Sargent & Greenleaf prides itself on a tradition of quality and innovation which stretches back to 1857. It was then that James Sargent, a bright and inventive young sales agent for Yale & Greenleaf Lock Manufacturers, made the decision to build a lock that would offer a level of security that far surpassed any device available at the time. The result of his resolve and genius was Sargent’s Magnetic Bank Lock, the first successful key changeable combination lock. The lock gained almost immediate acceptance from safe manufacturers and the United States Treasury Department, bringing financial stability and paving the way for James Sargent to continue bringing new ideas and products to the security industry.
In 1865, one of Mr. Sargent’s former employers, Halbert Greenleaf, became his equal partner in the firm of Sargent & Greenleaf. A manufacturing facility was built in Rochester, New York, and the company remained in that city until 1975. James Sargent was never one to rest on the success of past achievements. In 1868, he invented Sargent’s Automatic Lock, bringing refinements to the original Sargent’s Magnetic Bank Lock.
Then, in 1873, using parts from locks and two, eight-day kitchen clocks, Mr. Sargent created the first time lock to be installed on a bank vault door. He personally connected the time lock to the vault door of the First National Bank in Morrison, Illinois, on May 26, 1874. This lock continued to secure the vault for nearly forty years until the bank was remodeled and a larger vault was built.
In 1880, Mr. Sargent connected one of his combination locks to a delay timer, creating the first Time Combination Lock, a lock that would remain locked for a predetermined amount of time after the combination was dialed. This was the forerunner of today’s Sargent & Greenleaf Timebination®.
These inventions are just a sampling of the numerous advancements and innovations in security hardware that can be attributed directly to James Sargent. His tireless efforts and clear vision of what makes for good security were responsible for the success of his young company. These same qualities continue to drive Sargent & Greenleaf today.
Times have changed since the early days in Rochester, New York. Sargent & Greenleaf now occupies 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 22,000 square feet of offices in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The company also serves European and other international customers from a facility in Switzerland. Safe manufacturers, independent safe technicians, and locksmiths around the world rely on the quality and value of S&G products.
Today, Sargent & Greenleaf offers the largest selection of mechanical and electronic locks for safes, vaults, and safe deposit boxes, as well as leading the industry in other specialty security devices. We remain committed to the ideals of our founder, James Sargent. We listen to and understand our customer’s needs and respond with the most innovative, quality-driven security products in the industry.
