Squire, Britain’s oldest lock maker and probably the world’s oldest operating lock maker, is celebrating its 245th anniversary.
In 1780, William Squire began making a small range of padlocks, door and cabinet locks, starting a legacy that continues to this day. Throughout the course of the next century, the company grew in size, supplying locks for the British army during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as companies across the British Empire.
The company was officially registered in 1906 and during World War Two, Squire put lock making on hold as the company was awarded a government contract to supply machine gun gauges, links and torpedo parts to support the war effort. As society became more prosperous after the war, the demand for padlocks increased, paving the way for Squire’s growth and helping the company become a household name.
The 1960s saw Squire’s first range of cycle locks, innovating and leading the two-wheel lock market at the time. Squire continued its trend of innovation with the worlds first heavy-duty combination padlock some 20 years later. This innovation helped Squire to become a recognised global brand and the industry leader in general security, bike, and motorcycle locks that it is today.
Remarkably – through all that time – the company has stayed within the Squire family, passing down through eight generations to its current CEO John Squire.
Over its long history, the company never stood still, shifting its product ranges as times change. Today, Squire embraces the future of security in its advanced access control system, inigma, one of the world’s most secure smart lock systems.
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- Squire inigma
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- Squire Stronghold SS100CS
inigma harnesses Bluetooth communication, allowing businesses to control which locks users can open, easily give and revoke access, and inspect comprehensive audit trails to see who has entered which areas and when.
Squire also offers the world’s strongest padlock, the Stronghold SS100CS, a heavy-duty padlock widely regarded as the strongest in the world, meeting some of the most stringent certifications.
Throughout its proud history and continuing to the present, the company has been committed to the highest standards. This is shown by the outstanding accreditations its products hold, such as inigma’s BSI Kitemark™ for Secure Digital Applications – the pinnacle of quality assurance – and the SS100CS’s LPCB SR4 rating, the highest level that any padlock has achieved.
Squire CEO, John Squire, comments: “To be at the forefront of international lock-making for 245 years is an amazing achievement and one that I am extraordinarily proud of. Our current factory is within four miles of the original premises where the business began, showing the deep heritage our company has.
“What has kept us at the forefront of the locks industry is our reputation for long-lasting toughness combined with constant innovation, new designs, and state-of-the-art production. I’m proud to continue this tradition and keep offering the best locks on the market to our customers.”
To find out more about Squire Locks and its rich history, please visit https://squirelocks.co.uk/.