When Andrew and Chris started Prime Wholesale, Chris stepped in as General Manager while Andrew provided strategic direction.

Chris had just left a stable mining job to launch an HVAC distribution business in an industry he barely knew, with no business experience and no safety net.

Most people thought it wouldn’t work.

From day one, this wasn’t about “giving it a go.”  It was about building a serious business properly.

They created a clear plan and backed it with structure, systems, and disciplined execution, setting clear goals, defining priorities, and breaking everything down into weekly actions that drove real progress.

As momentum built, the business scaled quickly.

Prime grew from $75K per month to $900K per month in just 18 months, building out a full warehouse and logistics operation, expanding into multiple market segments, and developing the team and infrastructure to support it.

It wasn’t always smooth, but it was controlled.

As Chris put it:  “It was chaos, but it was controlled chaos.”

At that level, the business began to significantly impact the market. Suppliers and major competitors started paying attention.

Then came a challenge no one planned for.

As Prime expanded and gained market share, pressure from suppliers increased. Large national competitors pushed back, and key suppliers made their position clear: “Stop growing, or we can’t support you.”

At that point, Andrew and Chris went deep into planning, running multiple strategy sessions and stress-testing both the business direction and their personal priorities.

The conclusion was clear.

Staying small wasn’t an option. But continuing to scale in that environment wasn’t sustainable.

So they made the call to pivot.

Andrew bought out Chris’s shares and continued operating Prime at a more stable level alongside Valley Air, before eventually selling the businesses three years later.

Chris went on to build a new business in the mining sector, applying the same structure, thinking, and discipline, but this time aligned with his long-term goals and lifestyle.

The real outcome: Not just rapid growth, but the ability to recognise when the business no longer fits, and the capability to pivot into the right opportunity.