Asset valuation helps Coffey County bring in additional $82,000 from surplus vehicles
Coffey County Highway Department
Coffey County, KS
Coffey County, Kansas sought to dispose of 16 assets from its highway department including heavy machinery and trucks. Uncertain about the equipment’s value and reliant on local auctions with limited reach, the department used an asset valuation tool and an online auction platform to recoup $185,996 from the sale.
Topics Covered
Cost
Initial: Zero Upfront Cost
Funding
General Fund/Existing Public Funds
Project Status
Operational since 2021
Gov Champion
Highway Department
Problem Addressed
The highway department in Coffey County, Kansas, needed to dispose of 16 pieces of surplus equipment and recoup capital from the assets.
The equipment — used wheel loaders, a portable pugmill plant, a lattice boom crane, trucks, and trailers — ranged in age from roughly five to 30 years.
The storage, maintenance, and administrative costs associated with the equipment had taken a financial toll on the department and made disposal a necessary choice. Disposing of the equipment presented its own challenges, including determining the optimal time to liquidate assets, asset valuation, finding the most lucrative avenue for selling the assets, and marketing the assets prior to the sale.
In order to attain the most accurate asset pricing possible, reduce the demand on internal resources that would be required to market and sell assets and reach a large number of potential buyers, the department sought alternatives to its traditional processes.
Solutions Used
The highway department used an asset valuation tool to learn what its equipment was worth and sold the equipment using an auction platform.
After implementing Sandhills Global’s Value Insight Portal (VIP) and looking over the database of real-time valuations, the department realized its assets were worth more than had been expected.
The department gathered quotes for the equipment from regional auctioneers via Sandhills Global’s auction platform. After the department chose a specific auctioneer, the equipment was put up for auction as a consignment package.
Bidders using Sandhills Global’s auction platform placed 1,133 bids on the equipment package, and a total of $185,996 was recouped by the county department. This total was approximately $82,000 more than had been anticipated by the department.
Outcomes
1
Coffey County’s highway department was able to determine the asset valuation of its aging equipment and trucks and price them correctly
2
The highway department was assisted by a regional auctioneer to list and market the surplus equipment, reducing the workload on county staff and resulting in a professional listing
3
The department maximized the reach of its equipment auction, resulting in 1,133 bids from bidders in North and South America
4
County recouped $185,996 from the sale of the entire package of trucks and equipment exceeding the original expectation of $104,000
5
The department can use the funds previously used to store, maintain, and monitor its surplus equipment toward other priorities and projects
Who Should Consider
Towns, cities, counties, states, or any public sector entities that seek to improve the asset valuation process and make more informed decisions.
Last Updated
Mar 25th, 2022Keywords
