Federal Lock & Safe Interview with ALOA

As part of "Keynotes" magazine's 2001 convention coverage for ALOA in Baltimore, we have profiled a regional company of note in the Baltimore - Washington corridor. Federal Lock & Safe, Inc. ("FedLock") is a locksmith company located in Arlington, Virginia. Their location puts them just several minutes outside of the nation's capital and 40 minutes from Baltimore. In an interview with FedLock's President Peter Groves and Vice President Michael Groves, we had a lively & informative chat:

Q. What's the general descriptive info on FedLock?
Michael Groves (MG) We are a privately held locksmith services & security consulting company. Having said that, our motto is "We Secure Your World." Our people have worked on everything from residential, commercial, government, & military, airplanes, boats, Presidential & Congressional security issues; it's an endless list. Being in the Washington, DC metro area is a great place for our business. We have a range of entities here that are very concerned with every type of security imaginable, and they have the wherewithal to purchase that security. We currently run 14 service vehicles on the road, as well as our retail operation where we sell safes, GSA Containers, & counter locksmith sales. Our headquarters facility in Arlington, which we purchased in 1999, is 19,000 square feet, and is a mix of office, warehouse, and retail. We are 15 minutes from Capitol Hill, 10 minutes from Georgetown, and 15 minutes from Tysons Corner. Suits us perfectly.

Q. How did you guys get started?
Peter Groves (PG) We started from scratch in 1988. I was working part-time as a locksmith while I earned my Masters in Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies from GW University. Some of our embassy clients are pleasantly surprised when I show up & uncork my rusty Arabic. Mike left his career as a commodities trader on Wall Street & was looking for something else to do. So, we took an ad out in the Yellow Pages, and ran calls, day & night, 24 / 7 for the next 6 years. Our first office, which we show a photo of to every new employee, was an 8 x 10 bedroom in my Arlington rental house.

Q. Why are you guys different?
(PG) We never bamboozle a client. We feel a responsibility to do great work, and to be ethical & straightforward with our clients. Our techs are great; they work hard. Our guarantee? No waiting. In particular, the property managers, the building engineers, and the agency service representatives do appreciate us keeping the pressure off of them.

Q. How does ALOA figure in your company's growth?
(PG) It's mandatory for all new teammates to join ALOA. The first year, FedLock pays half of the individual dues, then it's up to them to stay with it. 13 of our people will be taking the PRP in Baltimore, and every-one will be attending a variety of classes that the company pays for. We constantly utilize the ALOA study materials, and Keynotes, to stay current. It's important that our people realize that what they do is part of a professional occupation. ALOA represents that image very well.

Q. What do you think have been reasons for your growth?
(MG) Hard work. Plowing everything back into the business. Working alongside good people. Our senior people are great: they care about the success of the business, they understand that sterling service & top-quality work are our raison d'être and they are the reason we have really taken off in the past several years. They are unrelenting in their training of new people to do the work the right way, always, with quality in mind! Plus, we don't think we've accomplished what we really can, so we all stay humble - things can go south on you in a hurry.

Q. Care to tell us what your annual revenues are?
(PG) Well...no. With all due respect!

Q. How do you find technicians?
(MG) We look for tech applicants with electronics skills and common sense. We usually do not hire experienced locksmiths, which may sound negative. We just prefer to train 'em our way, and that way we know what we have out in the field when they're ready to roll. We usually know if they can absorb the material within 30 to 90 days. We've been burned a few times, no matter how careful we are. Seems to go with the territory. Our training program is comprehensive: 4 to 6 weeks in-shop, then riding along with senior technicians, then slowly getting their feet wet on their own. We purchase doors & frames & set them up in our training area of the facility. That's where they drill, chisel, chop, and do installations of everything from deadbolts to door closers BEFORE they work with our clients. It's worth it to spend $ 200.00 on a door & frame and let the trainee chew that up, than to let them loose on a client's $ 2,000.00 custom oak door!

Q. Greatest difficulty as a business?
(MG) Well, I would say that finding a truly effective method of marketing what we do to new & even existing clientele is a formidable challenge. We do so many things, from high-tech electronics to cutting keys, that our clients sometimes lose track of all that we can do for them. And what really does get new business? We're way past the stage where we just stuck an ad in the Yellow Pages. We do a lot of direct sales. Upselling to our premium lines, such as Medeco, is a big part of our approach. Finding top-quality technicians is a never-ending task, of course, just as it is for everyone in this business. We know that we will lose 50% of all new technicians for a variety of reasons. The really sound ones stick, and we try to make this a good place to come to work.

Q. How does the Internet figure in FedLock's growth?
(PG) We've taken a slow-track approach on that. We have a website (www.fedlock.com), and soon it will be able to handle e-commerce & b-to-b transactions. Our facility is computer networked, and we believe strongly in the technology of the Internet, but we've been watching ventures like Marshall Merrifield's huge investment in Clark's website & we'll see how things like that go.

Q. So, where is FedLock headed?
(PG) Near-term, we will get 30 service vehicles on the road. Long-term we will expand & open other locations in the region. Maintaining quality & service standards are the challenges that come with growth. Safe sales are decent, but we want to ramp that up. We have just re-designed our entire safe showroom. We have safes in different settings, such as in a living room, and a rec room, actual "sets" that we've designed within the show-room to demonstrate to people that safes don't always need to be stuffed in the basement. Overall, we've seen an annual growth rate in gross revenues of approximately 25 to 40% in each of the past 8 years. We'd like to maintain that.