Trucking Executive Bill Bender Dies at 84

William “Bill” Bender, a former senior executive at IU International Corp. and co-founder of Customized Transportation Inc., died Sept. 10 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He was 84.

Bender had a hand in running several trucking companies, including Modern Transfer, Helms Express and Ryder-PIE before launching Customized in 1983.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Customized provided just-in-time distribution and dedicated contract carriage services to automobile manufacturers and other industrial companies. In 1988, the business was sold to a private investment group and later to CSX Corp.

Bender’s son, Will, said his father’s influence went beyond his job, helping to build schools in Costa Rica and providing counseling and scholarships to students at Penn State. He graduated from the school in 1958.

Bender also is survived by his wife, Olga.