With surplus equipment on both sides of the border, Calfrac Well Services Ltd. turned to RB

Turning idle assets into $24 million in cash

On April 18 – 19, 2023, Ritchie Bros. sold 900 items for CalFrac Well Services Ltd., a specialized oilfield service contractor operating in the United States, Canada, and Argentina.

“Ritchie Bros. did an excellent job marketing our assets to buyers around the world,” said CalFrac CEO Pat Powell. “I thought we would get $15 million for all our equipment, and I would’ve been satisfied with $10 million. At the end of the two-day auction, we had surpassed $24 million in total sales! We were very pleased with the results.”

“Ritchie Bros. did an excellent job marketing our assets to buyers around the world. I thought we would get $15 million for all our equipment, and I would’ve been satisfied with $10 million. At the end of the two-day auction, we had surpassed $24 million in total sales! We were very pleased with the results.”

— CalFrac CEO Pat Powell.

Mr. Powell joined CalFrac as CEO in June 2022 and quickly recognized the amount of idle equipment sitting in his company’s yards across the U.S. and Canada. He wanted to get this equipment off their books and reinvest that money back into their business.

While new to CalFrac, Mr. Powell had decades of experience in the equipment industry, running private contracting businesses of his own. During that time, he developed a strong relationship with Ritchie Bros., buying and selling equipment.

“Every broker came to me asking about our equipment, but I phoned Ritchie Bros.,” said Mr. Powell. “They visited 12 of our locations across the U.S. and Canada, collecting info and photos for marketing, making sure the right buyers knew our equipment was available.”

“Ritchie Bros. provided great advice to help maximize the value of our assets. They sold one of our 2007 tractors for $112,000. We bought it brand new 16 years ago for $123,000.”

900 items, 12 locations, 2 auctions, 1 consignor

Ritchie Bros. conducts hundreds of auctions each year, but the CalFrac Well Services sale was unique. With 900 items stored at 12 locations on both sides of the U.S./Canada border it presented some logistical hurdles, but nothing Ritchie Bros. couldn’t handle.

“When Calfrac came to us in fall 2022, they were looking for a solution to help realign their fleet, realizing the best value for the equipment in the most cost-effective manner possible,” said Dan Prodor, Ritchie Bros.’ Territory Manager. “We were able to design a plan to sell their surplus gear from their existing sites across North America, resulting in minimal transportation costs and very little strain on the CalFrac daily business operations.”

“Time was of the essence,” added Mr. Prodor. “Our experienced and knowledgeable operations teams on both sides of the USA/Canada border jumped on the task almost immediately.”

Ritchie Bros. sold all equipment virtually from CalFrac’s locations in two unreserved auctions—on April 18 in Canada and April 19 in the U.S.

“Selling entirely online was new to me, but not to Ritchie Bros. They sold all our equipment in two days. If we had gone with a broker, it would’ve been 10 trucks here, 10 trucks there and our yards would still be covered with idle equipment.”

“Thanks to Ritchie Bros., we were able to tidy up our yards and turn 900 idle assets into $24 million we can invest back into our business.”

CalFrac’s top sellers

2015 Mack MRU613 TerraPro Putzmeister Telebelt TB130 truck – US$370,000

2013 Kenworth T800 w/ Manitex 5096 50-ton boom truck – CA$277,500 (US$207,209)

2006 Kenworth T800 wide hood 8×6 heavy haul truck tractor – CA$257,500 (US$192,275)

Unused 2010 Kenworth C500 6×6 heavy haul truck tractor – CA$250,000 (US$1866,675)

2010 Peterbilt 367 National Crane NBT50 50-ton boom truck – US$177,500

See also

How to sell surplus for government agencies: 5 tips for better results