Independent buyer's agent · No stock to sell · We work for you, not the seller
Looking for Rototilt, Engcon, Steelwrist or another specialist tiltrotator? Euro Plant Finder acts as your independent buyer's agent in the UK and Europe — finding the right equipment, checking it on the ground, negotiating on your behalf and helping you understand the landed economics before you commit.
Getting machinery into Canada means meeting Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) customs requirements. Canada (CFIA) also prohibits soil-contaminated imports and explicitly covers earth-moving machinery and vehicles, so used construction plant must arrive clean and may be inspected. We manage the export documentation, commercial invoice, HS code classification and clean-down. Exact duties, taxes, certificates and inspections are confirmed upfront per machine, route and origin — so clearance at Vancouver, Halifax or Montreal goes smoothly.
Brand, model, excavator size/weight class, coupler or attachment details, budget and Canadian destination if you know them. A rough brief is enough to start.
Canada has excellent mainstream machinery supply. Where the European market becomes more interesting is specialist equipment and particular configurations that are harder to find locally. We search the UK and European dealer, auction and used-equipment market on your behalf rather than trying to sell you stock of our own.
The UK has one of the deepest used-plant auction markets in the world. Machines come out of hire fleets, contractor disposals and finance recoveries, and they sell on a fixed public calendar to whoever turns up. It's an opportunity if you're standing in the room and a gamble if you're not — and from Canada, you're not.
Rob at a UK machinery auction
Sale dates well ahead of time, including Euro Auctions and Ritchie Bros, so you can plan around them instead of hearing about a machine after it's gone.
Catalogues are published days or weeks before each sale. We send them over as soon as they're out, so you're looking at the same list as the buyers who'll be in the room.
In person, with photographs and video. Hours, condition, and an honest read on how the machine has been treated — plus anything we could not check, such as whether it could be started. We tell you what we saw, not what we assumed.
To your written limit and never above it.
Declaration, commercial invoice, certificate of origin, transport to port, shipping — the same as any other machine we source. Your own customs broker handles import at that end.
The whole point is that somebody who knows machinery has stood in front of the lot before you commit a dollar to it — and has told you honestly what they found.
You register your own account with the auction house, you fund it, and you pay the auction house directly. Euro Plant Finder never holds your money, never bids as principal and never owns the machine — we act as your agent, to the limit you set in writing, and invoice our fee separately.
We'll only ever represent one buyer on any given lot. We can't advise two customers on the same machine while holding both their maximum bids, so if a lot is already spoken for we'll tell you it's taken — and nothing else about it.
Send us a lot number, or just tell us what you're hunting for and we'll watch the sales for you. Start an enquiry →
You tell us what you need. We do the searching, the travelling, the negotiating, and all the paperwork.
Tell us the machine — spec, year, range, hours, attachments and budget. Or just describe what you need it to do.
Dealer networks, auctions, private sellers. We find the right candidates and shortlist honestly — not just the easiest options.
We verify the seller, gather the evidence needed to assess the machine and arrange a physical inspection where you want it or where the risk justifies it. Scope and cost are agreed first.
We negotiate on your behalf. The seller invoices you and you pay the seller directly. Where appropriate, we help make sure the agreed price, condition and seller commitments are clearly documented before payment.
Export declaration, clean-down so the machine arrives free of soil, commercial invoice, bill of lading, CBSA import documentation, shipping from a UK or European port — all coordinated.
Tracked from port to delivery. One person responsible for the whole chain.
"If it turns up worn out or misrepresented, I'm stuck with downtime on a live job — and that costs me far more than the machine."
From Canada, you cannot fly over every time you see a machine. You're relying on photos, seller descriptions, and hope. We remove that gamble entirely.
We verify the seller, check hours, undercarriage wear and service history, and gather the evidence needed to assess the machine honestly. A physical inspection is arranged where you want it or where the risk justifies it.
We assess who you're buying from — not just the machine. The biggest risk with an overseas purchase is the seller. We deal with that before any money moves.
Canadian import requirements need correct documentation and HS code classification, and CFIA prohibits soil-contaminated imports — explicitly covering earth-moving plant — so the machine must arrive clean and may be inspected. We manage the export paperwork and clean-down and coordinate with your Canadian customs broker so clearance goes smoothly.
Transport to port, export declarations, ocean freight, bill of lading — all coordinated. You don't have to manage separate freight, customs and shipping contacts.
If it works on a site or a civil project, we can find it, check it, and get it to Canada. A rough spec is all we need.
No inventory to clear. No seller commission. We may know and work with the seller, but the seller does not pay us. Our commercial relationship is with you.
We can source several machines from different sellers across the UK and Europe, consolidate them at a UK or European port, and ship in one container — cutting your per-machine shipping cost and managing every step to your Canadian yard.
We represent you — not the seller. No inventory, no bias, no incentive to push a particular machine.
Arranged where you want it or where the risk justifies it. Not bought blind off a listing or trusted from photos alone.
Unless we complete your deal. Inspection costs quoted upfront, agreed before we travel.
The UK and European market can offer deeper specialist stock, different configurations and attractive pricing on particular machines and attachments. But importing is not automatically cheaper. We compare the equipment price, likely transport and relevant import costs before recommending that you proceed.
Hundreds of UK and European dealers, auctions and private sellers — a wider pool to search than the Canadian domestic market, where supply has been notably tight through early 2026.
For the right machine, the UK and European price — including shipping and our fee — can still come in below what's available at home, especially while Canadian domestic supply remains constrained. Particularly for larger, older, or specialist machinery.
European-built machines — Volvo, JCB, Liebherr, Manitou — are often well-serviced and come with full dealer records. Condition varies, which is exactly why we verify before you commit.
Some models and configurations aren't available in Canada at all. If there's something specific you're after, the UK and European market is often where it exists.
The questions that matter — answered honestly before you pick up the phone.
Ocean freight from a UK port to Vancouver, Halifax or Montreal typically takes 3–5 weeks. Add 2–3 weeks for the search, inspection and purchase phase. A realistic timeline from brief to delivery is 6–10 weeks, depending on your requirements and destination province.
CBSA requires correct import documentation, HS code classification and a bill of lading. Canada (CFIA) also prohibits soil-contaminated imports and explicitly covers earth-moving machinery, so used construction plant must arrive clean and may be inspected. Euro Plant Finder prepares the UK export side and clean-down; we coordinate with your Canadian customs broker for import clearance. Exact duties, taxes, certificates and inspections are confirmed upfront per machine, route and origin.
You pay the seller directly — no money passes through Euro Plant Finder. Before any payment moves, we verify the seller (business identity, trading history, physical premises) and arrange inspection of the machine where you want it or where the risk justifies it. A purchase contract is prepared between you and the seller to protect your interests.
The buying agent fee is success-only — nothing to pay if we don't complete your deal. Inspection travel costs are quoted and agreed upfront before we travel. You pay the seller directly; freight, shipping insurance and Canadian import costs are also quoted before you commit.
Yes. Multiple machines can be sourced from different UK and European sellers, consolidated at a UK or European port, and shipped in one container — significantly reducing the per-machine shipping cost.
We verify every seller and gather the evidence needed to assess the machine honestly, arranging a physical inspection where you want it or where the risk justifies it — specifically to prevent this. We check hours, condition, undercarriage wear and service history, and report what we find honestly, including anything that leads us to recommend walking away. If we find a problem, you know before you buy, not after it arrives. In the rare event something is genuinely not as agreed, we don't walk away — we stay involved and pursue it with the seller on your behalf, doing everything within our power to represent your best interests.
Yes. You register your own account with the auction house and fund it yourself — we never hold your money or bid in our own name. You give us your maximum in writing, we inspect the lot beforehand and report honestly on its condition, and we bid to your limit and never above it. If you win, you pay the auction house directly and we invoice our fee separately.
Send us the machine you need — makes, models, a year range, hours, budget, any attachments — or just describe the problem. No obligation, and no purchase, no sourcing fee.
