Detention Locks Industry History

1880

William J. Adam forms Adam Steel and Wire Works in Illinois and begins producing fencing and grille work. His son, Folger Adam, changes company name and focuses on manufacturing detention cells.

1897

David F. Youngblood forms Southern Steel Company and begins manufacturing mechanical sliding doors for prisons.

1905

Folger Adam Company begins manufacturing mechanical locks for swinging doors in prisons.

1940-1960

Folger Adam Company purchases the detention lock lines of Sargent & Greenleaf and Yale & Towne. Folger Adam Company later purchases the detention lock line of Stewart Iron Works. They are the only manufacturer of both mechanical and electromechanical locks for prisons until 1967.

1967

Southern Steel Company copies the lock designs of Folger Adam Company in both their mechanical and electromechanical locks and begins manufacturing detention locks as an equivalent to Folger Adam Company.

1978

RR Brink Locking Systems begins manufacturing the narrow jamb prison lock for use in swinging doors.

1984

Adtec Detention Systems is formed by the great-grandson of Southern Steel Company's founder. Adtec Detention Systems copies Southern Steel Company's lock designs. They produce an extensive line of Federal Bureau of Prison approved locks and sliding door devices.

1989

Airteq Systems pioneers the use of pneumatic technology in locks and copies the mechanical lock designs of Folger Adam. Airteq Systems is part of the Norment Industries, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

1990

RR Brink Locking Systems begins copying many of the lock designs of Adtec Detention Systems.

1998

Compudyne Corporation acquires Norment Industries from Apogee Enterprises. Compudyne creates the Norment Security Group.

2001

Corrections Products Company (CPC) purchases various assets of Adtec Detention Systems. In response to the escalating prices and delivery delays in the market, CPC replicates the locks and parts of Folger Adam, Southern Steel, RR Brink, Airteq and others. The choice and competition that CPC provides saves its customers over $1,000,000 in the first year.

2004

ASSA ABLOY sells Folger Adam Company to Phelps-Tointon Inc., the parent company of Southern Steel. Phelps-Tointon renames the combined unit Southern Folger Detention Equipment Company.

2012

The U.S. Military's Joint Task Detention Group in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba recognizes CPC for its decade-long support of one of America's most important missions against terrorism.