The auction division of Loeb Winternitz LLC reports "surprisingly good" interest in the disposal of older materials handling equipment at an inactive Virginia factory.

"Most of the forklifts brought more than estimated", although it was an older fleet with equipment in "good to bad condition", says Charles Winternitz, president of Chicago, Illinois-based Loeb Winternitz Industrial Auctioneers. "We had a few large buyers."

In the materials handling arena, the auctioneer secured acceptable bids for 44 Hyster, Nissan and Caterpillar forklifts with lifting capacities of 2,500lb-11,000lb (1,125kg-4,950kg), one MEC 22 aerial platform lift and a 20,000 gallon (76,000 litre) propane tank. The lifting equipment at the idle 830,000sqft (74,700sqm) Thomasville Furniture plant was built during the 1986-2000 model years.

"There was more demand for these units" in Virginia compared with "softer than expected demand" for the forklifts at a July auction in Los Angeles, California, he says.

In Virginia, "the action was great although we were concerned because it was the day after the [stock] market got fishy," Winternitz says.

"People to certain degree are worn out with negative [economic] press" articles, and "people in manufacturing and other businesses recognise they have work to do."

The auction at the Thomasville Furniture plant, in Appomattox, was on 10 August. Manufacturing and assembly operations had ceased in March. As recently as 2007, the plant had 600 workers.

Furniture Brands International Inc, of Saint Louis, Missouri, bought Thomasville Furniture Industries in 1995 and markets Thomasville furniture.