Kwikset is an American lock and lockset manufacturer owned by Assa Abloy. Originally Gateway Manufacturing Company, Kwikset was founded in California in 1946 by Adolf Schoepe, and Karl Rhinehart.[1]
The current name for the company was derived from the company's first locks, which pioneered the then-revolutionary tubular lock design, which was relatively fast to install. Kwikset key blanks (KW1, Ilco 1176, Axxess 66) are available at almost every location where keys can be made.
Kwikset currently has manufacturing facilities in Denison, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Mexicali, Mexico. Kwikset also has a facility in China. Kwikset previously had manufacturing facilities in Anaheim, California; Bristow, Oklahoma; and Waynesboro, Georgia; but starting in 1996, these facilities were closed in a consolidation of operations to the Mexicali facility. Kwikset's Corporate headquarters is in Lake Forest, California.
History
Adolph Schoepe and friend [2]