with other hardware manufacturers’ goods — their sales volume topped $1.7 million. A Twist of Fate The connection with the New York sales office prompted the turn toward lock manu- facturing for Sargent & Co. — and the move became monumental. Sargent & Co. had been the sole agent for Mallory, Wheeler & Co., a business that manufactured locks and builders hardware. When Mallory, Wheeler & Co. decided to take its business elsewhere, it propelled the headstrong Joe to take over the manufacturing of these items at his New Haven plant. He wouldn’t stand for losing this profitable division of his New York of- fice, and decided that direct competition with this departed firm was the way to go. To this end, he hired William E. Sparks to head the new Lock Division at his plant. William, a leading lock expert of the day, had worked for Joe’s competitor and P&F Corbin. Locks and Growth Throughout the years, the lock division grew, and manufactured standardized lock 1928 – Board re- places H.B. Sargent with outsider B.W. Burtsell as company president/general manager 1927 – George Sargent (son) replaces H.B. Sargent as com- pany president 1917 – George H. Sargent dies, Henry B. Sar- gent takes over as company president WWW.ALOA.ORG 1942 – Barth resigns; Mur- ray Sargent elected as company president 1938 – New York sales office sold to city as a courthouse 1934 – Burtsell resigns; P.E. Barth elected company president parts along with pneumatic door checks. The plant expanded to 16 acres in 1887, with 40 departments and 1,700 employees. And in the near future there would be an increase in personnel that would not only impact the plant but the community at large. If anyone wonders why more than 25,000 residents of New Haven are of Italian heritage today, they need look no further than Joseph B. Sargent. With the influx of European labor into the United States in the early 1900s, Joe trav- eled to a small coastal town in Italy to secure more workers for his growing manufacturing facility. He handed out small Sargent & Co. pins to identify immigrant workers when they arrived in New York. They were then employed in New Haven. His worldwide reach greatly impacted his small city and increased his staff by about 300. His Realm In 1894, Joe entered the pin tumbler arena, even though he had a patented two-sided ward flat steel key that was popular. Be- cause of his world trips in 1889, Joe real- ized how far ahead U.S. lock companies were compared to those in other countries. When he died in 1907 at the age of 89, his brother George then took over the reigns. Electroplating was established in 1908 and was kept secret to prevent competitors from matching the process. Times were tough aſter the stock crash and depression of the 1930s. Many chang- es, both nationally and Sargent-wide, were implemented. And though leadership fluc- tuated, the business remained, for the most part, family oriented. With tight belts and the development of other locking mecha- nisms, SARGENT continued to flourish over the ensuing years. In January 1996, SARGENT joined the ASSA ABLOY family of companies to be- come part of the largest lock-manufacturing corporation in the world. Today, SARGENT continues to be a premier lock and archi- tectural hardware manufacturer, with its well-known, quality products distributed and used worldwide. All of this was due to the determination and insight of Joseph Bradford Sargent. 1962 – C.F. Sargent named chairman of board; Herman R. Giese elected as company president 1944 – C. Forbes Sargent elected as company president 1941 – Sargent purchases half of lock company: Bellville-Sargent in Ontario 1970 – SARGENT joins forces with Keso of Switzerland to start Sargent Keso locks 1972 – Sargent & Co. becomes division of Walter Kidde & Co. 1964 – SARGENT moves to new plant; 100th anniversary in New Haven 1995 – SARGENT is purchased by ASSA ABLOY of Sweden 1987 – Beacon Capital Corporation purchases SARGENT and a list of other companies and names them Essex Industries, Inc. 1974 – SARGENT begins manufacturing Signature Series 1990 – John A. Figurelli becomes company president MARCH 2014 KEYNOTES 49
