Winternitz
Winternitz is a privately held, family-run industrial auction and appraisal firm founded in 1894, headquartered in Glenview, IL, that conducts online auctions and certified valuations of entire plants, complex facilities, and surplus equipment across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for secured creditors, bankruptcy courts, and corporate sellers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1894
- HeadquartersGlenview, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Winternitz does
Winternitz is a privately held, family-operated industrial auction and appraisal firm founded in 1894 and headquartered in Glenview, Illinois. The company conducts timed online auctions of industrial equipment, machinery, and entire facilities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, serving secured creditors, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, financial institutions, turnaround management professionals, and privately and publicly held companies undergoing liquidation, downsizing, or plant closures. Charles Winternitz, the current principal, holds individual auctioneer licenses in Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas, and Ohio, allowing the firm to legally execute court-ordered and secured-party sales across multiple jurisdictions.
The firm's commercial stack centers on three integrated services: timed online auctions of entire plants, complex facilities, or multiple locations; certified market-based equipment valuations built on proprietary transaction data accumulated over 131 years; and a Recovery Platforms module that provides structured financial options to help sellers mitigate risk during asset disposition. Auctions are hosted on BidSpotter and Proxibid to access broader industrial buyer pools, while direct relationships with bankruptcy trustees and secured creditors drive inbound mandate flow. Named engagements span construction utilities (Lyttle Utilities), broadcasting (Major Cable TV Station), logistics (Pitney Bowes Savoye parcel sortation), glass fabrication (Edge-Lit Mirror & Glass), and furniture manufacturing (Ashley Furniture multi-site), evidencing breadth across industrial verticals.
Winternitz monetizes primarily through a flat 18% buyer's premium charged to winning bidders, supplemented by tiered seller-side administration fees in secured-party and bankruptcy liquidations and by professional appraisal fees. The firm employs 11-50 staff, is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, and partners with peer auction houses (Joseph Finn Co., Alex Lyon & Son, Rosen Systems) to co-execute larger engagements. No AI/ML capabilities, public revenue disclosure, or technology-focused product launches are evidenced in available materials.
Winternitz firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Winternitz
- Legal name
- Winternitz
- Website
- https://winternitz.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1894
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Winternitz is a privately held, family-run industrial auction and appraisal firm founded in 1894, headquartered in Glenview, IL, that conducts online auctions and certified valuations of entire plants, complex facilities, and surplus equipment across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for secured creditors, bankruptcy courts, and corporate sellers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Winternitz industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Auction & Appraisal Services
- NAICS
- Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4238), Industrial Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423840), Service Establishment Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42385)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Industrial Machinery & Equipment (5084), Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (5080), Wholesale-Construction & Mining (No Petro) Machinery & Equip (5082)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Liquidation Auctions & Asset Disposition Retail (CRAEAFAG)
Keywords
Where Winternitz is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Glenview
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Winternitz business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Auction Buyer Premium: Winternitz charges an 18% Buyer's Premium on auction purchases, collected from winning bidders. This is the primary revenue stream for auction services.
- Tiered Administration Fees: Administrative fees charged to sellers, particularly in secured party liquidations and bankruptcy proceedings.
- Equipment Appraisals: Certified equipment valuations provided to clients for market-based solutions, integrally connected to auction services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard auction buyer premium |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Seller administration fees |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Winternitz product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Winternitz conducts timed online auctions of industrial equipment, machinery, and facilities — including entire plants, complex manufacturing facilities, and multi-location liquidations — primarily for secured creditors, bankruptcy courts, and companies undergoing downsizing or closure. The firm also provides certified market-based equipment appraisals leveraging proprietary historical sales data from more than 130 years of first-hand equipment transactions.
Product overview
Winternitz is an industrial liquidation and valuation firm offering a unified platform of auction and appraisal services. The core offering consists of Industrial Auctions for disposing of entire plants, complex facilities, or multiple locations, supported by Certified Equipment Appraisals that provide market-based valuations leveraging proprietary market data. The portfolio is complemented by Recovery Platforms that offer structured financial options to mitigate risk during asset disposition. The company serves diverse clients including privately and publicly held companies, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, financial institutions, and turnaround professionals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Winternitz Industrial Auctioneers: Full company brand name used in professional contexts
Products and services
- Industrial Auctions Conduct of timed online auctions for disposing of industrial equipment, machinery, and facilities — including entire plants, complex manufacturing facilities, and multi-location liquidations — for secured creditors, bankruptcy courts, and companies undergoing downsizing or closure.
- Certified Equipment Appraisals Market-based certified equipment valuations providing efficient, meticulous, and accurate market values. Leverages proprietary market data and first-hand experience from equipment sales spanning more than a century.
- Recovery Platforms Structured financial options and recovery platforms designed to mitigate risk during asset disposition, serving various scenarios from surplus equipment sales to complete plant closures.
- National Asset Disposition Services National asset disposition and valuation services specializing in complex manufacturing facilities, selling entire plants and multiple locations, serving privately and publicly held companies, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, financial institutions, advisors, and turnaround management professionals.
Companies that use Winternitz
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Winternitz technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Winternitz partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Joseph Finn Co., Inc.coreJoint auction sale with Joseph Finn Co., Inc. for Major Cable TV Station liquidation. Charles Winternitz (OH Lic. #: 62199255569) and Paul J. Finn (OH Lic. #: 2024000200) jointly conducted the sale.
- Alex Lyon & SoncoreJoint auction partnership for Lyttle Utilities Inc. liquidation. Charles Winternitz (VA Auction Lic. #: 2905001580) and Jack Lyon (VA Auction Lic. #: 2907004340) conducted the sale together. Auction hosted on Proxibid platform.
- Rosen SystemsminorJoint auction sale held in conjunction with Rosen Systems for Alcom Triton Trailers surplus equipment liquidation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Winternitz competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Rabin Worldwide: Rabin Worldwide is an industrial auction and appraisal firm specializing in machinery, equipment, and real estate for bankruptcies and corporate restructurings. It is a direct peer in Winternitz's core service categories — plant closures, asset disposition, and certified equipment appraisals.
- Alex Lyon & Son: Alex Lyon & Son is a long-established industrial auctioneer specializing in construction equipment, trucks, and contractor assets. It is a direct peer — Winternitz has already conducted joint auctions with Alex Lyon & Son (e.g., Lyttle Utilities), and both firms target secured-creditor and bankruptcy-driven industrial liquidations with overlapping buyer bases.
- Heritage Global Partners: Heritage Global Partners is a national industrial auction, valuation, and asset disposition firm serving bankruptcy trustees, secured lenders, and corporations. It is a direct peer operating at a larger scale in the same plant-liquidation and equipment-appraisal space that Winternitz occupies.
- Rosen Systems: Rosen Systems is a Texas-based industrial auctioneer focused on machinery, equipment, and complete plant liquidations. It is a direct peer — Winternitz has held joint auctions with Rosen Systems (e.g., Alcom Triton Trailers), and both firms compete in the same Texas and Southwest industrial disposition market.
- Perry Videx: Perry Videx is a used industrial equipment dealer and auctioneer with a global buyer base across pharmaceutical, chemical, plastics, and manufacturing sectors. It is a direct peer in the used industrial equipment disposition market, complementing auction services with private treaty sales.
- Maynards Industries: Maynards is a global industrial auctioneer handling complete plant liquidations and equipment sales across multiple industries. It is a direct peer offering the same end-to-end industrial disposition service that Winternitz provides, often in overlapping verticals such as manufacturing and metalworking.
- Joseph Finn Co., Inc. Joseph Finn Co. is a Boston-based industrial auction and appraisal firm specializing in machinery, equipment, and complete plant liquidations. It is a direct peer — Winternitz jointly conducted the Major Cable TV Station auction with Joseph Finn, and both firms serve the same secured-creditor and corporate-restructuring client base.
- Tauber-Arons Inc. Tauber-Arons is a Los Angeles-based industrial auction and appraisal firm specializing in machinery, equipment, and plant liquidations for bankruptcy and secured-creditor clients. It is a direct peer, comparable in scale and service mix to Winternitz.
Broad incumbents
- Gordon Brothers: Gordon Brothers is a global advisory, valuation, and disposition firm serving retailers, brands, and financial institutions. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with Winternitz on industrial asset disposition and appraisals but operates at significantly larger scale across retail and consumer verticals.
Others
- BidSpotter: BidSpotter is an online auction marketplace that hosts industrial equipment auctions for firms including Winternitz. It is an ecosystem partner / infrastructure provider rather than a competitor — Winternitz relies on BidSpotter to reach its buyer pool, making it a channel dependency rather than a true peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Winternitz social profiles
Digital presenceWinternitz financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Winternitz leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Winternitz funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Winternitz M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Winternitz
What does Winternitz do?
Winternitz conducts timed online auctions of industrial equipment, machinery, and facilities — including entire plants, complex manufacturing facilities, and multi-location liquidations — primarily for secured creditors, bankruptcy courts, and companies undergoing downsizing or closure. The firm also provides certified market-based equipment appraisals leveraging proprietary historical sales data from more than 130 years of first-hand equipment transactions.
Is Winternitz a public or private company?
Winternitz is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Winternitz founded?
Winternitz was founded in 1894. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Winternitz based?
Winternitz is headquartered in Glenview, United States, in the North America region.
How does Winternitz make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Auction Buyer Premium is the primary driver. The others are tiered Administration Fees and equipment Appraisals.
Who are Winternitz's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Rabin Worldwide, Alex Lyon & Son, Heritage Global Partners, Rosen Systems, Perry Videx, Maynards Industries, Joseph Finn Co., Inc. and Tauber-Arons Inc.. Gordon Brothers is listed as a broad incumbent. BidSpotter is listed as an others.
Does Winternitz have an API?
No public API is recorded for Winternitz.
What industry is Winternitz in?
Winternitz's product category is Industrial Auction & Appraisal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAEAFAG, B2B Liquidation Auctions & Asset Disposition Retail. Its NAICS code is 4238 and its SIC code is 5084.