The development of locks and hardware can be said to date back to Biblical times, with the handing over of the key to the gates of Heaven. The key had, and still does have, an important function today. Even the Gods of the Greeks and Romans held the power of the keys. Depending on their status, they held the keys to the Underworld, Earth or Heaven.

It was probably during the Stone Age that initial steps towards locking things up were taken, at a time when people hunted and collected their food. They would have had to protect themselves and their stores against wild animals and other threats.

The first lock is referred to in literature, is wickerwork used to secure a lattice or trellis.

Dead bolts, espagnolettes and similar locking systems developed from these origins.

According to historians, this was how the first key – the push-in key was developed.

The dead lock was developed under the influence of Egyptians and Greeks.

As it became possible to work using metal, progress was made at a rapid pace in the development of locks and hardware.

Locks and hardware experienced their heyday and were now made by smiths and goldsmiths.

As a result of the invention of the steam engine, by James Watt in 1776, which made it possible to use machines for industry, there was increasing mechanization of production in the lock industry throughout the 19^th Century.

The level of mass demand for locks and keys, which were now no longer made by artisans, gave rise to the establishment of lock factories.

The demands made on locks and hardware varied greatly at any specific point in time. The whole industry was, and still is today, subject to radial changes.

As the population increased in number, density and concentration, there was also a growing need for protection and security.

As individualism and social divides became ever greater, the demands made on technology became more and more complex.