Interchangeable Core - Brief Background

Brief Background

Since hitting the market in the middle nineteen sixties, and in spite of its atypical keying configuration and limited availability, the interchangeable core has gradually evolved into a de facto standard for keying interoperability throughout the commercial door hardware industry. Product offerings are no longer limited just to the two originally competing companies - Best Universal Lock and Falcon Lock - and can be optionally specified from all OEM and most aftermarket door hardware brands in North America:

Abus, Alarm Lock, American, Arrow, Best Access, Best Security, BlueWave, Cal-Royal, Corbin-Russwin, CX-5, Dorma, Falcon, GMS, General Lock, Hager, IEI, Ilco, Independence2, InstaKey, K2, Kaba, Killeen, Lori, LSDA, Marks, Master, Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Olympus, Omnilock, Onity, PDQ, Precision, Saflok, Sargent, Schlage, SDC, Tell, Trans-Atlantic, Von Duprin and Yale either produce their own interchangeable cores or else offer product lines or product options to accommodate such cores by others.

The modern interchangeable core - and all other cores, as well - actually has its roots in a bulkier, pedestal-shaped removable configuration developed in 1919 by Frank Best, then proprietor of Best Universal Lock Company. Frank Best's family business lineage has since expanded over the years but, currently, is most recognizable via the two competing Indianapolis, Indiana area entities generally referenced with his surname: Best Access (Stanley Security Solutions, Inc dba Best Access Systems) and Best Security (Marshall Best Security Corp).