About Us

The Heart and Soul behind Clayborn Lab

Clayborn Lab’s electrical resistance heat tape, first developed for NASA in 1963, provided the necessary heat for space flight and satellite technology. Today, nearly every satellite orbiting the earth contains Clayborn’s space tape – a testimony to its durability and useful life.

The same innovative technology used in the development of Clayborn’s heat tape is now being used in emission testing, stack sampling and fluid and gas delivery. HOT TUBE is a lightweight heated hose that offers both energy and cost efficient solutions for the automotive and pollution monitoring sectors.

Clients utilizing Clayborn products include General Motors, Duke Energy (now DCP Midstream), Lockheed Martin, Solar Turbines, Northrop Grumman, Johns Hopkins, Caterpillar, Thermo Fisher Scientific, SGS, Tyco Environmental Systems, Ballard Power Systems, Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, Boeing, Conoco Phillips, DOE (Department of Energy), M.I.T., Merck & Co., Xerox, Universities worldwide, US Military, Powell Electro Systems, Mechanical Equipment, Ecom America, and hundreds of smaller companies that benefit from Clayborn’s 40+ years of experience in thermal applications.

1963	Vern Clayborn Pfanku, an M.I.T. grad, invents precision heat tape.
1965	Low outgassing acrylic heat tape launches with early NASA satellite.
1972	Rocket Research employs Clayborn Lab to create a classified heated project.
1980	First tubular application of heat tape to sniff life-threatening gases in Desert Storm
1989	Bob and Maureen Horvath purchase Clayborn Lab.
1992	First HOT TUBE produced in long lengths.
1997	Bob invents and builds heat tape application machine to spin on continuous length of tubing.
2000	Air and Waste Management Trade Show puts Clayborn HOT TUBE on the map as Duke Energy and others line up for the lightweight, efficient heated hoses for gas sampling and emission testing.
2009	Clayborn Lab manufacturing expands facility to allow for growth. Clayborn Lab moves into new manufacturing facility.