Premium content from Houston Business Journal - by Allison Wollam, Reporter
Ron Daniels conceived a key invention investigating gruesome crime scenes.
The Ultimate Lock developed by the reserve captain in the Houston Police Department is now an eye-opening item in local Lowe’s stores.
Ultimate Locks first appeared in a Lowe’s store six weeks ago, and the high-security deadbolt devices sold out in less than three hours. Daniels estimates he sold at least 40 the first day, and well over 1,000 at area Lowe’s stores since then.
The Ultimate Lock took a long time to evolve from conception to commercial production.
Daniels grew aware of the need in home security and home invasion prevention as an HPD field officer.
“I came across many home invasion crime scenes as a police officer where we got there too late and the surviving victims would ask for any recommendations to prevent this from happening again,” he says. “I started thinking and looking around for a better lock and security system because it made me feel bad that I couldn’t do anything to make them feel better.”
He researched for 10 years to develop the locking mechanism, and tested the endurance of the product with members of a SWAT team from Northern Virginia who were unable to penetrate the lock.
Through NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, Daniels received grant funding to research and refine his idea, which was patented in 2002.
Bob Mitchell, executive director of the NASA program, says the company was a welcome addition.
“We get real excited when we have a company like Ultimate Lock come to us,” says Mitchell. “Especially with a product that we think will eventually help all of mankind and society when it comes to safety issues with families, homes and businesses.”
RUDY T PICKS LOCK
An infomercial Daniels ran on his lock product a couple of years ago eventually caught the attention of a buyer for Lowe’s Cos. Inc. The product was put on the fast track and was placed on the shelves of local Lowe’s within weeks.
Daniels says the locks have found target audiences in single mothers, the elderly, residents of apartments or anyone looking to feel safer at home.
He says the lock has become popular in affluent neighborhoods such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands, where high security is a high priority in multimillion-dollar homes.
The Ultimate Lock system, which starts at $160, is already expanding beyond Lowe’s Houston stores and will soon be entering the San Antonio and Killeen markets.
Houston-based Millennium Lock Inc., parent company of the Ultimate Lock system, is located at 6150 Richmond Ave. with a staff of 25 employees.
Daniels says he has several other products, such as security tapes and other locking systems, in development with patents pending.
Meanwhile, in an effort to give his Ultimate Lock more exposure, he recently hired former Houston Rockets Coach Rudy Tomjanovich and former Houston Rocket Robert Horry to serve as spokesmen for the product.
He plans to expand to all Lowe’s stores nationally, and projects sales exceeding $3 million over the next two to three years.
Says Daniels: “We are quickly becoming the fastest-growing lock system in America.”
Read more: Ultimate Lock provides pound of prevention | Houston Business Journal
Tags: security, home security lock, deadbolt, door lock, door, home, lock, locks
