About Sargent and Greenleaf

1857

James Sargent establishes James Sargent Lock Company to design and manufacture high-security products.

Sargent invents Sargent’s Magnetic Bank Lock—the first key-changeable combination lock—and gains immediate acceptance from safe manufacturers and the U.S. Treasury Department.

1860

The U.S. Treasury Department adopts Sargent’s Magnetic Bank Lock as its standard.

1865

Sargent and Colonel Halbert Greenleaf, who just returned from the Civil War, become business partners, launch Sargent and Greenleaf (S&G) and open a manufacturing facility in Rochester, New York.

1866

Sargent patents Sargent’s Automatic Lock.

1869

S&G obtains a federal contract to provide safe locks to the U.S. Treasury Department. It is the first of many ongoing government contracts for the company.

1873

Using parts from locks and two 8-day kitchen clocks, Sargent invents and patents the first Time Lock for bank vaults.

1874

S&G begins producing jail locks, becoming one of the largest manufacturers of the specialty lock well into the 1950s.

James Sargent himself installs the first Sargent Time Lock in the First National Bank of Morrison, Illinois, where it remained for nearly 40 years.

1880

Sargent connects one of his combination locks to a delay timer, inventing the first Time Combination Lock, a lock that remains locked for a predetermined amount of time after the combination is dialed.

1923-1940

The post-World War I depression and the Great Depression of the 1930s leads S&G to expand its portfolio to include builder hardware products, such as reversible panic exit devices, classroom wardrobes, heavy-cast lavatory stall hardware, push and pull plates and other useful hardware.

1940-1945

During World War II, S&G’s entire operations are devoted to ordinance work, such as the production of guidance systems for torpedoes, depth charges, projectiles and special combination locks for weapon storage and arming.

1948-1970

S&G produces the first Manipulation Proof Combination Lock for government cabinets and safes.

1975

S&G relocates its headquarters and manufacturing facility to Nicholasville, KY. The new campus includes 78 acres of land, 100,000 square feet of air-conditioned manufacturing space and 22,000 square feet of office space.

1977

S&G establishes an international operation in Lausanne, Switzerland, in order to serve a growing number of European and other international customers.

1980

S&G is awarded a Department of Defense contract for high-security padlocks.

1994

S&G introduces the first Electronic Safe Lock, the 6120, which is still manufactured today.

2005

S&G begins production of the IP Series Lock and Biometric Keypad Lock, representing a significant advance in technology that is still apparent today.

2005

STANLEY Black and Decker, a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of tools, hardware and specialty hardware products, acquires S&G, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanley Security Solutions, Inc.

2015

S&G invents and produces the S&G 2890B Lock, a modular locking solution that revolutionizes high-security areas within government facilities by meeting both security and life safety demands of the highly sensitive SCIF environments.

S&G invents and produces the S&G 2890B Lock, a modular locking solution that revolutionizes high-security areas within government facilities by meeting both security and life safety demands of the highly sensitive SCIF environments.

2019

S&G is acquired by OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm that strives to acquire and optimize lower middle market businesses throughout North American and Europe.

2020

S&G acquires Delaney Hardware Company (“Delaney”), a leading provider of premium builder hardware for residential homes, multi-family buildings, and commercial projects. Headquartered in Cumming, Georgia, Delaney offers a full portfolio of hardware including door hardware, digital locks, barn door hardware, bath accessories, commercial hardware, and trim hardware.

S&G’s acquisition of Delaney includes its Premier Steel Doors & Frames division, which is a specialty manufacturer of hollow metal security doors and frames with operations in Monroe, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Austell, Georgia.