On May 7, Ritchie Bros. completed a dispersal for long-time customer Tollifson Cable Service Ltd.
Started in the 1970s, Tollifson shifted from water projects to natural gas line construction installations before evolving into burying power lines and working on rural water installation and distribution projects.
Its Timed Auction event in Moose Jaw, SK, featured close to 600 items and over 2,000 registered bidders, with everything selling unreserved straight from Tollifson’s yard.
Alvin and Terry Tollifson say they chose to sell with Ritchie Bros. for the same reason they’ve used Ritchie Bros. auctions for years – the company always delivers.
“Some of these local guys might be OK on a certain little sale, but if you have any size, especially in our field, anybody is a fool not to be working with Ritchie Bros,” said Alvin, co-owner and president of the company. “There is no other answer. The result is way higher because they have the tools.”
“Ritchie Bros. delivered on everything they said they were going to do,” added his son Terry, who co-owns the company. “It doesn’t always happen nowadays. That was awesome to see.
“Some will promise you the moon until you sign on the dotted line, but you guys were there at every turn and you were phenomenal. Our Territory Manager (Larry Theriault) was phenomenal. He’s been there every step of the way.”
Benefits of selling direct from their location
Having that ability to conduct the auction on their premises and sell directly from their location proved to be the right decision for their business.
“We talked about going in on the Regina sale (at a Ritchie Bros. facility), but I think having our own event did well for us,” said Alvin. “If we moved everything to another yard, the cost would have been pretty high.”
“It also gave us control over inspection hours for viewing and that turned out well because of the bad weather,” added Terry.