As a result of the recently completed renovation of the Blanding, Utah, water reservoir/dam project, Rabin Worldwide Auctioneers will conduct an unreserved total equipment dispersal auction of Western Builders, Inc., of Ogden, Utah. Unlike the traditional yard sales, the auction will be broadcast from the Blanding Arts & Event Center, theater style by digital image, along with a simultaneous Internet Web cast of the live auction event, enabling people to bid literally from anywhere on such large items as front end loaders, bulldozers, motor graders and scrapers, hydraulic excavators, heavy trucks and trailers, and a complete portable crushing plant.

"Theater style auctions are rapidly becoming a preferred style of sale," notes Ron Liese, director of Rabin's construction and mining division. "In order to conduct a live/online auction sale in this fashion, the auction venue must be serviced by a secure ISDN, DSL or T-1 line, available at most convention centers and hotel meeting rooms. We experimented with live Internet broadcast at a traditional construction yard auction a few years back, but Internet technology wasn't nearly as efficient as today." Over the past year, Rabin has conducted live/online auctions of the entire Lodestar Energy coal-mining operation in Kentucky, the Homestake gold mine and mill in Northern California, plus multiple surplus asset sales of the Asarco copper mining operations throughout the Southwest. Prior to hiring Rabin Worldwide to conduct the sale, Western Builders was pondering a transport expense in excess of $50,000 to the nearest construction yard auction, and will now invest the transport savings into pre-auction detailing and equipment service.

The entire spread will be available for inspection daily at the Blanding Utah dam site, starting Friday, December 5. In addition to Western Builder's entire mobile fleet, the auction will include a wide assortment of equipment attachments, portable pumps, air compressors, generators, plus large quantities of surplus building materials and supplies. Additional tools, materials, and spare parts currently located at the Western Builder's Ogden yard will also be sold from the Blanding Live Auction Theater.