Primus AB is a manufacturer of portable cooking devices and outdoor stoves based in Stockholm, Sweden. On April 28, 2023, Fenix Outdoor International AG announced that it had sold Primus AB to Silva Group.

History

The firm was founded in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist and Johan Viktor Svenson. They were the developers of its initial product, the

Primus stove The Primus stove was the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, developed in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist, a factory mechanic in Stockholm. The stove was based on the design of the hand-held blowtorch; Lindqvist's patent covered ...

, the first portable and soot-free

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

stove. The first units were sold mainly to women who operated street market shops (stallholders) in Stockholm. Explorers then discovered the value in having a portable stove for their expeditions. For example, on

Salomon August Andrée Salomon August Andrée (18 October 1854 – October 1897), during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic No ...

’s 1897

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

expedition, he cooked on a Primus.

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

carried a

with him on his venture to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

in 1911. And in 1953,

Sir Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached th ...

and

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to ...

relied on Primus stoves during their first ascent of

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. Today, Primus stoves and lanterns are sold in over 70 countries. The stoves are made in Primus' factory in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, Estonia.

Ownership

Until 2023, Primus AB belonged to Fenix Outdoor International AG, a company listed on the stock exchange in Stockholm that owns the following brands: Brunton (USA), Fjällräven (Sweden), Hanwag (Germany), Tierra (Sweden), Royal Robin (USA) as well as the retail chains Naturkompaniet (Sweden), Partioaitta (Finland) and Globetrotter (Germany). However, the company was acquired by Grupo Silva in April 2023.

Product range

Primus offers products for cooking, heating and lighting, although the focus is still on stoves. They make LPG (

liquified petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some propyl ...

) stoves for

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

and

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

, multi-burner camping stoves to high-end multifuel expedition stoves. Primus also produces lanterns, vacuum bottles and accessories such as cutlery, cookware and other camping equipment. One of the most successful stoves in the Primus range is the OmniFuel. When introduced in 2001, it was the first stove to burn LPG,

white gas Coleman fuel is a proprietary petroleum naphtha product marketed by the Coleman Company. A generally similar flammable fluid is generically sold as white gas. Contents Historically called ''white gas'', it is a liquid petroleum fuel (100% ligh ...

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...

and even

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

. It has received awards from specialist outdoor and mountaineering magazines. In 2007, Primus introduced its first Eta Power stoves. The Greek letter Eta stands for “efficiency” in physics. The Eta series consists of various cooking systems (burner, windshield, pots with heat exchanger) that increase fuel efficiency up to twice that of conventional stoves. In 2012, Primus introduced the OmniLite stove, a lighter and more compact version of the OmniFuel, optimized for use with Eta Pots.

References

External links

Dauerbrenner: Die Primus-Story
Camping equipment manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Stockholm Swedish brands 2023 mergers and acquisitions