Industry News
“I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I KNEW THAT”
With 15 years (across two stints) at North East Lock & Key under his belt,
Scott Walton makes up part of a team with more than a half century
of experience between them. And, for a business that was founded
in 1977, this combination of experience and expertise means that the
Washington, Tyne & Wear outfit has become the go-to place in the North
East for locksmiths seeking a wholesaler with the whole package.
» FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS
North East Lock & Key has
supplied ironmongery and master
suite keys from single units to the
quantities required for large-scale
projects with Local Authorities
and hospitals. Concentrating on
the commercial sector, Scott and
the team know more than anyone
the demanding obligations of
this sector, and as such their
product lines and – perhaps
more importantly – their product
knowledge has evolved over the
years to make sure they have
everything their customers need
to fulfill their customers’ exactions
and expectations.
‘North East Lock &
Key is well-known
and respected for
its readily available
advice and assistance’
Scott is perhaps the perfect
example of someone, who not
a locksmith by trade himself,
has become engrossed in the
environment he works in across
the 15 years of his employment
there. Within the local area, North
East Lock & Key is well-known
and respected for its readily-
available advice and assistance,
that Scott has – almost by
osmosis – soaked in the acumen
of his peers. As he modestly
mentions, “when you’ve done it
for so long, you just keep doing it
and there are times when I think
‘I didn’t even know I knew that’
and it’s just got into my brain
somehow and stayed there.”
14
NORTH EAST
LOCK
&
EY
For all the modern merchandise
and up-to-date units however, Scott
explains that throughout North
East Lock & Key’s four decades of
trading, they have also become
renowned for their collection of
older products that might just be
the missing part of the puzzle
for more unique and unusual
projects. In his own words, Scott
says that “over the years we have
accumulated a lot of stock; some of
it is relevant every day, and some
of it not-so-much,” but how many
times have you said as a locksmith
‘I wish they still made x, y, z’, well
it just so happens that North East
Lock & Key may have one of those
somewhere…
As such, for a team that
combines an enviable expanse of
insight and intuition of locksmithing
and security supplies, it would
be obvious to think that North
East Lock & Key has a prominent
presence on the show circuit. In
fact, it is for one simple reason that
the business has never exhibited
at an event, nor has Scott ever
attended one as a visitor: timing.
“I always wanted to go to a show
but I also have a young family,”
he says. “North East Lock & Key
actually only operates Monday to
Friday, and we’ve always found
that to be enough for what our
customers need, plus it’s better for
the staff. Weekends are precious,
and as the vast majority of events
take place on a Saturday or
Sunday, that is out of the working
week for us, and for that reason
I’ve never made it to one.”
Circling back to the company
itself, as 2019 draws to a close, it
is the ideal excuse to reflect on
the past 12 months; one that Scott
says has been “a good year” for
the Harvey Close business. “Of
course, some things could always
be better,” he adds, “but overall
it has been good and we have
absolutely no complaints. More
importantly, however, we’re really
looking forward to 2020. We
have a brand-new website, which
although was set to come out a
few months ago, we kept tweaking
and changing it – as we didn’t
want it to be anything less than
perfect – so we will be launching
that in the new year. We will also
hopefully have some new products
on the shelves as well, so watch
this space.”
North East Lock & Key is a
family-owned and run wholesale
security business, based at
31 Harvey Close, Washington,
NE38 0AB. For any questions
or queries, contact the team by
telephoning 0191 416 1843 or
emailing and info@nelockandkey.
co.uk Upon its launch in 2020,
you will be able to view the
brand-new North East Lock &
Key website by visiting: https://
nelockandkey.co.uk
NOV/DEC 2019
locksmithjournal.co.uk
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