In Yale, we trust

And, as our team at Yale are awaiting the brand’s 182^nd birthday this month, we also welcome the launch of our next campaign, exploring the heritage and experiences of the Yale family.

The Yale brand has spent the past 182 years carefully developing a range of home security products designed to make everyday life safer and more secure. And more recently, with the shift to smart home products, Yale has also been focused on making life that little bit simpler and seamless too.

So, to celebrate the launch of Yale’s latest ‘Heritage’ campaign, the in-house team have opened the archives to give you a detailed insight into the Yale products of the past and the 182 years that have followed.

Starting at the beginning

From the beginning of the ‘Yale’ brand, the name has been well-known and celebrated for its locks. And it’s in early 1840’s New York that Linus Yale Sr began his lifelong career of lock design and making.

Back in October 1843, Linus Yale Sr and his family put through their first of many patents for their lock designs, from the cylinder lock in 1844, the first pin tumbler principle to the padlock five-pin tumbler in 1857.

With the lock knowledge and expertise running in the family, Linus Yale Sr’s son, Linus Yale Jr, developed the four pin tumbler lock in 1865. After some time of improving its construction, Yale Linus Jr then went on to receive the famous patent for a lock with a round cylinder, five pin tumblers and flat key.

This lock design was enough to cement Yale’s ‘brand name’ status, designing safe and secure lock designs to protect homeowners, their family and belongings. What Linus Yale Jr’s innovations did create was enough to change the industry completely, revolutionising lock design, production and methods of repair.

Since the early years of the brand, Yale has continued to grow its status as a worldwide brand name. In 1869, Yale was manufacturing locks for a range of applications including locks for banks and Post Office lockers.

Linus Yale Jr was the brains behind the bank locks, creating tamper-proof locks which were used across the globe, with the Post Office lockers being contracted for use by the US government.

And as the brand approached the 20^th century, the ‘Yale & Towne’ brand became the largest locks and door closer manufacturer in the world. Yale was such a well-known, respected brand that even the Chrysler Building had its own exclusive showroom of Yale products. Yale also had a sponsorship with Disneyland during the 1960’s, with a shop setup in the famous ‘Main Street’ of the theme park.

Since then, the Yale brand moved into its current home of Midlands based market town, Willenhall. With increased burglaries during the 1970’s, the Willenhall hub was required to grow to cope with demand, with the factory modernised and expanded to increase production.

With the brand going from strength to strength, in the years that have followed, Yale has since been at the forefront of the smart security market, developing a range of products to suit the needs of homeowners in the UK and worldwide.

Over the past 182 years, Yale has shown to always be a leader in the security field, something that we don’t expect will ever change. And although new products are always in the pipeline, it’s the brand’s heritage as a traditional security brand that will continue to make Yale one of the most trusted brands in the world.

To find out more about the ‘Heritage’ campaign click here or to discover the range of security products from Yale, please explore our website.