REP. PASCRELL RECOGNIZES HEATTRAK AS INNOVATIVE
MANUFACTURER OF SNOW-MELTING MATS FOR OUTDOOR WALKWAYS
Congressman supports HeatTrak's small business success selling to an international audience
February 17, 2011 - Paterson, New Jersey - U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) recognized HeatTrak as an example of a successful small business and a new generation of American innovation. The company manufactures electric mats that are able to keep outdoor stairs and walkways clear of ice and snow during winter.
"We are honored that the Congressman identified us as an up-and-coming manufacturing business in his district. I think it's a testament to our company and our growth to have the Congressman come and take a look at and tour our facility," said Hillel Glazer, president and CEO of HeatTrak. "It really validates our effort and shows how successful our company has been."
"HeatTrak is the only company in the country that's manufacturing these high-quality heat mats and shipping the all over the world from Paterson," said Pascrell, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "We need investment and I say to Hillel, ‘thank you.' We want to put people to work and that's what the Recovery Act is all about. This company is the poster child for where America is going. HeatTrak, like all small business throughout Paterson and this country, act as mile markers on the road to our economic recovery."
HeatTrak's innovative snow-melting mat was invented by Glazer at the age of 16. As a boy, Glazer would shovel snow for his neighbors. One winter day, after a particularly long outing of shoveling, he realized that there had to be an easier way to remove all the snow. He decided the key was to melt the snow before it could pile up. That evening, he found a heating pad in his parent's medicine cabinet and dissected it to see how it worked. One week later, the first snow-melting mat was made using a newly purchased heating pad, the family's doormat, and a lot of duct tape.
After graduating from college with a degree in Economics and Business, Glazer joined Standard and Poor's performing business valuation consulting. While at S&P, he saw many companies begin as a mere idea and then develop into large, international businesses. After four years, he decided to give his own idea a try. Spending time studying materials and working with engineers, Glazer refined the snow-melting mat of his youth and founded HeatTrak in 2004 with only two employees. Today, the company employees 20 people and sells to an international market.
