Master Lock
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This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2008) |
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| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Products | Padlocks |
| Parent | Fortune Brands Home & Security |
| Website | www.masterlock.com |
- For the professional wrestling move called the Master Lock, see Professional wrestling holds.
Master Lock is an American company primarily known for developing and manufacturing padlocks, combination locks and related security products. Now an operating unit of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., Master Lock Company LLC was formed in 1921 by locksmith-inventor Harry Soref, and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In 1969, the company was purchased by American Brands from Soref's heirs. American Brands was later renamed to Fortune Brands, which then split on October 3, 2011 to create the Fortune Brands Home & Security company.
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[edit] Iconic ad
In 1973, Master Lock ran a notable Super Bowl ad where one of their locks survived being shot by a sharpshooter, thereby proving its durability, thus the slogan "Tough Under Fire". Master Lock would continue running similar ads during future Super Bowls, spending almost their entire annual marketing budget on the single commercial.[1][citation needed] Later, Master would incorporate the image into a one second long blipvert commercial in 1998.[2]
[edit] Offshoring and re-shoring
In 1999, Fortune Brands began to abandon most operations in its Milwaukee Wisconsin Master Lock factory, and moved most of its manufacturing jobs to offshore plants in China and Mexico, putting an estimated 1,300 American workers (represented by the United Auto Workers union) out of work. In 2011, it was announced that 36 jobs making combination locks were being returned from China to the heavily-automated Milwaukee plant, which would employ 379 workers. It was reported that the company would also continue to contract with three Chinese factories and about twenty Chinese suppliers, and operate its maquiladora near the Arizona border, where Mexican workers perform non-automated labor-intensive work such as assembling made-in-Milwaukee components.[3][4]
In February 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Master Lock headquarters in Milwaukee Wisconsin and lauded the company's recent return of jobs from overseas locations.[5] As of that time, it was reported that the company had returned about 100 jobs from overseas during the preceding two-year period.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Blankenhorn, Dana, Advertising During the Super Bowl: A Mixed Bag, ClickZ Marketing News & Expert Advice, Jan. 23, 2001.
- ^ Christopher, Alistair, Blink Of An Ad, Time, Aug. 3, 1998.
- ^ Schmid, John, Master Lock reassessing China: Milwaukee-based company finds it can compete better from U.S. soil, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 1, 2011.
- ^ Ahmed, Beenish, Local 469 workers have right combination for more jobs at Master Lock: "Re-sourced" work from China returns to Milwaukee plant, United Auto Workers Solidarity, Mar./Apr. 2011.
- ^ a b Garcia, Jon, Obama Trip to Lock Factory Evokes Smelly High School Gym Memories, ABC News, Feb. 15, 2012.
