Yoder & Frey 2020 - a year in profile

Yoder & Frey, leading auctioneers of heavy construction and agricultural equipment and founders of the now famous Kissimmee Winter Auction, make ready for 2021, with the simple message 'We're ready for business and are the auctioneers to go with at Kissimmee #47'.

2020 was an extraordinary year for us all, as well as a year of extreme sadness for many. As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, all businesses in the US were affected in some way or another, with the heavy machinery sector being no exception. With no real indication as to what was happening, the severity of the threat, as well as the eventual outcome, Yoder & Frey were not alone in beginning to mitigate for the new global threat. Yoder & Frey continued to increase its sales schedule in 2020, as well as adding to its sales team, comprising many of the best in the business in the heavy machinery sales arena. With exceptional consignments of first-class specialist heavy construction inventory selling well in 2020, Yoder & Frey now makes ready for Kissimmee 2021.

Committed to the schedule of sales planned for early 2020, Yoder & Frey provided vendors with a platform on which to sell their equipment and machinery, presenting them with a lifeline that would enable them to generate much needed funds with which to maintain their businesses. As the world began to shut down, in early March Yoder & Frey were on-track to hold a planned physical sale at its 'flag-ship' base in Findlay, Ohio as well as an off site liquidation sale for Marietta Coal Company, OH. With much uncertainty in the market, Yoder & Frey proceeded with the Findlay sale, following the newly emerging considerations on safety in line with the national guidelines for the virus, streaming the entire sale live 'online' as well as on site with a live audience. With severe lockdowns in place, The Marietta Coal Company was rescheduled to May. It was fortunate that the next date in the auction calendar was planned as a pure 'online' sale for World Fiber Technologies in Alpharetta, Georgia/Dallas Texas in April. The ability to host sales totally online enabled Yoder & Frey to fulfill their auction schedule and commitment to customers irrespective of the regulations in place. The remaining auctions of 2020 were a combination of physical and online or online only depending on customer’s wishes.

Global Reach

Following the merger of Yoder & Frey with Euro Auctions, the leading auctioneers in Europe, Yoder & Frey has a robust online auction platform with which to reach the home US market, as well as marketing to a list of international consignors and buyers in over 115 countries. From this power position Yoder & Frey can run all sales on line in 'real time' with either live action, or by using streaming with the sale being conducted in 'real time' by the team of 'live' auctioneers from the Yoder & Frey Ohio HQ.

Despite the uncertainty, Yoder & Frey hosted 20 major sales in 2020, including 12 'off-site' sales for a variety of specialist businesses with machines to sell. Predictably, due to Covid and additional global marketing reach, this resulted in a big 'ramp up' in online activity, with just under 80% of all bids placed and almost 50% of all sales were via the internet, with Yoder & Frey experiencing sale on sale increases in consignors, bidders and buyer action at all 2020 sales. Consignors are clearly confident that Yoder & Frey are the auctioneers to go with, demonstrated by the excellent consignments of new and late year machinery going over the ramp at each sale. The biggest buying market has been predictably from the USA with great interest from the UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. However global reach through the Euro Auctions sales database, buyers in 115 countries around the globe receive bulletins about all upcoming Yoder & Frey sales, and with COVID forcing online purchasing this has accelerated the profile of the Yoder & Frey brand to a wider audience.

“This has been a tragic year in many respects, with sad losses due to COVID. As a result, we are mindful that people have lost their lives and livelihoods to the pandemic. We are also mindful that many businesses need cash to pay their employees and secure the future of those businesses," explains Peter Clarke, Founder and CEO of Yoder & Frey, "We continued to offer them a solution that would support those businesses, and we saw an increase in the quality, quantity and diversity of equipment being consigned to our auctions, and this is attracting new consignors, increasing bidder turnout, which has resulted in our auctions achieving record auction results."

Yoder & Frey Expands

"In the last 18 months Yoder & Frey has invested in enhancing its team of Account Managers, recruiting industry seasoned professionals, with extensive contacts who have worked for many of the biggest brands in the industry. The team includes Trent Shaftner, Chris Deason, Rodney Russell, Joe Thurston, and Jayson Hutchinson. New to the team, enrolled during 2020 is Alex Young covering Florida and surrounding states, with Bryan Smith who is concentrating on Pennsylvania and surrounding north east states. Now with the right calibre manpower to cover the entire US, and with our global marketing reach through Euro Auctions, Yoder & Frey is poised for an exciting Kissimmee Winter Auction in 2021. Yoder & Frey is still expanding and if you have what it takes to develop good relationships with consignors and buyers and know the industry well, let's have a conversation," concludes Peter Clarke.

Off-Site Sales

In 2020 Yoder & Frey continued to host a series of successful 'off-site' auctions for a variety of clients in specialist sectors including mining, rental, utilities, and general construction. With businesses revolving stock, or retiring, they trusted the team at Yoder & Frey to achieve best value for their inventory. Hosting an 'off-site' auction per month this included Poes Rental in Florida, Elizabeth Equipment in Pennsylvania, Precision Directional Boring in Ohio, and World Fibre Utilities, in Texas/Georgia in 2020 and Magnolia Construction in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is already planned for February 2021. Other notable sales are as follows:

• After a rigorous bidding process a major South West Ohio contractor selected Yoder and Frey to host an ‘Online Only’ fleet renewal sale in September. Selling large and big ticket items as part of this process this sale drew bidders from across America, UK, Middle East, South America and the Caribbean. The online only nature of this sale again showing the versatility that Yoder & Frey can offer.

• CCU Coal & Construction LLC, in Zanesville, Ohio, appointed Yoder & Frey to inventory and dispose of a mixed catalogue of specialist mining, heavy construction and haulage equipment, as they were rationalizing their stock holding due to the current climate, with 90% of all lots for sale being mainline machinery and large ticket items.

• Mark Haynes Construction from Norwalk, Ohio, one of Ohio’s predominant stream restoration and stream enhancement contractors chose Yoder & Frey to host a stock rotation sale. Specializing in stream work, the business also performs large mass excavation projects, private and municipal utilities, park and recreation construction, airports, and road construction works. Being competitive in the market requires good machinery, hence why Mark Haynes Construction rotates its stock on a regular basis and in the middle of COVID entrusted Yoder & Frey to host a successful one-day sale to ready for new inventory in 2021.

• In Houston, Texas, in October 2020, Yoder & Frey were appointed to run a one-day live online Rental Roll-Out Auction on behalf of rental specialists Sunstate Equipment. With a broad inventory including aerial access equipment, Backhoes, Skid steers and Mini Excavators, the sale was one of many regular stock rotation sales the business hosts each year. A new account for Yoder & Frey, brought in by one of the new sales team.

Peter Clarke comments, "We are pleased and proud to have been selected by the customers who chose Yoder & Frey to act as valuer and auctioneers in disposing of their inventories. Customer feedback was very positive, not only about the prices realized but also about the organization and professionalism of our staff and our capacity to host a first-class sale."

Kissimmee 2021 - We're ready and we have capacity to sell your kit!

Recent one day sales during the latter end of 2020 in Florida, have been preparing Yoder & Frey for its #1 sale of the year in February 2021. Following a successful year, with exceptional consignments of first-class heavy construction inventory selling well at all sales throughout 2020, consignors are now committing to the upcoming Yoder & Frey in February 2021 at Florida #47, the now famous Kissimmee Winter Sale. And the message from Yoder & Frey is We're ready and we have capacity to sell your kit!

On 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th February Yoder & Frey will host its 47th Kissimmee sale in Florida. With Yoder & Frey being the founding fathers and architects of this now world-renowned auction, that has become the highlight of the year for the heavy plant and machinery industry in the USA, as well as around the globe. This year Yoder & Frey will attend this event for the forty seventh consecutive year, a feat that no other heavy plant and machinery auctions specialist on the planet can boast or will match.

With a growing inventory of heavy construction machinery, dump trucks, dozers, telehandlers, access equipment, buckets, and attachments, as well as commercial vehicles and a large compliment of diesel engines, Yoder & Frey is inviting more consignors who want to turn their stock into cash. The Yoder & Frey format for Florida #47 will be a live sale, with three rings and a live ramp with buyers able to personally inspect any of the pieces of equipment catalogued pre-sale. Yoder & Frey will be insisting all visitors attending adhere to all standard COVID standard guidelines in place at that time.

Yoder & Frey has global reach as well as providing excellent "home market" support. The sales team and network of account managers who cover the entire United States can provide tailored advice to consignors wishing to sell, as well as assisting buyers who may be first timers. Yoder & Frey now markets to an international buyer base of 115 countries around the globe, resulting in an increase in online bidding at all sales.

"What makes Yoder & Frey different," asks Peter Clarke? "Our customers like our culture, our can-do attitude, the fact we care about our consignors and buyers, and that we do go the extra mile at all sales. If you have gear to sell, it is worth a phone call to Yoder & Frey, as we've done Kissimmee 46 times to date, and this will be Kissimmee #47."