Reaching the Finish Line on a Fun 40-Year Ride with Ritchie Bros.

Meet Laurey Rasmussen. Laurey joined Ritchie Bros. in 1981 when there were just three people in the search department and only Canadian sites. It’s difficult if not impossible to sum up the contributions she’s made to the company since then – from her early days doing Lien searches for Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, to supervising Australia, Canada, Mexico and Panama, to her integral role today as Search Specialist. But anyone who has crossed paths with Laurey will tell you she is one of the most loyal, committed and fun-loving people you will ever meet.

Laurey is a true example of the Ritchie Bros.' spirit: hardworking, dedicated and always up for a good time. And here is her story...

As a 20 something-year-old looking for a job all those years ago, needless to say, I wasn’t thinking about my retirement. I wanted to work for a fun company, where everybody was on the same page.

That’s what I found at Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Back then, we were small, only had Canadian sites and one office in Portland, OR.

Everyone was proud of each other and worked together to get things done. We would all celebrate each other’s successes, sale sites and head office included. 

On my very first Friday afternoon at three o'clock, Dave Ritchie got on the overhead mic and invited everybody into the backyard for cocktails. 

Although things have come a long way since those early days, the core of our company has stayed strong. We were a family then, and we’re a family now – albeit a much bigger one with family we have never met!

 When the times were tough, we got going.

In my early days, things were about as different as you could imagine. We had Selectric typewriters instead of computers, you had to know how to type perfectly or you would have to use correction tape to fix your mistakes! We phoned the lenders and followed up with letters by snail mail.

I was hired to do lien searches for Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, with two other people in the search department. That was it. But it wasn’t long before we started to grow, and as the company evolved, so did my career.

Coming from a legal background I was the corporate secretary for the partnership partners, responsible for Provincial and Federal filings and keeping all the Minute Books up to date.

I became a reviewer with signing authority on our bank accounts, we typed cheques, signed them, and mailed them to our consignors. Following that, I was Search Supervisor for Canada and also worked closely with Australia, Mexico and Panama as they were building their businesses. I worked with Gary Caufield when we were revising our original Contract to Auction as well as the original Annual/Strategic Contracts. I dealt with training new Search and Review members, training everybody when it came to search knowledge.

After we went public and took on Forke Bros (USA), All Peace Auctions (AB), Leblanc, Clarke and Kramer Auctions (SK) I was a point person to assist them in understanding our processes for Search and Review. 

I’ve been there for the whole ride – the ups, the downs and everything in between. One of the remarkable things about Ritchie Bros. is our ability to prevail in some of the toughest moments and shine in the good times. We became the first place people came when they needed to realign their equipment needs.  We’ve always had the tenacity and a solid business model – two things that have kept us standing to this day.

Much has changed, but some things stay the same.

I still remember when we had our first million-dollar sale. We had what felt like a million-dollar party to celebrate. Now a million-dollar consignor is an everyday consignor!

When we first started online auctions, everybody said it wouldn't work. They thought people would always want to go to the site, smell the oil and kick the tires. Now we’re first and foremost a technology company, and online auctions are our whole way of doing business.

Ritchie Bros. has seen some big changes over the years, but what should never waver is our commitment to the customer. We work for our consignors and our buyers. Customers know they can rely on us to make life easier for them, when times are good and when they are tough.

No matter what we're doing, what platform we're working on, or where we are headed next, we should never lose sight of customer service. It’s the backbone of our company.

I’ll always have orange blood

At Ritchie Bros., we like to say we bleed orange, our company colour. And it’s true:

whenever I’ve had to have tough conversations in my personal life, I always liked to joke that I used my ‘Ritchie Bros. voice’ to get my point across. Because as Laurey from Ritchie Bros. I was assertive. I was knowledgeable. I was confident and I didn’t second-guess myself.

I’m energized every time I can help our sales team write a good deal or help a customer figure out how we can tweak a deal to make it work. I’m proud of that knowledge and humbled by the fact that people often turn to me first when they need guidance.

And as I reach the end of my 40-year career with this company, I know a big part of me will always be the culmination of everything I’ve learned here, the people I’ve learned and grown with and the friends I have made worldwide. For that, I’ll forever be grateful.