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Ian Casson, The Funny Guy Who Never Stops:
Excalibur Security
» WE INTERVIEWED PROBABLY Britain’ s, and definitely Liverpool’ s, first auto locksmith, Ian Casson, who attributes his success to‘ getting in early, staying in the game, and keeping everyone laughing’.
Few figures in the locksmith world carry quite the legendary status of Ian Casson. To his friends in the Auto Locksmiths Association, he’ s“ quite a character”- the man who can get a room laughing when even the booked comedian can’ t.
To long-standing clients across Ford, Vauxhall and Enterprise, he’ s the dependable name they’ ve trusted for decades. But to Ian himself, he’ s simply a bloke who got into auto locksmithing simply before anyone else.
Getting in Early: The Accidental Pioneer
I always say I was the first auto locksmith in the country, or maybe just Liverpool, but nobody else was advertising in the Yellow Pages back then, so I must’ ve been amongst the first. That’ s always been a big part of my success. I got in early, got established, and built relationships with the right people.
I started out as a sheet metal worker. When I was 32, I decided to go into the locksmith business. There were no courses like there are now. I taught myself. I used to fit deadlocks on people’ s houses, and I fitted car locks as well. When people had a problem with a car or a van, they’ d call me, so I saw there was a need for the auto locksmith work. Because I had no competition, the phone just kept ringing!
When I started in 1983, my lad Adam( who runs the business now) wasn’ t even born. My wife worked with me too for a while, doing the books. We were just a small family outfit back then, we still are, in many ways.
From Steel Doors back to Cars
At the beginning, money wasn’ t exactly flowing in, so I kept my steel business going. Funny enough, it was the police that got me established in both sides of my work. Crime prevention officers used to recommend me for general home security. That got me locksmith work, and then it led to something much bigger.
One day, the police recommended us to a warehouse on the Haydock industrial estate for steel security doors. From that one job, it snowballed. We ended up supplying steel doors for Wickes, 180 stores all over the country. That went on for ten years. I had eight people working for me at one point.
Schools came to us too, wanting secure areas and stronger doors. Everyone wanted heavy-duty doors, and then they wanted them to look nice as well. It grew fast, but steel went expensive and the car work was growing. I knew I had to pick one. So, after ten years, I gave the steel business
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JANUARY 2026
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