equipment auctions | Factory equipment auctions doubled due to the fall in activity

Factory equipment auctions doubled due to the fall in activity




Some sectors liquidate machines at 50% of their value. Others do not find buyers and go to scrap yards. Crisis and new productive matrix.


Thursday 27, 15 h. A auctioneer performs an auction of machines and tools "for cessation of activity" in a metallurgical plant in Villa Lynch, in the industrial center of San Martín. | Photo: SERGIO PIEMONTE
Private auctions - non-judicial - for closing businesses doubled in recent years. "80% of the auctions that are made are by cessation. Before 40% were for this reason and the rest was for retrofitting, "says Adrián Mercado, one of the leaders in the sector.

The operations have a lot of liquidation. "They are sold at a value of 50% of what they left last year," added the auctioneer and real estate broker. Among the products where there are more auctions of machines are textiles, footwear, clothing, plastic, auto parts and furniture.

On the other hand, the demand fell. "The number of potential buyers fell by 60%. They are few and appear by specific machines, "said Mercado. "The industrialists are very hard. They like to go shopping, "he added. However, the success of auctions is less and less assured. While prices may be convenient, the opening of imports adds to competition.

In some cases, such as textiles, for example, where the item was designated by the Government for "productive transformation", used machines are sold as scrap because they need space in the plant, for example. "They also have to pay to get it out of there and to take it to the scrapyards," explained Mercado.

"I sold $ 100,000 as scrap," said Raul Hutin, head of Scalter SRL and secretary of the Chamber of National Business Entities (CEEN). The publication of a notice costs around $ 10 thousand. And the auctioneers, moreover, have a commission of approximately 10%. "I walk three or four SMEs per day who want to see how they do to collect money for compensation," explained the broker.

Renewal. "The nature of the business has a bit of countercyclical. When the companies are adjusted they resort to the auction, there is a lot of supply and the price goes down, "explained Federico Failace de Narvaez Bid, for whom there is an upturn in construction machinery due to the reactivation of road works and the part corresponding to the cessation It is less than that linked to renewal.
The firm operates as a "free auction market" and is dedicated to the corporate segment, in many cases multinationals that point to new equipment. Among the segments that move are also construction, mining and oil. The used car market, meanwhile, is weak, with strong competition of 0 km. Within the smaller ones, there are the particular auctions, gastronomic and small industries.

These auctions are reached before bankruptcy, as a way to find cash to settle debts and move on. And the payments are cash.

In the previous step, the industries shrink personnel. From Cappitel, one of the SME metallurgical chambers, they point out that they are not yet closing or selling because they bet to see if the policy changes. The reactivation depends on factors such as modifying the "national buy" to strengthen the industry.

Sectors In addition to the industry, there are also commercial sectors where demand fell. The firm Claudio Izsak is dedicated to gastronomic auctions, one of the sectors where consumption showed drops of up to 20%. In its beginnings, it focused on the industrial segment. Today, in the case of shops, restaurant owners come to auctions for another reason: the sale of goodwill fell.

"Before reaching the auction, it's about selling the goodwill. There is little demand and then the firms arrive indebted to the auction. In commercial properties the rent increased too, in addition to the impact of the cost of light, "said one of the partners, Raul Romeo.

"I need the space for reconversion"

The textile Raúl Hutí topped industrial looms as scrap, which he bought in the 1980s. They were US $ 100 thousand in machines. "Today the flat looms have no market neither here nor abroad," he explained. "I need the space to reconvert and save the industrial structure," said Hutin, who added "a high-tech machine" to improve competitiveness. But he clarified: "The raw material (polypropylene) is still expensive. There is a single supplier, Petroquímica Cuyo, protected by non-automatic licenses while the fabric is automatically licensed, "he added. The pre-chemical sector is one of those that remain on the list where the government is reviewing the concentration and seeks to lower the costs of the raw material. However, for Hutín there is also strong competition from imported ones. "Today there are 8 containers of 40 feet / cloth per week," he complained.