Notice Board
Key Cutting to a Commercial Calling
Mike Trowbridge , Commercial Director of Door Controls Direct , began his door hardware career 25 years ago . Starting out as an apprentice bench locksmith , he now spearheads the commercial aspect of this successful , growing AI .
» JOIN LOUISE FROST AS SHE TALKS with Mike about his progress from cutting house keys to creating five-year sales strategies in an increasingly digital landscape .
L : Tell me about your journey in our industry .
M : On the tools at Spiller in Yeovil is where it started . I used to love looking in the window of a traditional local locksmiths as a child . They had the old lever locks with plastic bodies so you could see how it all worked . The internal mechanisms used to fascinate me . Then it was the idea of breaking into things , cracking safes . I couldn ’ t say no to the vacancy at Spiller when it came up .
I was a locksmith for five to six years before moving onto the trade counter . That ’ s where I think I really learnt the trade . I had a solid understanding of locks by then , I ’ d been working on them for years , repairing digital locks , understanding how things worked as well as their application .
On the trade counter it became apparent that the decisions were made “ upstairs ” where our specification team operated from . All of our big jobs and site visits all came from there , so that was where I went next – into a sales and spec role .
When the old owner of Spiller retired , an opportunity came up from a supplier to work in the U . S . so for a time , I was an export rep for Samuel Heath but was enticed back by a more senior position at Spiller . Fast forward to the merge of DAI and Spiller and us becoming Door Controls Direct , and me taking on the role of Commercial Director , which I still hold .
L : What are you most proud of in your career ?
M : The growth of the company over the last few years and the possibilities that ’ s opened up . I was fortunate enough to have been able to progress through the company during its previous iterations and now I ’ m proud to be able to provide those opportunities to others – for those with potential and ambition to grow at Door Controls Direct and move into new and different roles . It ’ s an opportunity to give back .
16
JANUARY 2025
locksmithjournal . co . uk