Benedict Enterprises Inc. (BEI) is one of the most visible businesses along Interstate 75 near the Monroe exit due to the sprawling line of containers than seem to stretch for hundreds of yards.
Motorists who glance to the west of I-75 can’t miss the rows and rows of containers that are available for rent or purchase or those being converted into office space or tiny homes.
Arnold Benedict, a former truck driver, and his wife Elizabeth Benedict started BEI in 1963 with two tractors and three trailers in inventory.
Now the second-generation, family-owned and operated business offers more than 1,000 trailers and is constantly changing its business model to adapt to the needs of its customers, said Lisa Benedict, vice president and daughter of Arnold and Elizabeth.
On Wednesday morning, mechanics were repairing trucks that eventually will transport trailers and containers throughout the tri-state.
Walmart is BEI’s No. 1 container customer, especially around Black Friday when the retailer needs extra space for inventory.
General manager Ryan Rupp said containers that rent for about $80 a month are more affordable and functional than storage units.
In 2019, the company opened another bay that is used to customize containers into office space typically used on construction sites. tiny homes, concession stands, even bars.
“Anything anyone wants,” said Rupp, a 2005 Middletown High School graduate who earned his welding certificate from Butler Tech.
The company offers full interior customization through its sibling company Uncontained. That business “blew up” the last several years, according to Rupp.
Benedict, a former elementary school teacher in Kentucky, said when she returned to the area and started at BEI, she was not “versed in running a trucking company.”
She’s a quick learner.
“There is so much opportunity in this business,” she said while sitting in her office that still has her parents’ names on the door. “You have to stay up with the competition or pass them. If you don’t they will run over you.”
That’s probably something her father could have said. He walked from Kentucky to Ohio after leaving school in the eighth grade and his wife was one of 13 children. Her father, a coal miner in Pennsylvania, died when she was 4.
“When I tell you they were dirt poor, I mean dirt poor,” Benedict said of her parents.
Her father died in 2012 of Alzheimer’s disease and her 96-year-old mother still works at BEI three days a week. When her mother was staying in a rehabilitation center after surgery and unable to work, she was worried she would be taken off the payroll, her daughter said.
Her daughter told her not to worry.
“She is the payroll,” Rupp said with a smile.
The company went through difficult times when interest rates skyrocketed, Benedict said. That’s when her mother insisted that she and her husband wait until all employee checks had cleared before they cashed theirs.
Her father was more of the risk taker and her mother more of the conservative, Benedict said. Her father believed in buying as much land as possible, especially near I-75.
The company has about 35 employees, many of them have worked there for more than a decade. June Wolfe, 60, the controller, has worked there for 43 years.
Benedict described the work environment as a “close-knit family. We are very blessed.”
She divorced about five years ago and changed her last name back to Benedict. She wanted her name to match that on the side of the trucks and the large sign that towers over the business.
“I’m so proud of it,” she said. “I wanted my name to be a part of it. I pray everyday for good vibes.”
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In this “What Do They Do There?“ feature, the Journal-News will profile a local business on Fridays. If you have a suggestion, please forward the business name and address to Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
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