From a Spark in a Garage to the Leader in Fire

In 1975, brothers Ron and Dan Shimek started something extraordinary in a Prior Lake, Minnesota garage. With a welding machine, a few tools, and the idea that fireplaces could be more than just heat, they built the foundation for Heat & Glo, a brand that would redefine comfort and style for millions of homes.

By 1987, their breakthrough direct-vent gas fireplace changed the industry forever — safer, cleaner, and more efficient than the industry standard wood-burning fireplace — earning a place among the Top 25 Breakthroughs in Residential Construction by the Energy & Environmental Building Association (EEBA.) Innovation became the family tradition.

In 1995, the FireBrick® firebox arrived, cutting energy waste while warming rooms faster. By 2012, Heat & Glo introduced the first fireplace certified as a furnace, proving beauty and performance could coexist. And today, smart home integration through IntelliFire® app control brings voice-activated warmth to the modern hearth.

Half a century after that first small spark, Heat & Glo remains more than a fireplace manufacturer — it’s a symbol of trust, craftsmanship and connection. From that humble garage to homes around the world, every flame still carries the Shimek brothers’ belief that fire should bring people together.