Prime's President Named Refrigerated Carriers' Top CEO

Prime Inc., a leading international refrigerated, flatbed and liquid bulk truckload carrier headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, has announced that its president and owner, Robert Low, has been named Top CEO in the category of Refrigerated Carriers by Transport Topics magazine.

Low founded the company with one truck in 1970 in Urbana, Missouri. By 1980 Prime was generating refrigerated revenues in excess of $50 million per year and decided to relocate its corporate headquarters to its current location at the intersection of Highway 65 and Interstate 44 in Springfield, Missouri. Within a year the company was racked by industry deregulation, spiraling interest rates and a national economic slowdown which forced the company to reorganize under Chapter 11. In 1988, Prime emerged from bankruptcy as a smaller but profitable entity. "Since then," says Low, "we've not looked back."

The company has diversified and expanded to include flatbed and liquid bulk divisions as well. "Diversification has enabled us to spread out the cost of overhead while steadily driving revenues," Low said. Prime's annual revenues have increased from $25 million to more than a half billion in less than 15 years. "Historically we've seen growth in the neighborhood of 15 to 20 percent per year. But to protect our margins, we have to curtail growth to some extent in order to constantly improve for the benefit of our customers and our associates."

So what's the secret? According to Low, "We have always been blessed with sharp, talented, hard-working people. They come in early. They stay late. They give 100% all the time. They make this company what it is. We are very fortunate at Prime."

The company was also selected as one of the top five best run trucking companies in the United States according to the study conducted by Transport Topics. Prime, the largest refrigerated carrier in the United States, purchased the assets of Oklahoma City-based ROCOR in 2002 which it operates as RTC - a division of Prime Inc.

For more information, call Clayton Brown at Prime Inc., 417.866.0001, extension 3102.