- Master Lock
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Master Lock Company 
Type Subsidiary Founded 1921 Headquarters Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. Products Padlocks Parent Fortune Brands Home & Security Website masterlock.com - For the professional wrestling move called the Master Lock, see Professional wrestling holds.
A Master Lock brand combination padlock
Master Lock With Key OpenMaster 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.
Contents
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] Recently[when?] the Discovery Channel's MythBusters tested this advertisement by shooting a Master Lock padlock by a rifle, capturing the results on film. As the famous Super Bowl ad depicted, Master Lock passed the test by surviving the gunshot.
Offshoring and re-shoring
In 1999, Fortune Brands began to abandon most operations in its Milwaukee 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) 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 now employ 379 workers. It would continue to contract with three Chinese factories, twenty Chinese suppliers, and to operate its maquiladora near the Arizona border, where low-cost Mexican workers do non-automated, labor-intensive work, such as assembling made-in-Milwaukee components.[3][4]
References
- ^ Advertising During the Super Bowl: A Mixed Bag
- ^ Blink Of An Ad
- ^ Schmid, John. "Master Lock reassessing China: Milwaukee-based company finds it can compete better from U.S. soil", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 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" Solidarity March/April 2011
External links
Categories:- Companies based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Companies established in 1921
- Lock manufacturers
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