November marked 25 years since Anthony Lomax launched APL Locksmiths. What began with a van and a determination to make a living has grown into a well-established locksmith business in Stockport, employing five people and specialising in everything from domestic callouts to automotive work.
From Joinery to Keys
I left school on my 16th birthday and went straight into joinery. My dad had a joinery manufacturing business and I worked there during school holidays, so it was natural to start my career as a joiner. After that, I went to work on the trade counter at Aldridge Security. That’s when I really started to get hands-on with keys and locks. I’d always enjoyed playing with keys as a child, so it felt familiar.
It was at Aldridge I met Bob Oliver, who ran a locksmith company in Fallowfield working around Manchester University. I started working with him for a year, then at 21 I decided to work for myself. It was just me, a van, and a bit of nerve at the start, my mum used to help me with my admin. When Bob retired, he passed his university contracts on to me, and that gave me a real boost to keep building my business.
The Shop Years
For a long time, it was just me on the road, but 17 years ago I opened the shop. That changed everything. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a mobile service; it was a proper business with staff, regular customers, and passing trade. We haven’t had to advertise for over 20 years now, word of mouth and the shopfront do the job.
When we first opened the shop, people started asking if we did car keys. I didn’t like turning work down, so we started cloning them. That led to programming remotes, handling lost key jobs, and eventually full automotive locksmithing. For the last 10 years, I’ve focused solely on the automotive side. We do car keys in the shop and have contracts with police, major dealerships, and plenty of trade customers. On the domestic side, the team handles housing associations, schools, universities, and property companies.
Covid and Other Challenges
So far in my career, notably covid was one of the hardest times. The shop had to close, and we ran on a skeleton staff. But we still kept busy supplying keys to Stepping Hill Hospital. They were under so much strain, losing keys, needing replacements as new staff joined. We cut keys for them on site and helped keep their doors going. At the same time, we picked up work from people stuck at home with things like broken patio doors.
Another challenge is staff. Finding reliable people with the right skills and attitude isn’t easy, but we’ve been fortunate. Marc Kerr has run the shop for 10 years, Joseph Christian joined us after his dad worked here, and David Sturtivant is a steady pair of hands. My wife Ann-Marie keeps the business fully operational with admin, ordering, wages, health and safety – everything I don’t want to do! I hate paperwork, but luckily, she loves keeping everything in order.
Family Business Through & Through
APL has always been a family thing. Ann-Marie and I actually went to school together. We dated as teenagers, split up, then got back together at 21. Next year we’ll celebrate 20 years of marriage, and she’s been part of the business for more than two decades. It was Ann-Marie and her late mum who encouraged me to go out on my own. Her mum even bought me my first private plate, and, since then. I’ve collected a few more: AU70 LOX, APL 10X, F175 LOX, and K1 2LOX. Even the vans are part of the story; my first was a yellow Ford, currently we’ve got three vans on the road.
Our daughters get involved too. Scarlet cleans the machines and hoovers out my van. Millie-Jo helps her mum with admin when she can, though she’s carving her own path in hospitality. She’s a great cook and even competed against 13,000 students in London, finishing 10th in the competition. She’s now working in hotels, but has expressed an interest in helping Ann-Marie with the admin, and she’ll always be very welcome.
Love, Hate & Lessons
I love the trade. Meeting people, helping them out when they’re stuck, solving problems – that’s part of the job that never gets boring. What I don’t like is admin or staff issues, but we’re in a good place right now. Having the right people makes all the difference.
Locksmithing has always been about adapting. I did my BLI exam training with the MLA, but I taught myself most of the auto locksmithing side – my mechanical background helped due to racing stock cars when I was younger – the rest I learned by reading magazines, practising, and learning on the job. My joinery background definitely helped too, having nimble fingers and a practical mindset is half the battle.
I’ve enjoyed watching the business evolve over the years – from just me, to running a shop, and now expanding into the auto side of things. The work never gets boring; it always keeps me on my toes, as nothing ever stands still for long. Police forensics jobs, stolen and recovered vehicles, and making keys for seized cars and those used in crimes so they can be sent to auction have all become part of what we do.
Looking Back & Looking Forward
This year marks 25 years of APL Locksmiths. We’ll be celebrating with the lads at a bigger than normal Christmas do! Hitting this milestone feels good, not just because we’ve lasted, but because we’ve built something that’s trusted and valued. Customers keep coming back, and that says it all.
The plan is to keep doing what we do best: being reliable, honest, and ready when people need us. We’re MLA members, and I’ll always keep learning by going to the MLA Expo and staying in-touch with our suppliers and up to date with any new developments. Locksmithing never stands still, and neither do we!
More info
APL Locksmiths is a Stockport-based locksmith business founded in November 2001 by Anthony Lomax. Over the last 25 years, the company has grown from a one-man van operation to a team of five, offering a full range of locksmith services including domestic, commercial, and automotive work. APL prides itself on honesty, reliability, and a family-first ethos, with a reputation built on word of mouth and long-standing customer relationships.