Pacific Lock Company (PACLOCK®) released a statement on Tuesday to all US-based distributors of Master Lock Company (Master) products in response to Master purportedly significantly decreasing discounts to its non-national distributors.
PACLOCK® is offering all Master distributors the discounts needed to stay competitive in the marketplace. For years, Master has enjoyed an unchallenged position and this announcement by PACLOCK® signals a significant shift in the padlock industry.
According to Gregory Waugh, President and CEO of PACLOCK®, ever since Master bought the American Lock Company in 2002, the competitive landscape for quality padlocks has drastically changed.
“PACLOCK® is quickly becoming the new ‘Locksmith’s Lock’ because of our U.S. production capabilities, short lead times, friendly customer service, and ability to innovate – put simply, we solve customer problems when no other padlock manufacturer does.” -Waugh.
“When a customer calls and needs a problem solved, we do just that,” says John Van Duzee, Key Accounts Manager at PACLOCK®. The U.S. manufacturer started receiving calls from disgruntled Master distributors because of a 5% drop in discounts on the Master product line. According to Van Duzee, these Master distributors are left with no way of competing against the larger distributors, “and that’s a problem PACLOCK® will solve for our current and future customers,” says Van Duzee.
“PACLOCK® is reaching out to all Master distributors to say, ‘you’ve been thinking about moving over to PACLOCK® for some time now… guess what, Master just made the decision for you,” said Waugh. As the only manufacturer in the world producing Buy American Act (BAA) compliant brass, hardened steel, and aluminum bodied padlocks, PACLOCK® is in a unique position to be the legitimate alternative to the Master line of padlocks. “We just need a chance to get our foot in the door,” said Waugh, “and when PACLOCK® gets that opportunity, customers wonder why PACLOCK® had not been there sooner.”
In business since 1997, PACLOCK® made drastic manufacturing changes in 2010 by onshoring its padlock body manufacturing. “Our family decided to bring our manufacturing to the U.S.A. long before the term onshoring was popular,” said Waugh. And with PACLOCK’s U.S. manufacturing capabilities, the company is expanding their product lines dramatically while most other padlock manufacturers are cutting products. In the past two years alone PACLOCK® has released more than 100 new products into the locksmithing industry.
Waugh also points out that many distributors and large institutions have moved their padlock purchasing habits to another large manufacturer, one producing Chinese and German products for sale in the U.S.A. “With how we’ve built our infrastructure these past four years, we can support even the largest of retail outlets with high quality products that are BAA compliant, from a family owned and operated business, and from a workforce that is approximately 15% disabled,” said Waugh.
Since releasing the letter of support, PACLOCK® has already begun to receive interest from Master distributors eager to partner with a manufacturer committed to distributors’ success. PACLOCK® expects to field numerous calls over the next several days and weeks, and says it’s prepared for the demand.
