(Publ. 24 NOV 2020) Every year, HUI, the Trade Research Institute in Sweden, nominates this year’s Christmas gift. The acknowledgement is intended to reflect the present, rather than the future. This year people choose to spend more time in nature in its vicinity, we walk and hike in forests and in the countryside. A very practical tool in this context would be the portable stove. Groth & Co filed the patent application of the very first one which was named Primus®.

The year 2020 has not been like any other year. Swedes, like most other people on Earth, have had to adapt to a new situation where, for example, travelling, and especially travels abroad, had to be avoided. Instead, we choose to spend more time outdoors in our vicinity, or at least within the nation’s borders. The greatness of hiking in forests, land and mountains has been rediscovered. What is more appropriate to bring with you if not a portable stove? A groundbreaking invention that makes it possible to cook and warm up food, and which has become immensely popular.

The first soot-free kerosene stove was constructed in 1892 and was named Primus®. F.W. Lindqvist’s is behind the construction that revolutionized the possibilities of cooking, heating and lighting on the go. Groth & Co handled the patent application for the very first portable stove, but also many other patent applications for the company Primus. We also filed several trademark applications for the company, including the one for Primus® in 1906.” Today, over 128 years later, Primus is still one of Sweden’s leading manufacturers of all types of camping stoves, from gas stoves to multifuel stoves and camping models with multiple cooking surfaces.

Since its inception, Primus has been a concept in the field of outdoor life and hiking. Roald Amundsen brought a Primus stove with him when he was the first person to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used Primus on Mount Everest when they reached the top on May 29, 1953.

Read more about Primus and other inventions in our digital museum>