SARGENT® Manufacturing Company

In 1810, the Sargent family entered the hardware business, beginning the trail that eventually led to the present SARGENT Manufacturing Company. After operating a wholesale hardware business in New York City, the Sargent brothers bought the Peck and Walter Manufacturing Company of New Britain, CT in 1857. Seven years later, in 1864, they moved the factory to New Haven to be closer to the sea for shipping purposes and the delivery of raw materials, and incorporated under the laws of Connecticut as SARGENT & Co.

The original plant started out with a series of five-story brick buildings, storage sheds, and, as the business grew, other buildings were added. Connecting these various structures were “catwalks” or bridges, often spanning busy city streets. By 1914, the SARGENT product catalog listed some 60,000 different items, making it one of the largest hardware manufacturing plants in the United States.

Always known as a high quality manufacturer of locks and door-related mechanisms, the decision was reached by the Sargent family to concentrate more on that niche. This focus gave rise to the development of many lock-related engineering firsts, like the development of the Sargent Keso Security System (1965). This product, still in strong demand today, marked the first major improvement in pin-tumbler lock construction in over one hundred years.

Since coming under the ASSA ABLOY umbrella, in 1996, SARGENT has focused on refining their manufacturing processes, along with the development of new and innovative products. And today, SARGENT continues to lead our industry in new product introductions and innovations to existing product.