Master Lock
Tough Under Fire
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| Founded | 1921 |
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| Headquarters | Oak Creek, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Products | Padlocks, safes, and security products |
| Parent | Fortune Brands Home & Security |
| Website | www |
Master Lock is an American company that develops padlocks, combination locks, safes 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. 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. (which was then soon purchased by Suntory).
Before co-founding the company in 1921, Harry Soref had been a traveling locksmith in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, had invented a lock for protecting military equipment, and had founded the "Master Key" company for making master skeleton keys. 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,—worked together to found the Master Lock company 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 an 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 2002, Master Lock released its Titanium Series of padlocks, its first major redesign in fifty years. The goal was to move the utilitarian functionality of their locks closer towards something that provided design differentials and aesthetic value. The inside of the locks was created with titanium reinforced steel, with a stainless steel body. A shroud covers parts of the stainless steel, allowing the locks to come in different colors. The design was created by firm Design Continuum. Master Lock also requested that its locks be sold outside the hardware section of retailers, and have them placed in other parts of the stores. The design received an Industrial Design Excellence award from Business Week in 2002.
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