An item of plant machinery has fetched more at auction than what it would have cost brand new.
The unused Caterpillar 216B skid-steer loader had been donated to Dubai-based charity Foresight by local equipment dealer Southwest Trading.
At the Richie Brothers auction in Jebel Ali on Monday, around 90 seconds of frenzied bidding drove the price of the skid-steer from an unreserved start to a sale price of US $30,000 – roughly US $5,000 more than it would cost new from a dealer.
After the hammer went down, Foresight spokesperson Sally Prosser – who had never been to an equipment auction before and had no idea how much the skid-steer might be sold for said: “I’m speechless – it’s amazing. This kind of money will go a long way to funding an entire research project, thanks to Southwest and Ritchie.”
Steve Barritt, a regional manager at the auction house said: “This is a good result – the sale price is more than it cost new. People really support local charities.”
Foresight is an organisation helping to accelerate a cure for blindness caused by hereditary eye disease that affect millions of people worldwide, particularly a degenerative condition known as Retinitis Pigmentosa. The charity also aims to improve the lives of people with visual impairment in the community and raise awareness of the difficulties they face in their everyday lives.
