Industrial Auctions is an online auctioneer, specialised in auctioning machinery, inventory and goods, business-to-business (B2B) within the food and beverage industry.
Entire businesses, production lines and machinery can be sold through the platform of Industrial Auctions. John van Berlo says: “We basically know three kinds of employers.”
“A trustee, a trader and a production company. We mostly organise auctions for production companies. In some cases, it concerns the closure of a production location or an investment into a new machine park.”
The marketing manager mentions the attractiveness of Industrial Auctions for these companies to purchase machinery.
John explains that an auction is visualised on their website for an average of three weeks: “Interested parties can always contact the staff of IA during an auction. When the closure of an auction nears, it really starts. We always advise potential buyers to avoid postponing their bid until the last moment, so they don’t miss the lot they have an interest in. However, many clients place their bid at the last moment and take the risk of losing the lot to the highest bidder.”
Free from difficulties
John also says: “We can’t deliver any guarantee, but by informing our clients on forehand about the state of a machine and providing an optimal customer service, we try to serve the clients in the best way possible.”
According to John, this obviously also counts for the contracted companies. Over the years, Industrial Auctions has gained a lot of knowledge about the food and beverage industry.
In John’s words, “it is not always easy for a company to sell an entire line or even an entire factory. Leave alone, to reach such a large audience of prospects. We do the work for them, from beginning to end. During pick up days, we are there to help to load the purchased machinery, inventory and goods. If desired, we can even arrange worldwide transport for the clients.”
More than just an auction
John also says: “Contractors know that we deliver a high return on the machines while buyers know that they buy reliable items. If a buyer indicates to us that he is looking for something specific, then we will alert him to a particular auction or machine that is being offered. In addition, we know that companies do not have time to view the website on a daily basis. Therefore, we provide timely information about a particular machine or, for example, a production line that is being auctioned. Thinking along is one of our highly appreciated services.”
“Therefore, we do not only appreciate the auction itself, but also the interaction with the contractor, who knows that our start prices are based on ten years of experience. The starting prices on our website are always fair and real,” Van Berlo emphasises.
“We know that companies really prepare themselves for auctions and we try the best we can to contribute to a success.”
Increasing interest in second-hand machinery
Nowadays, the term ‘mass production’ doesn’t surprise anyone. However, a change has arisen in the customer journey of today’s customer. Quality predominates quantity. Customers like to see words on packaging such as ‘freshly prepared.’ These changing times require more time and effort from the companies, which need to meet these demands and deliver large quantities.
The production capacity is high and, on average, this has to be accelerated over time. The purchase of a new machine park or stand-alone machines is soon on the wish list. Used machines form a good solution. The purchase is cheaper, the machine can be delivered in a short period of time and nevertheless, the production capacity will increase. This dynamic circulation of demand and supply forms one of the factors from the success of Industrial Auctions.
Changing times
According to John, “in the past, you needed to be on location, where buyers had to keep a sign in the air if they wanted to place a bid. Now, a bid is made with a mouse click. All our auctions take place in Europe, but the buyers are literally from everywhere. Some time ago, we loaded three containers which were shipped to Bolivia and Columbia.”
The service that Industrial Auctions offers has also translated into the removal of language barriers.
Van Berlo says: “Our website is being presented in Russian for two years now. We don’t want companies to encounter certain obstacles to participate in the auctions that we offer. Here as well, that extra step of service shows. In addition to our languages, we also speak the language of the food sector. We know which machines we offer and where they can be used for.”
In full swing
In addition to the auctions at locations of employers, they organise auctions at their own location in Eindhoven an average of six times a year. This gives SME’s the opportunity to participate as a seller at an auction.
The fact that clients buy more easily online contributes to the prosperous developments the company experiences. One of the ways this shows is the increasing number of auctions that are being organised. Where Industrial Auctions started with organising about two auctions a month, they now organise multiple auctions a week.
As Van Berlo says, “next to that, we notice a huge potential for worldwide automatisation. This gives us hope for the future.”
