Propex Heating and Leisure History

In the beginning came the X1 heater (circa 1985), a 1.6kw heater commissioned by the GPO and fitted into the engineers vans, these heaters were supplied with a one hour timer, once the engineer had had his hour of heat he had to get a move on or suffer the cold as the heater would not reactivate for another hour. (A directive from the GPO not ours) In total about 12000 X1 heaters were manufactured, with production being based in Lincoln.

The success of this heater led to calls from the motor-home fraternity for an efficient reliable gas heater for them and so the COMPACT 1600 was borne, this was the same as the X1 heater but being squeezed into a smaller box with the controller being mounted externally. Production of the COMPACT lasted until 1999 and moved from Lincoln to Verwood and then to Southampton as the business grew and new manufacturing facilities were required.

The introduction of the CE requirements put an end to the Compact heater and cleared the way for the Heatsource range of heaters, the initial models were the HS1600 and the HS2800 with far greater monitoring, lower electrical current consumption and gas efficiency than had previously been seen whilst fully meeting the new European requirements of EN624, the Gas Safety Directive.

Since then the HS1600 developed into the HS1800 and is now at the HS2000 with further advances being made in motor control and airflow sensing increasing reliability and reducing current consumption even further.

In 2002 Propex struck a deal with Belling and took over the rights to the Malaga water heater, with production moving to Southampton.

In September 2008 Propex Heating and Leisure agreed a strategic partnership with Munster Simms Engineering in Northern Ireland. Munster Simms world class LEAN manufacturing facilities based in Bangor, Northern Ireland ensures Propex is well positioned to continue its growth and benefit from the vast Research and Development facilities available there, this partnership has already seen the release into the market of the highly acclaimed combined gas and main electric heater, the HS2000E and more recently the range of underfloor mounted heaters,  freeing up valuable room inside the vehicle.

In October 2013 Propex Heating and Leisure Ltd relocated the business to Ringwood in Hampshire.   This move gives the company bigger and better facilities which includes a training room, a fully equipped workshop to carry out installations on Motorhomes and Caravans as well as a customer waiting room and fully stocked showroom that, as well as the Propex products, stock the full range of Whale taps, pumps and water fittings.

After 35 years Propex are proud to say the products are still designed and  manufactured in the UK,  ensuring all UK and EU safety standards are fully maintained,  technical support is readily available and UK workers are kept employed.

Quality Control

The policy of Propex Heating and Leisure Ltd is to operate under an efficient and effective quality management system, which performs to the requirements of BS EN ISO9000 and ensures that we meet and exceed the ongoing expectations of our customers.