William McElheney opened his hardware store in a storefront at 1505 Adams Street. Second generation ownership of the business was official in 1956 when son Robert bought the store. The following year, his son, William, came to work full time. This third generation involvement was marked by more than just the addition of a grandson. He started emphasizing duplicate key making and general locksmith
services. Starting with one to two calls per week, the business took off with the implementation of a phone book add. The locksmith service kept on growing and sales in that area increased every year. William McElheney took over the business in 1972 and phased out the hardware ten years later. The evolving McElheney business moved twice more on Adams Street. In 1991, the operation relocated to a former tire store at 1214 Jefferson. The showroom area is lined with over 2500 different key blanks which is one of the largest inventories in northwest Ohio. Categories include foreign and domestic automobile keys, and all the others for everything imaginable. There are special keys for safe deposit boxes, file cabinets, desks, luggage and on and on. McElheney Locksmiths even stocks a collection of skeleton keys from the late 1800s. We probably have or can get a key to almost any lock there is. In addition to key making, McElheney Locksmiths also stocks door and lock accessories. Handicap door opening devices , in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, complete the inventory at the Jefferson Avcnue store. A section of the showroom holds a line of ADA approved notices with messages also written in braille. McElheney Locksmiths have added an engraving machine to fabricate the plastic, metal and glass signs. We've found that many of our customers ordering other items such as name tags or name plates for desks and plaques for awards or company names on glassware. This process is effective for short run items and we have made some rather unique items. Some of the fun ones have been a wedding invitation engraved on a mirror or names and dates engraved on a wine bottle in commemoration of a special event. Listening to customers' needs seems to be a McElheney family trait and, perhaps, the real key in the success of this particular family business. But McElheney Locksmiths has evolved into much more than a place to find replacement keys and fancy brass accessories. Eight full-time and four part-time locksmiths, including 2 generations of McElheneys, are on staff to service and install a full range of lock systems from the very simple to the more sophisticated varieties. We service a wide variety of lock systems for an even wider variety of customers from individuals to commercial and industrial clients. Each of the staff members is an experienced locksmith and several have fared well in regional competition. One member of our staff has taken first place for the past three years in a Detroit lock company's annual contest. Four of the McElheney Locksmiths' crew finished in the top 10 in the same contest. Listening to customers' needs is a McElheney family trait and is the key to the success of this family business.
