Sentry Group

History

In 1930, John Brush, Sr. and his brother-in-law, Willard Punnett, opened a small shop for the manufacture of safes at 545 West Avenue in Rochester, New York. The Brush-Punnett Company was a pioneer in the stamping (metalworking) of steel safes. During a long and arduous startup period that spanned the Great Depression and World War II, the company had some success by selling safes to Vassar College for its dormitories and steel skids to Eastman Kodak.

In 1943, after purchasing his sister and brother's-in-law interest, John Brush Sr. became the sole owner of the company. It was Brush's intent to pass the business on to his sons John Jr., Richard, and Robert. John Jr. joined the business in 1954 after serving in the United States Army Air Corps, and graduating from St. Lawrence University (1950) and Harvard Business School. The company changed its name to John D. Brush & Co. in 1955.

Brush & Co. moved into a new plant at 900 Linden Avenue in Rochester in 1968, with over 50000 sqft. In 1987, it began doing business under the name Sentry Group, in order to better identify the company with its trademark name in safes, "Sentry".

In 2014, Sentry was sold to Master Lock, which is a division of Fortune Brands Home & Security.

In 2016, Master Lock closed the Rochester, New York based production facilities and moved production to Mexico.

Legal cases

In 1991, Michael Redman of Virginia brought a product liability suit against Sentry Group after his coin collection was stolen out of his Sentry Supreme Safe, Model #5570. Redman noticed the safe in a Value-Tique advertisement that appeared in the magazine Coin World. The magazine had advertised the safe as a "burglar deterrent".

Redman won the jury verdict in district court, but the case was appealed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the decision, holding that Redman failed to present evidence demonstrating that the safe violated industry standards, government standards, or reasonable consumer expectations. Redman's safe was specifically designed to meet fire-resistant standards, but not "burglar deterrent" standards, even though it did provide "a degree of protection against burglary". An expert witness testified that materials that enhance burglar-resistance on safes consequently reduce the fire-resistance.

References

References

1. "Service & Support".
2. Mazza, Jordan. (June 29, 2016). "Sentry Safe Closes Pittsford Headquarters". [[Charter Communications]].
3. Walsh, Patrice. (April 26, 2016). "Former Sentry Safe Owner Says He Feels Betrayed by New Owners". [[Deerfield Media]].
4. {{Cite court. (April 28, 1997)