Growing up in Dromore, the Keys brothers Derek, Jonnie, Trevor, Lynden and Brian learned from their parents, William and Hazel, that “the customer always comes first”.

Now the brothers have various business interests in Dromore, including Euro Auctions which has become one of the largest and fastest growing auctioneers in Europe, conducting over 30 major auctions per year from six auction sites globally. 

Despite their global reach, Manager Jonnie Keys says Euro Auctions is “quite unique” in that that the staff “would try to know every customer by their name, no matter if they are from Bangladesh or Barbados.”
“We would try to know our customers. When we were growing up, if a customer had called at any time of day or night, my mother Hazel would always have had a cup of tea ready. That ethos – that the customer always comes first – rubbed off on us.”

Impartial Reporter:

Jonnie (left) and Derek Keys, owners of Euro Auctions, Dromore.

William Keys operated as a second hand machinery trader from their Dromore home. As the Celtic Tiger approached Ireland, William and his son Derek found themselves buying and selling more excavators and construction machinery. In 1998, Derek expanded into auctioning and, 18-years later, Euro Auctions conducts unreserved auctions of industrial plant, construction and agricultural equipment around the world. The company employs 70 staff in its Dromore headquarters and 50 staff on their sites in Leeds, Germany, Spain, Australia and America. They also have sales reps working in Eastern Europe, France, Italy, Portugal and Russia.

“We are not on all continents yet but we would like to be at some stage,” Jonnie Keys tells The Impartial Reporter.
Euro Auctions is “growing year on year” and there are plans for further expansion in America on the horizon.

Derek, Jonnie and their team are currently planning for an auction in Dromore next Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5. By the end of 2016 they will have conducted over 30 auctions worldwide. Next year, they hope to achieve 35-36 auctions. In 2015, auction turnover was £255 million and the year-end forecast is for a 12 per cent increase.

“Most of our customers have grown with us from the start. We have guys that have attended all the auctions and they keep coming back,” says Jonnie.
“The local auction in Dromore is seen as a social thing. This year we are going to try and step it up from five to six auctions in Dromore. For locals, it’s a chance to network, see who has got jobs going, find out what’s going on and to ask us for advice.

“My father enjoys it. People who come to auctions still like to see my father who still goes to the auctions on his walking aid.”
The equipment market is a barometer of the world economy, Jonnie explains. He outlines that a rise in the export of used construction equipment is a sure-fire way to spot a struggling economy.

Currently, Brazil is trying to get rid of surplus equipment after the world cup; equipment is coming out of South Africa because mining and manufacturing have slowed; the Australian mining industry has slowed for the past two years and they are not buying in equipment, however, smaller machines are in demand for infrastructure work which has picked up. Dubai was traditionally the trading centre for the Middle East, but, because of the conflict, equipment that was sent from Western Europe is now returning from Iraq, Iran, Kurdistan, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

According to Jonnie, “the UK’s economy at the minute is going fairly OK. Southern Ireland is growing and you see the demand for equipment, especially with the euro at £1: €1.12. Western Europe are still strong – they are buying stuff.”

Being based in the UK is important in the equipment trade. Euro Auctions’ Leeds base is the “mainstay” of the business – the August auction at Leeds was worth £31.5 million and was the biggest auction in the last few years in Europe.

“For the manufacturers, the UK is the most competitive market in the world. Because we are buying so many machines and changing them, it’s important to have a foothold in the UK market. This is why, traditionally, machines would be cheapest depending on the currency in the UK,” Jonnie explains.

He adds: “The UK is a short term view – guys take out finance at three-four years. In America it’s five years. In Germany it’s seven to 10 years.
“Plant hire makes up 70 per cent of the total UK market, compared to 30 per cent in Germany. The rental companies have no maintenance. They put the equipment in, run it for three-four years and sell it on. 70 per cent means there’s a lot of equipment floating about.

“The other thing about the UK is, because of the old colonial system, it’s quite easy for people e.g. from West Indies, Pakistan, India to get a visa for the UK, therefore, a lot of traders are based there.”
Online live bidding is also a huge part of the business – £10 million worth of equipment was sold online at the last auction.
Brexit has been good for Euro Acutions in the short-term because “equipment prices are up and there’s a lot of demand for it.”

Looking ahead, Jonnie says “in the long run no one knows what impact Brexit will have. There’s a possibility of borders and paper work but I don’t foresee that much difference because of the advance in technology over the past 20 years. If customs return I believe it will be a matter of doing it online and getting it scanned. I don’t believe there will be a material impact.”
Can Euro Auctions future proof for Brexit? “No, not really,” says Jonnie. “When economies are growing, like the UK and Irish economy is growing, there’s a massive demand for equipment and we can be quite busy. When the market is regressing, there is a surplus of equipment and that means that we also are busy selling stuff out.

“In 2010-11, when the Irish recession hit, the old machines that had been bought at the beginning of the boom and had been in Ireland for 10-15 years, were going back out to Pakistan, Bangladesh etc; that cleared the whole country out. Now, if guys are going to do any work, they are going to have to buy, which is good.”

Jonnie adds: “We’ve seen customers, grow, regress and now come back on so we try and help them move through that repositioning of their market.”
While Euro Auctions is a leader in Europe, it faces stiff competition in America which is noted as being the world leader in auctioneering. Euro Auctions only employ American auctioneers, flying them in to each auction, because they are faster, can sell a lot per minute, and because “it’s a bit more show-manly.” They also use American parade style auction rings, which allow the bidders to see the machine in operation. 

Jonnie explains that Euro Auctions has plans to expand and “America is one area that we have lined up for potential growth.” He adds: “As we grow our sites around the world, we will grow our core business because we try to do most of the administration and marketing here from the head office. If everything goes according to plan, we hope to employ an extra 15 people over the next two years.”

The best piece of business advice Jonnie ever received was: 
“If you can get a customer, you need to hold onto him. If you get him as a buyer, you’ll get him as a seller.” In his spare time he enjoys following rugby and spending time with his eight-year-old twins.