This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.

Before I visited with Mike McKee, owner of TNT Auction in Salt Lake City, I wondered why a company, much less an auction company, would name itself after a deadly explosive.

Well, I soon learned that 20 years ago, the partners voted to name the company TNT to stand for "today, not tomorrow," That name, and the philosophy of taking care of business matters right away, has served the company well. In fact, TNT Auction has experienced explosive growth since 1986, its first year in business, when gross sales were about $300,000. TNT's gross sales now reach between $25 million and $30 million each year.

Mike tells me that the first thing he ever auctioned was his own excavation equipment. As a young man, he owned an excavation company and one day, while attending a government auction in Texas, it dawned on him that he had the skills to become an auctioneer. He had experience as a radio DJ and in radio promotions. Mike attended auction school in North Carolina and auctioned all of his equipment. He has been auctioning ever since.

In its 20-year history, TNT Auction has auctioned everything from an airplane to a submarine. In 1997, the company moved to a new 10,000-square-foot building on a 24-acre lot in Salt Lake City, where it holds public auctions for both government and privately owned property.

Often, TNT will combine property from multiple government entities or several businesses and hold mega auctions with millions of dollars in inventory and multiple auctioneers. When I talked to Mike, TNT had just completed an auction that included 650 large pieces of equipment and property from more than 1,000 lots.

Mike tells me TNT's auctions consist of a wide variety of inventory, from highway patrol cars and dump trucks, to car stereos and jewelry. Between 600 and 1,200 people attend each sale, and TNT Auction sells about three items every minute.

For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.

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