Marvin Henderson
Chief Executive Officer
Marvin Henderson attended the Reppert School of Auctioneering and began calling auctions in 1957. Early in his career, he auctioned everything from pencils to tables. He moved on to auctioning antiques and farm equipment. By the 1970's he was auctioning heavy construction machinery and equipment. This is when he found his niche. Today, Marvin Henderson has become known as one of the leading heavy construction auctioneers.
Marvin founded Henderson Auctions in 1957 and his son, Jeff is now President of the company. Today, Henderson Auctions is one of the largest auction houses in North America, if not the world.
The Henderson auction yard in Livingston Louisiana covers over fifty acres. This includes a large pavilion for customer seating during drive-through auctions, offices for day-to-day operations, excellent concession and rest room facilities, customer registration and lounge area. It also provides a large equipment make-ready facility including a mechanics shop, welding and metal working, cleaning, sandblasting and painting areas.
Marvin helped pioneer the sales of surplus equipment at auction by the Louisiana State Department of Transportation. He also introduced the auction process to shipyards and fabrication facilities. He conducts auctions all over the United States and in Mexico. His sales are often attended by thousands. Many of his auctions are carried live on the internet. Bids often come in from around the world. Over the course of a year, sales of over 100 million dollars are exchanged at auction.
Sales of items for over one million dollars are not particularly unusual. One memorable accomplishment occurred in 2004 when Marvin Henderson sold a Manitowac lift crane in Aransas Pass Texas for 1 million dollars. It was one of seven cranes sold that day for a total of $3.6 million dollars. The entire auction lasted only forty-two minutes. Marvin has sold several other items for a million dollars or more including barges, offshore drill platforms, and other large industrial equipment.
Mr. Henderson still takes time to conduct liquidations for Mom and Pop businesses and applies as much of his expertise to these as he does to his much larger sales. Even though Marvin has been a busy and successful auctioneer throughout his career, he spends time mentoring the younger auctioneers. He welcomes them to his sales and acknowledges their presence. He is credited by many young auctioneers with helping them start their careers. Indeed, the name Henderson is synonymous with auctions, not only in Louisiana, but throughout the United States.
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