Primus AB
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Primus AB
The Brand
Primus is a Stockholm (Sweden) based manufacturer of portable cooking devices and stoves for expeditions, alpinism, climbing, trekking, camping and other outdoor activities. Founded in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist and Johan Viktor Svenson, the brand’s initial product, based on a patented technology, was the very first portable and soot free kerosene stove ever. Thus, Lindqvist and Svenson simply called the product and the brand “Primus” (Latin for “the first”).
Historical Milestones
The first stoves were sold mostly to women stallholders standing out in the freezing cold in Stockholm. Shortly after, several explorers discovered the potential of a portable stove for their expeditions: When Salomon August Andrée got on his way to the North Pole in 1897 with a hot air balloon, he cooked on a ‘Primus’. Roald Amundsen also carried a Primus stove with him when he reached the South Pole in 1911. And in the year 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay relied on Primus stoves during their first ascent of the Mount Everest.
Not really a milestone – naming a date for the start is nearly impossible – but still an important and also funny fact: in Russia Lindqvist’s and Svenson’s stoves made the dream of every innovator come true. Primus is the Russian word for an outdoor stove, no matter of which brand name. In Moscow, for example, you can buy a “Primus Primus”…
Today Primus stoves and lanterns are sold in over 70 countries all over world. The outdoor stoves are made in Primus own factory in Tartu, Estonia.
Ownership
The Primus AB is owned by the Fenix Outdoor AB, which is on stock exchange in Stockholm. The Fenix Outdoor AB also owns the brands, Brunton (USA), Fällräven (Sweden), Hanwag (Germany), Tierra (Sweden) as well as the retail chains Naturkompaniet (Sweden) and Partioaitta (Finland).
Product Range
Today, Primus offers a wide range of products for cooking, heating and lighting. The focus is still on stoves. The range reaches from LPG (liquid gas cartridges) stoves for backpacking and camping, multiple-burner-stoves for camping to high-end multifuel expedition stoves. To complete the basecamp kitchen Primus also produces lanterns, vacuum bottles and accessories like cutlery, cookware and basic camping equipment.
One of the most successful stoves in the Primus range, both in sales and popularity, is the OmniFuel. The OmniFuel was introduced in 2001 and was the first stove in history to burn LPG, white gas, paraffin, kerosene, jet fuel, and even diesel. The OmniFuel is still selling well and considered to be one of the most reliable and best performing expedition stoves. It has received several awards from specialist outdoor and mountaineering magazines all around the world.
In 2007, Primus introduced the first Eta Power stoves. The Greek letter Eta stands for “efficiency” in physics. Primus’ Eta-Series consists of various cooking systems (burner, wind-shield, pots with heat exchanger) that increase the efficiency rate up to twice as high compared to conventional stoves.
2012 Primus introduced the OmniLite stove, a lighter and more compact version of the OmniFuel, optimised for the use with Eta Pots.