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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Locks,Home Security,Burglar Alarms,Safes, Door Viewers, Window Locks, Smart digital locks, IP-cameras,Padlocks |
| Founded | 1840; 185 years ago (1840) inStamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Founder | Linus Yale Jr. |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden ,Global |
| Parent | Assa Abloy Fortune Brands Innovations (US & Canada) |
| Website | yalehome shopyalehome |
Yale is alock manufacturer and a subsidiary ofAssa Abloy, except in the United States and Canada where the brand has been owned byFortune Brands Innovations since 2023.[1][2] The global company is headquartered inStockholm, Sweden. Its initial product was theYale lock, invented byLinus Yale Sr., and it became the foundation of the enterprise founded byLinus Yale Jr. andHenry R. Towne.
Its markets were initially in the United States, and expanded across the globe during theIndustrial Revolution, with a workforce of over 12,000 employees.
In 1868, the business was established in Stamford, Connecticut, byHenry R. Towne andLinus Yale Sr., an inventor renowned for creating thepin tumbler lock. Initially known as Yale Lock Manufacturing Co., the company later adopted the name Yale & Towne, with its base inNewport, New York.[3]
Between 1843 and 1857, Yale secured eightpatents, 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 inPhiladelphia,Boston andChicago.[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 ofStudebaker,Albert Russel Erskine, CongressmanSchuyler Merritt, Lt. Col. Walter C. Allen, William Gibson Carey Jr., ex President of theUnited States Chamber of Commerce, and others.[6][7][8]
In 1920, the company launched a new battery powered low-lift platform truck, entering the electricforklift 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 withNacco Industries to becomeHyster-Yale Materials Handling.
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 builtChrysler Building in New York.[10] DuringWorld War I, like number of manufacturers, Yale became involved inarms 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 inStamford, Connecticut, and had branches in the U.S., Canada, and England.[7][11][12] 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 ofRolls-Royce Motors until 1991, when an acrimonious separation occurred.[13][14] Nonetheless, in 1987, the British Yale's parent company merged it with the Valor Company to establishYale & 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 toAssa Abloy for over a billion dollars, which was involved in the production offire alarm systems,burglar alarms, andglass break detectors.[15][16]
Between July 2012 and the late spring of 2013, Assa Abloy initiated the relocation of Yale's factories fromLenoir City, Tennessee, where they had been based since 1953, toBerlin, Connecticut.
In July 2023Fortune Brands Innovations acquired the US and Canadian (principally residential) part of the Yale lock business fromAssa Abloy,[17][18] with the US and Canadian commercial product being rebranded as ASSA ABLOY ACCENTRA.[19]
Here is a non-exhaustive list of historical projects undertaken by the Yale Lock Company, where they equipped buildings with their locks and hardware:[20][21]
