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    After 90 Years, Earthmoving Family Lists Late-Model Fleet as Major Rural Projects Wrap Up
    After 90 Years, Earthmoving Family Lists Late-Model Fleet as Major Rural Projects Wrap Up
    News

    After 90 Years, Earthmoving Family Lists Late-Model Fleet as Major Rural Projects Wrap Up

    05 August 2026

    Robert Portbury offers more than 100 lots of late-model gear through Ritchie Bros, as the longstanding customer disperses equipment following the completion of two major rural projects

    [GEELONG, VIC — 06 August 2026] — After more than 90 years in earthmoving and civil contracting, the Portbury family business is putting roughly half of its 200-strong equipment fleet up for sale, following the recent completion of two major rural projects.
    "With those projects finished, this equipment isn't needed on our books right now," Portbury said. "It's the right time to move it on to someone who can put it to work."
    More than 100 lots from the fleet will go under the hammer at Australia's Unreserved Auction, a Ritchie Bros. event running August 19–20. The business has sold many times with Ritchie Bros. over the years — Robert and his father, Milton, attended Ritchie Bros' very first auction in Australia, held at Laverton North back in 2002. 
    The sale spans a broad cross-section of earthmoving and civil plant — dozers, motor graders, elevating scrapers, excavators and rollers alongside articulated dump trucks, water wagons, prime movers, side and water tanker trailers, and portable site infrastructure such as mobile offices and a concrete batching plant — with a number of items less than 12 months old, reflecting a fleet that has been kept current rather than run into the ground. 
    Robert and his father, Milton, attended Ritchie Bros' very first auction in Australia, held at Laverton North back in 2002. 
    Linc Group traces its roots back more than 90 years, started by Robert's father and carried forward through Robert's own long career in the industry. Over the decades the business has taken on earthmoving and civil work often on remote, transient projects that took crews and equipment far from home for extended stretches. 
    Robert Portbury & his son Mark.

    Robert Portbury & his son Mark.

    Robert has also spent 40 years working alongside longtime friend and associate Finlay Massey, a partnership that has spanned much of the company's recent history. Robert has also sold three businesses onto the ASX over the course of his career.
    Portbury says the timing comes down to the natural end point of major projects. Two major rural projects have recently wound down, closing out a chapter of large-scale, out-of-town contracts — and with that work complete, the equipment used on them is now surplus to the fleet's immediate needs. 

    Among the standout lots in the sale: 

    • A 2022 Cat 150 AWD Motor Grader, one of the newer additions to the fleet
    • A 2019 Cat 623K Elevating Motor Scraper, a specialist machine less commonly seen on the open market
    • A pair of Cat water wagons — a 2017 Cat 730C2 and 2018 Cat 725C2, both high-capacity units used on the fleet's rural project work
    • A 2020 Cat 740EJ Articulated Dump Truck, among the newer pieces of haul equipment in the sale
    • A 2024 Buffalo portable concrete batching plant, less than 12 months old
    • A 2022 Kenworth T909 sleeper-cab prime mover, representing the fleet's newer transport equipment
    The equipment will be offered as part of Australia's Unreserved Auction, running August 19–20, on Ritchie Bros' hallmark unreserved auction — where equipment sells to the highest bidder with no minimum price — an approach Robert has used many times before.
    Given the maintenance and age of the gear on offer, organisers expect strong interest from earthmoving buyers well beyond the local market, with cross-border and international interest anticipated as part of Ritchie Bros' global buyer network. 
    "Robert has been a valued customer of ours for a long time, and this consignment reflects that relationship," said Dom McGlinchey, Sales Director at Ritchie Bros. "It's a genuinely strong package of well-maintained, late-model equipment, and we're expecting plenty of interest from buyers both locally and overseas."
    Tim Shaw, Senior Territory Manager at Ritchie Bros, echoed that sentiment. "Robert and the team have always run a tight fleet, the gear coming through this sale speaks for itself. We're looking forward to seeing it go to work for its next owners."
    To access the inventory of Australia’s Unreserved Auction, click here.

    About Ritchie Bros.

    Ritchie Bros., an RB Global, Inc. (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA) company, is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offering auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with weekly featured auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance® equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; and Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service. For more information about Ritchie Bros., visit rbauction.com or for more information on RB Global, visit rbglobal.com.