2 Machinery Marketplace Success Stories [2025]
A machinery marketplace is a platform that enables small and medium-sized contracting businesses to be able to buy heavy machinery used in the construction, demolition, and recycling industry, direct from the manufacturer.
This industry can overlook these businesses when they approach dealers due to the smaller average deal value, and a marketplace bridges this gap to change how machines are bought and sold.
You can build this as a profitable business with a lean team and smart marketing.
In this list, you'll find real-world machinery marketplace success stories and very profitable examples of starting a machinery marketplace that makes money.
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1. Machinery Partner ($4.8M/year)
Ciaran, the founder of Machinery Partner, came up with the idea after realizing the large service gap between machinery dealers and customers in the heavy equipment industry. He saw an opportunity to digitize the industry and started reaching out to end-users to recruit more dealers, boosting revenue by 47% in just 18 months. Inspired by active Facebook groups and the trust-building power of content, Ciaran launched Machinery Partner and has since sold nearly half a million dollars worth of machinery per month, with plans to raise financing for rapid growth.
How much money it makes: $4.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
How many people on the team: 6
Machinery Partner's founder Ciaran made almost $500k in machinery sales last month targeting small to medium-sized contracting businesses in the US and aims to become the go-to digital dealership for heavy equipment, with its standout quality being accessible remotely, delivered directly from manufacturers.
2. Exapro ($1.7M/year)
Thomas Bordier, along with a few partners, revived a failing B2B marketplace, Exapro, in 2003, and has since grown the business to a turnover of over $1.7 million per year. Their platform connects buyers and sellers of used industrial machines worldwide, and they also promote over 300 auctions annually. In addition, they are working on a new project, Valorexo, to help value used machines.
How much money it makes: $1.7M/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 21
French entrepreneur Thomas Bordier took over a failing B2B marketplace in 2003 which now grows the industrial machinery resale market with 300 yearly auctions and an annual $1.7 million turnover from over 25 million worldwide assets promoting offers for over 600 transactions yearly and now launching a new project, Valorexo to create better pricing for used machinery.
