Our History

Heat-Line was founded by inventor and entrepreneur, Lorne Heise in 1988. Lorne is a master commercial/industrial electrician who in his early business days owned and operated a successful electrical company, Carnarvon Electrical Contracting Ltd., servicing the Haliburton Highlands. During this time Lorne was intrigued by the impact of winter on the lifestyles of those who enjoy the summer days at the family cottage yet close up for the winter season. Lorne applied his time and knowledge into finding a solution which would extend the season and enjoyment of families and help boost the economy for local businesses.

The search for reliable heating technology began and a partial solution was found; self-regulating, conductive-polymer heating cable technology. With the support of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and constant experimentation and learning; the art of freeze protection was perfected. Ideas and experiments soon became the essential core of Lorne's founding of the company which now leads the way in freeze protection, Heat-Line a Division of Christopher MacLean Limited.

In 2000 Heat-Line took a bold step by opening its assembly plant in a forest setting adjacent to Stanhope Airport, located in the heart of the Haliburton Highlands. The growth of Heat-Line continues and has resulted in expanding the existing location to include a Research and Development facility adjacent to the current location of Heat-Line in 2014.

The continued growth and development of heat trace and heating cable systems remains constant at Heat-Line. We are frequently innovating to create new products for innovative applications to solve the needs of our customers. In 2014 as a result of many years of research and development, Heat-Line released a new line of heating cable systems for in-pipe tracing of black water pipes and mains. The Retro-DWS and Retro-FM were designed for applications where freezing of sewage and septic pipes occurs, and the pipes cannot be accessed external to apply traditional heat tapes. Similar to many other Heat-Line developments these products have proved to be very successful.

In October 2018 Heat-Line was pleased to celebrate it’s 30th Anniversary. As the founders of Heat-Line, Lorne and Robin Heise, could not be more pleased to see the business they started in their home 30 years ago grow into the successful international business it is today. Following their 30th year in business, the founders were pleased to share some stories on their business in a video for everyone to enjoy.