Most Latvian companies in Africa are selling products: routers, grain, plywood. Primekss is selling a method. The Riga-based company develops steel-fibre-reinforced jointless concrete flooring technology, marketed under the PrimX brand, and licenses it to local partners who execute the work on-site.
They have had a licensee partner in South Africa since 2014. That is over a decade of continuous presence — longer than many of the trade relationships covered on this site.
Source: SA Builder — PrimX: Future-ready jointless flooring in South Africa
The Technology
Traditional concrete industrial floors require expansion joints — those grooves cut into warehouse and factory floors to control cracking. Joints are maintenance headaches. They deteriorate, collect dirt, and damage forklift wheels. Every joint is a future repair cost.
Primekss developed a system that eliminates joints entirely. Their PrimX flooring uses steel fibres mixed into the concrete, combined with a proprietary design methodology, to create large monolithic slabs that do not need joints. The result is a smoother, more durable floor with lower lifecycle maintenance costs.
The company claims up to 70% CO₂ reduction compared to traditional flooring methods, primarily because the system uses less concrete per square meter. Whether that figure holds across all applications is project-dependent, but the material efficiency claim is the core selling point alongside durability.
The Licensing Model
Primekss does not pour floors in South Africa directly. They license the technology and methodology to local construction partners who handle execution. This means Primekss provides the engineering specifications, the steel fibre formulations, and the technical oversight. The local partner does the actual construction work.
It is a technology licensing model — similar to how franchise operations work, but for industrial construction. Primekss earns licensing fees and material sales; the local partner earns construction revenue.
This model scales without Primekss needing to hire South African crews or establish a physical office. It also means the technology transfer is real: South African construction workers learn the methodology and can execute it independently within the licensed framework.
Where It Gets Used
The applications are exactly the kind of infrastructure South Africa is building: warehouses, factories, logistics centers, distribution hubs, retail floors. Any large flat slab where durability and low maintenance matter.
Primekss operates in 27 countries worldwide. South Africa is one of their longer-standing markets, which says something about both the technology's applicability and the local partner's execution quality.
Why 10+ Years Matters
The longevity is the most telling data point. A technology licensing relationship that survives a decade in a competitive construction market is not a pilot project or a conference MoU. It means the floors work, the clients reorder, and the economics make sense for everyone involved.
For the Latvia-SADC corridor, Primekss represents a model that other Latvian technology companies could follow: license your methodology to a capable local partner, provide ongoing technical support, and let the local market do the scaling. No office in Johannesburg required.