Two legacy brands, one family: Ritchie Bros. welcomes Blackmon auctions

Ritchie Bros. is thrilled to officially welcome Blackmon Auctions into the corporate family. Deeply rooted in Arkansas and operating since 1938, Blackmon Auctions brings three generations of trust, an elite reputation in the regional and rail sectors, and a team that treats customers like lifelong friends.

We sat down with Blackmon Auctions owner Thomas Blackmon Jr. and Casey Fencl, Vice President of Sales for the South Central US at Ritchie Bros., to discuss how this partnership came to be, what it means for equipment buyers and sellers, and why the legacy of both brands is stronger than ever.

Birth of an 88-year legacy in Arkansas

To understand why this partnership works so well, you have to look at how Blackmon Auctions began. It started with a stroke of fate back in 1938.

“My grandfather was part owner of a cattle auction, the auctioneer didn’t show up, and Blackmon Auctions was born,” says Thomas Blackmon. “He did the auction and grew it as a part-time job in the local farming community. In 1967, my dad took the business and started growing it. I came on board in 1996, bought it from my parents in 2013, and here we are today.”

Over those 88 years, the auction industry changed drastically. The biggest shift? The evolution of live crowds into technology-driven online auctions, exposing a small Arkansas business to global buyers. But through every industry shift, one core philosophy remained untouched: unmatched customer service.

“It’s always been a company where if you need to talk to the owner, you pick up the phone and call,” Thomas says. That personal touch didn’t just win over customers; it built incredible employee loyalty, resulting in an average full-time employee tenure of 15 years.

Finding a mirror image in Ritchie Bros.

Selling a third-generation family business is a deeply sentimental decision. For Thomas, the choice became clear when he realized that Ritchie Bros. shared the exact same foundational values.

“When I started doing research on the founding of Ritchie Bros. and the ideas behind it, I saw a heavy importance on friendship and taking care of the customer,” Thomas explains. “I realized this company seems huge, but it’s actually very customer oriented. I realized I was walking into what I wanted to become anyway.”

Casey Fencl echoes that sentiment from the Ritchie Bros. perspective:

“When it came to Blackmon, it was really about the legacy. That ‘customer-first, do-the-right-thing’ culture that Dave Ritchie instilled early on aligns quite well with what Blackmon has built. From the moment we met, I knew it was a natural fit because we are like-minded people driven to succeed.”

What this means for our customers

This partnership creates an incredible win-win scenario for buyers and sellers across both networks by combining localized service with global muscle.

For Ritchie Bros. customers: A new backyard option

Traditionally, Ritchie Bros. customers in the South Central U.S. region had to transport equipment to permanent sites in Oklahoma, Fort Worth, Houston, or Baton Rouge.

• The Benefit: “This creates an opportunity to sell stuff out of the yard in Arkansas,” says Casey. “It gives them a local option to get the same Ritchie Bros. experience right in their backyard.”

For Blackmon customers: Global reach & new platforms

While Blackmon has been a dominant force in Arkansas and the specialized rail industry, joining Ritchie Bros. blows the doors open to a massive global audience.

• The Benefit: Blackmon customers now get instant access to a “monster crowd” of global buyers, translating to better prices on difficult-to-sell equipment. Furthermore, they can now utilize Ritchie Bros.’ online marketplace.
• “The marketplace is something we were never able to offer our customers,” Casey notes. “It’s a chance to put something on the market, test it, and see the interest before it goes to auction.”

Similar founding philosophies 

If you want to know what this partnership truly represents, look no further than the founders themselves. When asked what a meeting between Dave Ritchie and Thomas’s father, Eddie Blackmon Sr., would look like today, Thomas smiles.

“There would be a mutual respect. I grew up with my dad competing in the Dallas area with Ritchie Bros. when Dave Ritchie was still shaking hands and seeing everyone at the steakhouse. Dave’s legacy is still very much alive here: if you can create a friend out of a customer, you’ve created a customer for life. That fits the Blackmon mold perfectly.”

Casey laughs in agreement. “They’d realize they’re two peas in the same pod. They care about the customer, they want to win, and neither one of them ever met a stranger.” Five years from now, success for this partnership means honoring that shared history. While the technology, reach, and platforms will continue to scale, the Blackmon legacy of trust, relationship-building, and deep industry expertise is here to stay—backed by the full power of the Ritchie Bros. family.

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See also

Beyond the Bids: Building the most liquid marketplace in the world