Electric heaters built in Vancouver, Washington since 1957
✅ Made in USA
Where Cadet heaters are made
Vancouver, Washington
Cadet’s administrative offices and primary manufacturing plant sit on the same Vancouver campus. Baseboard, wall and utility heaters are built there.
Heaters, not just assembly
Elements, housings and controls are brought together on the Vancouver line rather than arriving as a finished import.
Foreign-owned, locally built
Glen Dimplex acquired Cadet in 2016. Production, the workforce and the brand stayed in Washington.
Cadet states that every one of its electric baseboard, wall and utility heaters is designed and built in Vancouver, Washington. Some thermostats, controls and accessories in the wider catalogue are globally sourced, and the company has been owned by the Ireland-based Glen Dimplex Group since 2016 — so check the specific item if country of origin matters to you.
The story
Dick Anderson started Cadet in Vancouver, Washington in 1957 with a plain goal: build the most reliable electric heater he could at a price ordinary households could pay. Electric resistance heat was spreading fast through the Pacific Northwest, where cheap hydroelectric power made it the obvious choice, and Cadet grew up serving that market.
Nearly seventy years later Cadet heaters are close to a regional default. If you have lived in a Northwest apartment or a mid-century house with a wall heater behind a metal grille, there is a good chance it said Cadet on it.
The company has not had an entirely smooth run. A long-running product recall and litigation in the 1990s and 2000s nearly ended it, and Cadet spent years rebuilding — retooling products, absorbing the cost and staying in Vancouver rather than moving production to cut its way out.
In 2016 Cadet was sold to the Glen Dimplex Group, a large family-owned electrical heating company based in Dublin. The terms kept the plant, the workforce and the name in Vancouver, and the heaters are still built there.
Why they matter
Electric heating is a heavy, bulky, low-margin product category — exactly the kind of thing that usually gets built wherever labour is cheapest and shipped in containers. Cadet has kept a real production line running in a high-cost American metro for seven decades, which in this category is unusual.
The economics actually favour it. A wall heater is mostly sheet metal and air; it is expensive to ship and cheap to make close to the customer. Cadet builds in the region where most of its heaters are installed, which shortens lead times for contractors and keeps replacement parts available for units that have been in walls for thirty years.
The ownership question is worth being honest about. Cadet is not American-owned any more. But the label on this profile is about where things are manufactured, and by the company’s own account that answer is still Vancouver, Washington — the jobs, the tooling and the know-how are here. That distinction between where a company is owned and where it builds is one worth keeping straight.
Featured products
Browse Cadet electric heaters available now in the Buy American store.
Frequently asked questions
Are Cadet heaters made in the USA?
Cadet states that every one of its electric baseboard, wall and utility heaters is designed and built at its Vancouver, Washington facility. Some accessories and controls are sourced globally.
Who owns Cadet?
Cadet has been owned by the Glen Dimplex Group, a family-owned electrical heating company based in Dublin, Ireland, since 2016. Manufacturing remained in Vancouver, Washington.
How long has Cadet been in Vancouver, Washington?
Since it was founded there in 1957 — close to seventy years in the same city.
Can I still get parts for an old Cadet heater?
Cadet has long supported replacement elements, thermostats and grilles for older units, which is one practical benefit of the company having stayed in one place. Match the model number stamped inside the can before ordering.
