Founder of major family-owned Ohio-based trucking company passes away at age 77

This week, the founder of R+L Carriers based in Wilmington, Ohio, passed away following an illness.

Ralph L. “Larry” Roberts, Sr. died on March 19 in Ocala, Florida, at the age of 77.

According to reports, Roberts passed away following a battle with dementia.

Roberts founded the company that would become R+L Carriers as a teen in 1965 with a single truck he used to haul furniture. Following the purchase of interstate and intrastate authority from Mayfair Moving and Storage, the company expanded operations.

Today, the R+L Carriers fleet consists of more than 21,000 tractors and trailers.

The company remains family-owned and operated and employs around 18,000 workers. It provides LTL, Truckload, Expedited and Cross-Border Shipping services to customers in all 50 states, Mexico, and Canada.

Roberts famously said, “Once you get a whiff of that diesel smell, you never out grow it.”