The growth of online auctions of used factory machinery provide opportunities for managers worldwide to pick up brand name parts and equipment they may need to start new lines or to upgrade their
plants.
The increased availability of second hand food machinery also helps smaller companies get into the market quickly without having to make a big spend on new equipment — providing processors with
the ability to make adjustments to their production lines faster. Trends in the food industry have also been relatively unpredictable in recent years, leading more and more companies to rely on the
used equipment market to keep apace with constant changes.
The Branford Group and Rabin Worldwide will conduct the online auction next week. It features nine complete processing and packaging lines from two of Winn-Dixie’s food processing plants. The plant
in Jacksonville, Florida produced spices, tea, coffee and instant mixes. The plant Fitzgerald, Georgia made peanut butter, mayonnaise, syrups, ketchup and jellies.
The equipment auction is being done by order of the US bankruptcy court. Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy reorganization in February this year.
James Gardner, Branford’s senior vice president, said online auctions of used food processing equipment are becoming more and more popular among buyers and sellers alike. He estimates the Winn-Dixie auction could pull in over $3 million.
The auction will be conducted on the 7 and 8 December, live over the Internet, with buyers entering their bids from their desktop computers over secure connections.

Information on the auctions is available at ww.thebrandfordgroup.com and www.rabin.com.

Posted: 11|30|05 at 10:34 am. Filed under: US News.