- Kurt Rumens with his first wood-burning Lopi stove in 1979.
Kurt Rumens had planned to be a rock star. On Aug. 29, 30 years after abandoning that dream, Rumens will host thousands of fans of a different sort—the customers who helped build his successful stove and fireplace manufacturing business.
Like many manufacturers, Lopi Stoves—which today falls under the Travis Industries brand—began under the most modest of circumstances: in Rumens’ Seattle backyard. While trying to make ends meet as a drummer during the mid ’70s, Rumens made deliveries for a stove manufacturer in New England; after settling in the Pacific Northwest, he began selling the units to local distributors. But he wasn’t satisfied with the look and quality of the units he was hawking.
Thus, on Aug. 29, 1979, Lopi was born as Rumens sold his first wood stove designed with creativity, as much as engineering, in mind. Rumens says the Lopi models eschewed the rustic feel of typical stoves of the day, instead boasting hand-polished surfaces, arched doors, and glass fronts. “Early on, we focused on heat, but I added the element of aesthetics to it,” he says. “All of a sudden, here’s a stove that heats well … but it also looks like furniture.”
As the company grew, expanding into pellet stoves and then into gas fireplaces, it committed to improving efficiencies and emissions, Rumens says. Lopi wood-burning units were the first American models to be certified under the EPA’s 1984 standards, featuring a non-catalytic technology that was the first to burn less than 2 grams of particulate an hour. Most recently, the company introduced Green Smart, a gas fireplace that eliminates the typical standing pilot, using a control system to modulate the flame to accommodate a set temperature rather than turning the unit on and off.
Travis' new GreenSmart fireplace.
In 1988, Lopi was purchased by Travis Industries; Rumens remains at the helm, and the company’s Mulkiteo, Wash., headquarters has grown to 11 acres and 500 employees. From its beginnings of eight stoves a week, Travis now ships 10,000 Lopi units a month during its peak.
A lot’s changed in the last three decades—including the industry shrinking from 500 wood-burning manufacturers to about 30—but one thing that remains is Rumens’ belief that high-quality and efficient operation can and should co-exist with pleasing aesthetics. “It’s been a wonderful 30-year life’s work of making beautiful fireplaces,” Rumens says. “My sense is that only in America could a rock-and-roll drummer do this.”—Katy Tomasulo
