HARDWARE&SECURITY
SPONSORED BY DUFFELLS
GB LOCKING SYSTEMS –
A CENTURY OF EXPERIENCE
One of the predicted future
main growth areas in the
Locksmiths trade is Access
Control. The Locksmith
journal caught up with
one of the Companies that
specialises in this field,
North-East based GB Locking
Systems Ltd.
Choosing a name for the
company they set up in 2003
was pretty straightforward
for founders and owners of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based
GB Locking-Systems, Gary
Pearce and Bob Passmore.
They had been working
together for Ingersoll Rand
before they established the
Company which is named
after their first name initials.
Bob’s early days were at AES
in Birmingham, working with a
product called Corkey, an early
precursor to magnetic stripe
systems.
“I was really thrown in at
the deep end at AES,” Bob.
“I was living in a hotel in
Birmingham,
so I took
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THE NOV/DEC 2013 ISSUE
SPONSORED BY ADVANCED KEYS
the products back there with
me each evening and learned
about them by examining and
wiring them in my room.”
Bob then moved to Laidlaw
Thomas which is where
he met Gary, and began to
concentrate on access control.
For nearly 20 years he stayed,
seeing the company through
various ownership changes –
from Laidlaw Thomas through
Newman Tonks and IR.
With the market rapidly
changing and becoming
frustrated with the lack of
flexibility of a large Company
they decided to go it alone.
It meant remortgaging the
houses and taking risks, but it
was a decision they have never
regretted.
Today, GB Locking Systems
– which deals exclusively
with the trade - specialises in
the specification and supply
of access control and door
automation products to the
trade. The three Directors –
Bob, Gary and Andy Ayre – are
all committed to providing the
best possible customer service
at a personal level.
With more than a century of
technical expertise between
them, GB Locking Systems
can offer a full service
support package including
Technical Support, site
surveys, site visits, and project
management, right through to
commissioning. GB Locking
will provide anything from a
stand-alone battery-powered
lock to a complete on-line,
multi-site system.
“We appreciate that some
locksmiths can be unsure
about access control and may
need some back up through
the process,” he says. “We
can provide that – and will
effectively become part
of their team, visiting
sites with them or
on their behalf if
necessary.”
In situations where
Locksmiths have an
access control spec but
may have reservations
about how to deal with
it, GB will write a schedule,
price it up, provide schematics
for the electrical contractor,
supply the product - and even
send a commissioning team if
required – relieving the AI of
this worry and allowing them
to offer a seamless service.
Recognising the value of good
training, they also offer a
training service to Locksmiths
in the Company’s dedicated
training room.
Recent years have seen
some tough times for most
businesses, but as this
Company’s main ethos lies in
its commitment to customers
by remaining true to the
principle of offering great
customer service, quality
products and add-ons such as
the training and support.
GB Locking is a member of
the highly- respected Guild
of Architectural Ironmongers
(GAI) and the directors are
all enthusiastic about the
opportunities this offers them
and what they, in turn, can
offer.
Bob and Andy are both
DipGAI holders and are
keen to extend this strength
of learning throughout
the business. Two further
members of the team are going
though the GAI Education
programme which will lead to
the GAI Diploma.
“The Diploma gives an
excellent grounding in what
is involved in the whole
ironmongery picture,” says
Bob. “It gives you a broader
perspective which in turn gives
you more confidence when
dealing with customers.
GB Locking’s Neil Ransome
has been involved with writing
the GAI’s manual on access
control, testament to the high
regard in which GB’s expertise
is held.
To read more, visit www.locksmithjournal.co.uk