978-0-9767829-1-9
0-9767829-1-X
$24.95 hardcover
6 x 9
200 pages
November
Business
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From the time Billy Prim first visited Wall Street in his early twenties, he dreamed of
building a company from the ground up and taking it public.
After his father's death when Prim was 19 and the subsequent suicide of his
grandfather, Prim took over the family grocery business and expanded it with several
convenience stores. Backyard barbecuers wanting their propane cylinders refilled
prompted Prim to start an exchange business as a sideline. When it took off, he began to
wonder if this could be the business he could take to Wall Street.
A brother-in-law in Chicago introduced him to venture capitalists and his dream
was on its way. On a photographic safari to Africa, Prim marveled at the toughness of
rhinos. Prim wanted his tanks to be just that tough, and the blue flames they produced
provided the company name, Blue Rhino.
Blue Rhino propane cylinders are now in tens of thousands of stores across the
country, instantly recognizable by millions of backyard chefs. The story of how Prim's
grit and tenacity got them there and kept them there, despite attempts by powerful people
to discourage and derail him, should inspire millions more.
about the author
Stan Swofford retired in 2006 after 38 years with the Greensboro News & Record, where
he was an award-winning investigative reporter and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He
lives in Greensboro and teaches journalism at UNC-Greensboro.
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