#Master lock windows#

Īs part of American and Fortune Brands, Master Lock continued to expand. In 2011, Fortune Brands spun off its home and security business, including Master Lock, as the independent Fortune Brands Home and Security, Inc. The Soref family maintained control of the company until familial discord led to its 1970 sale to American Brands, Inc., later renamed Fortune Brands. For many years, the company eschewed time clocks, relying instead on an honor system for its predominantly female workforce.

#Master lock windows#

The interior was painted in a variety of colors and included glass block windows to allow in the light. Henry Soref instituted innovative styles and policies at the new factory in order to increase production and employee morale. Master Lock’s factory became one of the main employers in this sector of the city by the mid-twentieth century.

Master Lock took up early residence in the Pabst Brewery (which had space to rent thanks to Prohibition) before establishing its factory and headquarters on the north side in 1939. Soref, a Russian Jewish immigrant without any formal American education, invented and patented the laminated padlock. In 1921, Harry Soref, with investments from two friends, founded the Master Lock Company. After outsourcing much of its production in the 1990s, Master Lock has become a twenty-first century example of repatriating manufacturing to the United States. Although Master Lock employed only 412 employees at its factory as of 2012, the company was the only major manufacturing enterprise remaining in what was once a primary industrial corridor for Milwaukee. 32 nd Street in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood. At its height in the 1980s and 1990s, Master Lock employed 1,300 workers at its Milwaukee factory located at 2600 N. The Master Lock Company, including its Master Lock, American Lock, and SentrySafe brands, had net sales of $552 million in 2015. Headquartered in Oak Creek, Master Lock Company, LLC, is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Fortune Brands Home and Security, Inc.