Abloy is celebrating 110 years since the FInnish invention that sparked a revolution in the lock industry – founder Emil Henriksson’s disc cylinder operated lock. The Abloy story began in 1907, in Helsinki where, while repairing a cash register, Henriksson, a young precision mechanic, realised that the principle of the rotating detainer discs inside a cash register could be applied to locks. Emil Henrikson continued to develop his idea for a new, more secure and durable lock, finally patenting the product in 1919.
A company by the name of Ab Lasfabriken-Lukkotegdas Oy (later shortened to Ab Lukko Oy) was established with the now globally recognised Abloy trademark registered at the same time. The lock was a lock like no other, thanks to its revolutionary disc design which meant that it was virtually un-pickable. This led it to not only become the market leader in Finland in the 1930’s, but gain interest on a global scale.
In a post-war world, as living standards began to improve so did the need for increased security and, bolstered by the reliability and reputation for quality of the Abloy name, the lock became the lock of choice for banks, museums, armed forces and police across the world. As technologies advanced, so too did Henriksson’s revolutionary lock, with a period of development through the 1960’s leading to the addition of electromagnetic technology. Abloy’s first electromagnetic lock was designed in 1978 for the note printing press of the Bank of Finland, after which the global demand for electric locks and access control systems rapidly increased.
After the 1994 merger between Abloy and its main Swedish competitor Assa the Assa Abloy Group was established. Abloy, even today, maintains the expertise in electric locking systems among the groups companies.
