Want a deal on a Peterbilt twin-axle dump truck or a hydraulic excavator? This could be your week.
In another sign of dreary times in commercial real estate, embattled metro Atlanta developer Stan Thomas is auctioning off much of his fleet of grading vehicles.
More than 175 pieces of heavy equipment from Setco Grading, a company Thomas owns, is to be sold Wednesday.
“We’re just downsizing,” Thomas told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “We’ve got too much equipment right now in this world. We’re keeping some of it, but we’re selling a good bit. It’s just crazy to pay interest on it.”
Among the items to be auctioned: 10 Peterbilt twin-axle dump trucks, six Caterpillar crawler tractors and 12 hydraulic excavators.
Thomas said he already sold equipment in auctions in Orlando and Houston.
Auction manager Darrin Hogeboom called it “one of the nicest spreads of equipment I’ve ever seen up for sale at a public auction.”
Hogeboom, regional manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, said the equipment is late model, high quality and well-maintained and hasn’t been used a lot.
“Like anything Stan does, it’s top of the line. He bought the best,” said Hogeboom.
Thomas’s equipment will be among the 1,900 items that Ritchie Bros. will auction at its Newnan facility.Thomas said he’s selling about 80 percent of what he owned, while keeping enough to finish projects underway. He hopes the three auctions will raise $30 million to repay bank debt.
Thomas, who is based in Newnan, is known locally for his “power center” shopping developments but took on larger, riskier ventures during the boom years. As the Great Recession hit, he was involved in more than 15 large developments at one time.
He has laid off hundreds of employees and filed for bankruptcy protection on several projects.
When asked about the economy now, he said, “I feel better. We’re fighting to get through it all.”
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