Laminated Lock Design and Company History
Before 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 initially tried to get some large companies interested in using his design, but was unsuccessful, so he recruited financial backing from two friends, P. E. Yolles and Sam Stahl, and founded the Master Lock company in 1921 to produce the locks himself, initially with five employees. In 1924, he was granted the first patent on such a laminated lock design. He led the company to become a major manufacturer of locks before his death in 1957. However, the brand had not yet reached its peak status as an iconic, universally-familiar consumer brand at the time of his death. Sam Stahl, one of the original investors, then led the company until he also died in 1964. The Soref family then took over the company management, later selling the company to the American Brands Corporation in 1970.
Read more about this topic: Master Lock
Famous quotes containing the words lock, design, company and/or history:
“Frankly, its good enough to lock up in a drawer.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (16221673)
“Joe ... you remember I said you wouldnt be cheated?... Nobody is really. Eventually all things work out. Theres a design in everything.”
—Sidney Buchman (19021975)
“We are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the minds door at 4am of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.”
—Joan Didion (b. 1934)
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (18871948)