Unican Security Systems Ltd. was a

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

-based company created by Aaron Fish in the 1960s and sold in 2000. At its sale (to

Kaba Group dormakaba Holding AG (former Kaba Holding AG) is a global security group based in Rümlang, Switzerland. It employs around 15,000 people in over 50 countries. It formed as the result of a merger between former Kaba and former Dorma in September ...

), the company had over $800 million in sales annually and was the largest maker of

key blank Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

s and key copying machines in the world.

History

Aaron Fish was born in the 1930s in Montreal, Quebec. He was the Chairman and CEO of Unican Security Systems Ltd. from its creation in 1965 to its sale in December 2000. He worked for his father in his early years as a locksmith. By the time he was 17 and had graduated from high school, he was operating as a key and lock distributor. From 1949 to 1960, Fish became the largest key and lock distributor in Montreal. In 1960

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

decided they needed to get away from using keys, and had a requirement for a push button lock. Fish then promptly moved from being a distributor to a being a developer, and created the first push button lock in North America. In 1964, in an effort to finance his company, Unican, he sold half of the business to private investors. In 1967 Fish once again ran out of money, he took his company public to raise a quarter of a million dollars. Over the next 4 years Unican acquired 5 companies, from die casting Capitol Industries to key-maker Ilco in Boston. During the 1980s, the company grew exponentially, achieving sales of $100 million annually. In the 1990s, Unican Security Systems was supplying locks to the U.S. Pentagon and the

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. By 1999, the company had sales of nearly $500 million annually, making 4.5 million keys each day for automobile companies, hotels, residential, commercial and the like. In December 2000, Unican Security Systems was bought out by the

of Switzerland for $36.00 a share based on 18 124 000 shares outstanding. Unican's fortunes declined following the 2000 sale, as global competition increased. In November 2007, Fish bought back the original east-end Montreal plant where the company began. He began slashing costs and soon returned Capitol Industries Ltd. to profitability. The

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

on Sept. 6, 2008 reported that the company now specializes in zinc die-casting and finishing, mainly for metal furniture parts such as door handles. Fish was responsible for a major change in the key making and lock industries in North America, Europe, South America and Asia.

Peter Blaikie Peter Macfarlane Blaikie is a Canadian lawyer and a bilingual politician from Quebec and founder of Heenan Blaikie. Genealogy Blaikie was born in Shawinigan, Mauricie on May 10, 1937. He was the son of Kenneth Guy "Bill" Blaikie (1897–1968) a ...

was a major supporter of the company. In June 2016, Fish was awarded an

honorary doctorate degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, making this his first degree since graduating high school. Aaron Fish passed away on October 1, 2020.

References

Bibliography

External links

Graphical representation of the company's earning
(in Canadian funds), ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''
The Second Coming of Aaron Fish
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' {{Authority control Companies established in the 1960s Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada Lock manufacturers