Master Lock is an American company that develops

padlock Padlocks are portable locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent use, theft, vandalism or harm. Naming and etymology The term '' padlock'' is from the late fifteenth century. ...

combination lock A combination lock is a type of locking device in which a sequence of symbols, usually numbers, is used to open the lock. The sequence may be entered using a single rotating dial which interacts with several discs or ''cams'', by using a set o ...

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

s, and related security products. Now a subsidiary of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Master Lock Company LLC was formed in 1921 by locksmith-inventor Harry E. Soref and is headquartered in

Oak Creek, Wisconsin Oak Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Milwaukee County, it sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan and is located immediately south of Milwaukee. The city is one of the fastest growing in Milwaukee County and ...

.Schmid, John
Master Lock reassessing China: Milwaukee-based company finds it can compete better from U.S. soil
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'', January 1, 2011. In 1970 the company was purchased by American Brands from Soref's heirs. American Brands was later renamed to Fortune Brands, which then split on October 3, 2011, to create the Fortune Brands Home & Security company and the beverages company

Beam Inc. Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American-founded, Japanese multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is a subsidiary of Suntory, based in Osaka, Japan. It is the third largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide, behind Diageo ...

(which was then soon purchased by

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. I ...

History

20th century

Before co-founding the company in 1921, Harry Soref had been a traveling locksmith in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico,Harry E. Soref
Univ. Wisconsin Milwaukee Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business. had invented a lock for protecting military equipment, and had founded the "Master Key" company for making master

skeleton key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from the fact that the key has been r ...

s. In 1919, Soref then invented a padlock design that used laminated steel layers to economically produce an exceptionally strong lock body. He tried unsuccessfully to get some large companies interested in using his design, so he and two friends—P. E. Yolles and Sam Stahl,Master Lock Company History
Funding Universe,—worked together to found the Master Lock company in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

in 1921 to produce the locks themselves, initially with five employees. In 1924, the company was granted the first patent on such a laminated lock design. Stahl led the company to become a major manufacturer of locks and the three co-founders worked closely together until Soref's death in 1957. However, the brand had not yet reached its peak status as a familiar consumer brand at the time of Soref's death. Stahl led the company until selling his shares to Soref's children who took over the company management, later selling the company to the American Brands Corporation in 1970. In 1974, Master Lock ran a Super Bowl ad demonstrating one of their locks withstanding a shot by a

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

, thereby proving its durability and thus their slogan "Tough Under Fire". Master Lock continued running similar ads during future Super Bowls, spending almost their entire annual marketing budget on the single commercial. Later, Master would incorporate the image into a one second-long

blipvert A blipvert is a very brief television advertisement, lasting one second. The word is a portmanteau of ''blip'', a brief sound, and ''advertisement''. The term and concept were used in the 1985 film '' Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future'' and ...

commercial in 1998. At its peak in the early 1990s, the company employed about 1,300 workers in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.Ahmed, Beenish
Some Jobs Finally Return at Master Lock

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...

, January 24, 2011. In 1993, the company began moving much of its manufacturing to China, and later also moved some manufacturing to Mexico. Most of the jobs at its Milwaukee plant were eliminated, although the company continued to perform some of its manufacturing at the plant using heavily automated manufacturing processes.

21st century

In 2002, Master Lock released its Titanium Series of padlocks, the first major redesign in fifty years. The goal was to add design variety and aesthetic value to the utilitarian functionality of their locks. The lock mechanism has titanium reinforced steel, with a stainless steel body. A shroud covers parts of the stainless steel, allowing the locks to come in different colors. Master Lock requested that the designer locks be stocked in departments outside the hardware section of retailers. In 2003, the company acquired Illinois based American Lock and all their intellectual and material property. In 2010, Master Lock began offering a password manager service called Master Lock Vault that includes a web site and associated software applications for use on various devices. In 2011 Fortune Brands spun off Master Lock as part of Fortune Brands Home & Security. In January 2011, it was announced that about 36 jobs were being returned from China to the Milwaukee plant, which would increase the number of positions at the plant to 379. Most of the added jobs were for making

s, subassemblies and keys. It was reported that the company would also continue to contract with three Chinese factories and about twenty Chinese suppliers, and operate its ''

maquiladora A (), or (), is a word that refers to factories that are largely duty free and tariff-free. These factories take raw materials and assemble, manufacture, or process them and export the finished product. These factories and systems are present t ...

'' near the

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border, where Mexican workers perform non-automated labor-intensive work such as assembling made-in-Milwaukee components. In February 2012, U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

visited the Master Lock headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and lauded the company's recent return of jobs from overseas locations.Garcia, Jon
Obama Trip to Lock Factory Evokes Smelly High School Gym Memories
''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

'', February 15, 2012. As of that time, it was reported that the company had returned about 100 jobs from overseas during the preceding two-year period. In 2012, Master Lock introduced a line of combination padlocks called the dialSpeed.Master dialSpeed 1500EDBX Padlock Review
''Gadget Review'', August 23, 2012. The dialSpeed lock is battery-operated, has a lit face, and features multiple user-programmable combinations. It has a master unlocking code that can be accessed through the company web site. In 2014, Master Lock acquired SentrySafe for $117.5 million.

Locks

Master Locks are made for a variety of uses, including personal locking, vehicle locking, and others. New products in the 2000s moved beyond locks, such as industrial space cover sealing mechanisms. Some of the company's popular locks are known to have a serious security flaw, which allow for easy bypass by a modified

lock pick Lock picking is the practice of unlocking a Lock (security device), lock by manipulating the components of the lock device without the original key. Although lock-picking can be associated with Intention (criminal law), criminal intent, it ...

. This is because the lock only contain standard cylindrical pins, with no serrated or spool driver pins. File:Masterpadlock.jpg, A Master combination padlock. File:Master lock.JPG, Master Lock with

shackle A shackle (or shacklebolt), also known as a gyve, is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also applies to handcuff ...

open. File:Master Lock Key Storage Device.png, Master lockbox for key storage. File:Master Lock 175.JPG, Master 175 combination lock File:Master lock on belly chain.jpg, Master Lock securing a

belly chain Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

on an inmate

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=http://www.masterlock.com Manufacturing companies based in Milwaukee Manufacturing companies established in 1921 Lock manufacturers 1921 establishments in Wisconsin American brands