A
pioneer in the transportation industry, Perry Mandera leveraged his knowledge
and skill as a truck driver, turning it into a $100 million-plus business. After
starting The Custom Companies, Inc., in 1986, he broadened the scope of
services traditionally provided in the shipping field. The full-service firm
does it all: truckload and less-than-truckload shipments, domestic and
international airfreight forwarding, and local and dedicated-contract cartage.
Perry Mandera and his staff use the personal approach while working to meet and
exceed shippers’ needs. Under his direction, The Custom Companies received the
Pat Summerall Award in transportation as Champions of the Industry.
Following
his graduation from high school, Perry Mandera joined the United States Marine
Corps Reserves, where he gained his truck-driving savvy. Upon completing his
active duty, he bought a cargo van and picked up and delivered shipments
throughout the greater Chicago area before getting into the transportation
business in a major way. Active in the industry, he serves on the Board of
Directors of the Illinois Trucking Association, which named him one of the Top
100 American Transportation Executives of the Millennium. Mr. Mandera also
serves on the boards of the Walter & Connie Payton Foundation and the Jesse
White Tumbling Team.
With
a heart as big as his business mind, the entrepreneur has gone above and beyond
in providing community service. In response to the devastation caused by
Hurricane Katrina, for instance, he sent more than 40 truckloads of food and
other necessities to Mississippi and Louisiana. Focusing mainly on cancer
research and children’s causes, he formed his own nonprofit organization, Custom
Cares Charities. In other firsts, which entrepreneurs tend to accumulate, Perry
Mandera became the youngest person elected as a Ward Committeeman in Chicago and
the youngest fellow named Man of the Year by the Italian American Executives of
Transportation.
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