here.

Equipment inspections, and the team members who conduct them, are often unsung heroes in the used heavy equipment ecosystem. But without reliable, thorough and consistent inspection reports, buyers wouldn’t be able to purchase equipment with nearly as much confidence; sellers, too, would not be able to get premium prices for their assets without some kind of program that ensures buyers are comfortable purchasing sight unseen.

Chris Lambing, Director of IronPlanet’s inspection services team, knows well the challenges and joys of running what is one of the best equipment inspection programs out there. With his background in sales and operations, he’s always considering business impact for IronPlanet’s customers and is able to think about inspections from both the buyer and the seller side.

Early next week, Dirt Every Day will launch an episode about government surplus equipiment, featuring none other than IronPlanet! Get more details about the filming and inspiration behind the episode here, and here's a teaser to whet your curiosity: 

Take a look behind the scenes with this story from IronPlanet EU about successfully navigating an equipment sales partnership based in Gabon, a small country on the west coast of Africa:

PLEASANTON, Calif. – IronPlanet, the leading online marketplace for buying and selling used heavy equipment and trucks, today announced that Jeff Holmes has joined as vice president, Government Solutions. Holmes brings a unique background that combines his military service with a corporate career spent driving efficiency and growth through business and government partnerships.

PLEASANTON, Calif. and Eagan, Minn. – April 2, 2015 – IronPlanet®, the leading online marketplace for buying and selling used heavy equipment and trucks, and Associated Auction Services LLC, an alliance of Caterpillar and several of its independent Cat® dealers, that operates under the name Cat Auction Services (hereinafter referred to as “Cat Auction Services”), announced today the completion of the merger of the two companies.

“This is a very exciting day for IronPlanet and Cat Auction Services, and even more importantly, for our customers as this combination will drive value and services to all of our buyers and sellers in new and innovative ways,” said Gregory J. Owens, IronPlanet Chairman and CEO. “I am confident that our marketplace offerings will enable our sellers to maximize the recovery on assets sold by reaching the right buyers at the right time through channels that are optimized for them. Similarly, our buyers will have access to a broad selection of equipment so that they can manage their inventory on their time frames either in a buy-it-now format or through one of our online or onsite auctions. We will now have access to the broadest choice of late model, low hour Cat equipment drawing larger buyer audiences for all of the equipment for sale in our marketplaces.”

“We brought IronPlanet on board to liquidate one of our borrower’s equipment. I have never had a vendor work harder in locating and preparing all the equipment for a sale. I appreciated the attention to detail and quick response to unexpected obstacles along the way. The service definitely exceeded my expectations! I would personally recommend IronPlanet to anyone.” – Tracy O. Hatfield, Vice President, PBI Bank

“We used IronPlanet to liquidate a customer’s idle construction equipment. A local auctioneer suggested much of it would be nothing more than scrap. Our net proceeds from the IronPlanet online auction were actually twice what we expected. I think that is a testament to IronPlanet’s business model and its ability to reach a worldwide market. The sales results exceeded our expectations, and we were able to collect all of our outstanding principal, which I don’t think would have been possible had we used anyone else to liquidate the equipment. Our executive team was very impressed and we wouldn’t hestiate to use IronPlanet again.” – Andrew Jarvis, Vice President, Community Trust® Bank

Last year, IronPlanet took its technology expertise to new heights with BiddingAce, a marketplace for general aviation aircraft. The site launched in June 2014 and uses IronPlanet’s technology platform to connect aircraft sellers with buyers around the world.

An exciting year

Since the launch of BiddingAce, Craig Fuller, a well-known aviator, former president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and member of several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) committees, has joined BiddingAce’s board of directors. His expertise will be a true asset to the organization and its customers.

If you’ve recently visited our IronPlanet, TruckPlanet or GovPlanet websites, you may have noticed that we’ve made a few exciting updates. The new features and functionality are designed to make your equipment buying and selling experiences even easier.