Yale (company)

Last updated
Yale
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Locks, Home Security, Burglar Alarms, Safes, Door Viewers, Window Locks, Smart digital locks, IP-cameras, Padlocks
Founded1840;184 years ago (1840)
Founder Linus Yale Jr.
Headquarters
Stockholm, Sweden
,
Global
Parent Assa Abloy
Fortune Brands Innovations (US & Canada)
Website yalehome.com
shopyalehome.com (US & Canada)
Factory of Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co., 1873 Factory of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., Stamford, Connecticut, 1873.jpg
Factory of Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co., 1873

Yale is a lock manufacturer and a subsidiary of Assa Abloy, except in the United States and Canada where the brand has been owned by Fortune Brands Innovations since 2023. [1] [2] The global company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Its initial product was the Yale lock, invented by Linus Yale Sr., and it became the foundation of the enterprise founded by Linus Yale Jr. and Henry R. Towne.

Contents

Its markets were initially in the United States, and expanded across the globe during the Industrial Revolution, with a workforce of over 12,000 employees.

History

Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co, 1897 Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co, 1897.jpg
Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co, 1897

In 1868, the business was established in Stamford, Connecticut, by Henry R. Towne and Linus Yale Sr., an inventor renowned for creating the pin tumbler lock. Initially known as Yale Lock Manufacturing Co., the company later adopted the name Yale & Towne, with its base in Newport, New York. [3]

Between 1843 and 1857, Yale secured eight patents, encompassing items like the pin tumbler safe lock, safe lock, bank lock, vault, safe door bolt, and padlock, registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. [3] Around 1876, they expanded their repertoire to include the manufacturing of chain blocks, electric hoists, cranes, and testing machines, establishing themselves as pioneers in the crane-building sector in the United States. [4] By 1880, they had established branches in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. [5]

In the early 20th century, the company intensified its international presence and entered the global market through partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures with other industry peers. Furthermore, Yale's workforce expanded to over 12,000 employees, in line with their business growth. Notable board members during this era have included ex President of Studebaker, Albert Russel Erskine, Congressman Schuyler Merritt, Lt. Col. Walter C. Allen, William Gibson Carey Jr., ex President of the United States Chamber of Commerce, and others. [6] [7] [8]

In 1920, the company launched a new battery powered low-lift platform truck, entering the electric forklift trucks market, bringing number of innovations in the industry, such as the high heat-resistant Class-H silicon insulation in electric motors, brought in the 1930s. [9] This division became the Yale Materials Handling Corporation, later merged with Nacco Industries to become Hyster-Yale Materials Handling.

Later history

Factory of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., Stamford, Connecticut, 1903 Factory of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., Stamford, Connecticut, 1903.jpg
Factory of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., Stamford, Connecticut, 1903

By 1929, Yale & Towne became the largest locks and door closer manufacturer in the world, and established an exclusive showroom for its products in the newly built Chrysler Building in New York. [10] During World War I, like number of manufacturers, Yale became involved in arms production. [10] The company started the manufacture of rifle grenades, pumps, fuse-setters, cavalry bits, fasteners, buckles, as well as special parts for mines and gas nozzles for the United States Government. [10]

The enterprise became the largest employer in Stamford, Connecticut, and had branches in the U.S., Canada, and England. [11] [12] [13] As part of their business expansion, Yale entered the British market by acquiring H&T Vaughan, a well-established lock manufacturer located in Wood Street, Willenhall. This acquisition not only solidified Yale's position as the historical hub of the British lock industry but also established them as a major employer in the town.[ when? ]

Subsequently, British Yale ventured into the early motor industry, supplying locks to various manufacturers, particularly following the introduction of the cost-effective diecast-based leaf tumbler technology. From the 1960s onward, security installers widely adopted Yale's "M69" window lock as a straightforward addition to deter theft, especially for vans. This trend persisted until the early 1990s when electronic security devices superseded these locks.

The company continued to be the sole supplier of all the lock requirements of Rolls-Royce Motors until 1991, when an acrimonious separation occurred. [14] [15] Nonetheless, in 1987, the British Yale's parent company merged it with the Valor Company to establish Yale & Valor. Subsequently, after a takeover by Williams Holdings, certain segments of the Willenhall operation, including the diecasting foundry, were shuttered.

In March 2000, the remaining parts of the British business, notably the Yale Security subsidiaries, were sold to Assa Abloy for over a billion dollars, which was involved in the production of fire alarm systems, burglar alarms, and glass break detectors. [16] [17]

Between July 2012 and the late spring of 2013, Assa Abloy initiated the relocation of Yale's factories from Lenoir City, Tennessee, where they had been based since 1953, to Berlin, Connecticut.

In July 2023 Fortune Brands Innovations acquired the US and Canadian (principally residential) part of the Yale lock business from Assa Abloy, [18] [19] with the US and Canadian commercial product being rebranded as ASSA ABLOY ACCENTRA™. [20]

Historical projects

Aerial view of New York City, 1919 New York City aerial view 1919.jpg
Aerial view of New York City, 1919

Here is a non-exhaustive list of historical projects undertaken by the Yale Lock Company, where they equipped buildings with their locks and hardware: [21] [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locksmithing</span> Science and art of making and defeating locks

Locksmithing is the science and art of making and defeating locks. Locksmithing is a traditional trade and in many countries requires completion of an apprenticeship. The level of formal education legally required varies from country to country from none at all, to a simple training certificate awarded by an employer, to a full diploma from an engineering college, in addition to time spent working as an apprentice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linus Yale Jr.</span> American mechanical engineer (1821–1868)

Linus Yale Jr. was an American businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and metalsmith. He was a co-founder with millionaire Henry R. Towne of the Yale Lock Company, which became the premier manufacturer of locks in the United States. He was the country's leading expert on bank locks and its most important maker. By the early 20th century, about three-quarter of all banks in America used his bank locks. He is best remembered for his inventions of locks, especially the cylinder lock, and his basic lock design is still widely distributed today, and constitutes a majority of personal locks and safes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin tumbler lock</span> Lock mechanism

The pin tumbler lock, also known as the Yale lock after the inventor of the modern version, is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disc tumbler lock</span> Finnish lock design

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Assa Abloy AB is a Swedish Group whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. Related products and services include controlling access and confirming identities with keys, cards, tags, mobile, and biometric identity verification systems.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortise lock</span> Lock with mortise cut into doorjamb

A mortise lock is a lock that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the edge of the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. In most parts of the world, mortise locks are found on older buildings constructed before the advent of bored cylindrical locks, but they have recently become more common in commercial and upmarket residential construction in the United States. The design is widely used in domestic properties of all vintages in Europe.

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Chubb Locks is a former brand name of the Mul-T-Lock subsidiary of the Assa Abloy Group, which manufactures locking systems for residential, secure confinement and commercial applications. When the brand licence expired in 2010 the name ceased to be used, with the same locks sold as Yale or Union locks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lock Museum of America</span> Industry museum in Terryville, Connecticut

The Lock Museum of America houses an extensive lock collection that includes 30 early era time locks, escutcheon plates from safes, a large number of British safe locks, door locks, padlocks, handcuffs and keys, and more. Located in Terryville, Connecticut, the museum is directly across from the original site of the Eagle Lock Company, founded in 1854.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linus Yale Sr.</span> American manufacturer of locks (1797–1858)

Linus Yale was an American businessman, inventor, metalsmith, and politician. He was a founder of Lamson, Goodnow, and Yale, an American manufacturer of bank locks, and served as the first Mayor of Newport, New York. His patents were signed by President Andrew Jackson. His son, Linus Yale Jr., would later found the premier manufacturer of locks in the United States, and be a pioneer in the American lock industry through the Yale Lock Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wafer tumbler lock</span> Type of lock

A wafer tumbler lock is a type of lock that uses a set of flat wafers to prevent the lock from opening unless the correct key is inserted. This type of lock is similar to the pin tumbler lock and works on a similar principle. However, unlike the pin tumbler lock, where each pin consists of two or more pieces, each wafer in the lock is a single piece. The wafer tumbler lock is often incorrectly referred to as a disc tumbler lock, which uses an entirely different mechanism.

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References

  1. ↑ https://shopyalehome.com/pages/about-us
  2. ↑ https://ir.fbin.com/news-releases/news-release-details/fortune-brands-announces-agreement-acquire-emtek-and-schaub
  3. 1 2 "About Us". Yale. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Wickham Roe, Joseph (1916). "English and American Tool Builders" . Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  5. ↑ "Yale genealogy and history of Wales : the British kings and princes, life of Owen Glyndwr, biographies of Governor Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University was named, Linus Yale, Sr. ... and other noted persons (eBook, 1908)". 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  6. ↑ Polk's (Trow's) New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, Volume 57, 1909, p. 220
  7. ↑ Commercial and Financial Chronicle  : March 15, 1919, Vol. 108, No. 2803
  8. ↑ The Time, International: Personnel: Jan. 2, 1933
  9. ↑ Yale celebrates 100 years of electric trucks with lithium-ion product line extension, Working in unison: the Yale robotics solution, Yales Press Releases, August 2020
  10. 1 2 3 Yale : Our Heritage, First World War and Prestigious projects, Yalehome.com
  11. ↑ Commercial and Financial Chronicle  : March 15, 1919, Vol. 108, No. 2803
  12. ↑ National Affairs: Old & New, The Time, Monday, Mar. 04, 1946
  13. ↑ [Item description, #:#], Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company Collection. Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.
  14. ↑ Yale Locks & Hardware: A Testament To Northeast U.S. Craftsmanship, Jersey Architectural, Supply House, January 5, 2017
  15. ↑ Bobbitt, Malcom (2005). Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit & Silver Spur Bentley: Mulsanne, Eight, Continental, Turbo R, Brooklands & Azure, Veloce Publishing, p. 55-56
  16. ↑ "Swedish firm to buy Williams's Yale Lock Unit". Los Angeles Times . Bloomberg News. 8 March 2000.
  17. ↑ Alice Troy-Donovan, June 15, 2018, Design classic: Yale’s pin-tumbler key, The pin-tumbler model carried on millions of key rings is still similar to the 1860s design, Financial Times
  18. ↑ https://shopyalehome.com/pages/about-us
  19. ↑ https://ir.fbin.com/news-releases/news-release-details/fortune-brands-announces-agreement-acquire-emtek-and-schaub
  20. ↑ https://www.accentra-assaabloy.com/en/Today
  21. ↑ "About Yale".
  22. ↑ "About Yale - A history of lockmaking | Yale".
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