AB Industries are a leading provider of large diesel engine rebuild services providing generator and engine rebuilding services for a wide range of clients including major rebuilds for overseas grid scale diesel generators. With an upgrade and modernisation of their main workshops the decision was made to close one of their satellite workshops and move major plant machinery to their main site. This left them with a range of plant, machinery, diesel engines and engine parts needing to be sold to clear their site. Skylarc were fortunate enough to be asked to sell this machinery from the old premises.
The Challenge
AB Industries’ old facility had been sold and they were on a short timeframe to exit the site before the new owners took possession of the site. Skylarc needed to sell the plant and machinery and with the assistance if AB’s team clear the site before the exit date. AB’s equipment for sale included a range of lathes, milling machines, surface grinders, workbenches, a large crank grinder, Caterpillar, MAN and Perkins diesel engines and a range of reconditioned and used parts.
Marketing
A comprehensive plan to sell all assets via an online Trade Me event was produced backed by a detailed marketing plan incorporating email outs to Skylarc’s own and engineering industry mailing lists and a targeted Facebook campaign which reached over 340,000 people and saw over 23,000 people visit the auction site. A landing page featuring information about the auction was published in all marketing and this linked onto the auction once it was listed on Trade Me.
Results
The auction ran for 10 days and consisted of 550 lots, final turnover was ahead of initial estimated sale return and the building was exited in a timely manner. Total number of individual buyers was 268 with 5570 individual New Zealanders watching one or more lots and 968 bidding on one or more lots in the auction.