What is SHDA and Why is it Important to the Locksmith?

The Security Hardware Distributors Association (better known as SHDA) has been historically linked to ALOA for the 50 years that the locksmith organization has been in existence. Only a few years older than ALOA, SHDA began and thrived as NLSA, the National Locksmith Suppliers Association, servicing locksmiths and security professionals throughout North America . Both SHDA and ALOA's pasts and futures are inseparable.

Why should a locksmith care about SHDA? Does it matter that SHDA “promotes the value of distribution to its suppliers and customers” and that its mission is “to continually improve, through education and services, the proficiency of Security Distributors in order that they are the most effective and efficient conduit to the marketplace”? The answer is: Yes!

The 53 distributor members of SHDA provide, in varying degrees:

• Access to thousands of products,

• Credit issued to encourage customer growth,

• Dedicated service professionals,

• Experience, honesty, integrity, and trust,

• Inventory for immediate needs,

• Knowledgeable technical support,

• One-stop source for important, needed products and services, and

• SHDA University access which provides education for your profit.

Today's locksmith faces a dizzying assortment of requests for products, services, and information. It is often necessary that the locksmith has a channel partner who can help him find products, give him information necessary to solve problems, and supply him with needed security hardware quickly.

The distributor deals with hundreds of vendors and thousands of products and can help steer locksmiths in the right direction. The distributor also gives many independent locksmiths credit to buy products from them and maintain their businesses, even in the most challenging economic times.

When a locksmith needs information about transponder equipment, to whom does he turn? When he needs a lock with a specific keyway or finish, he must find it quickly. When he needs to schedule a job on a door closer with a specific template, whom should he call? Does the locksmith have the necessary time or resources to be able to stock everything, to have all the information for every product? He needs to be able to call or E-mail a distributor that has inventory and access to thousands of products, hundreds of manufacturers and suppliers of every kind of security product, ranging from mechanical locking devices, access controls, electronics and CCTV, to doors and door hardware. For ease, profit, and peace of mind, the locksmith needs an SHDA distributor.

When did SHDA begin? The history of SHDA dates back to 1948 when locksmith distributors were also concerned about their future, in an era when manufacturers like Yale, Eagle, and Independent Lock Company had their own branches to supply local markets. At first, a few distributors began meeting in New York City, including Harold Hoffman of H. Hoffman Co., Harry Simon of S&S Hardware, Bill Zipf Sr. of Zipf Lock Co., Sam Solomon of Solomon and Sons, Joe Falk of Hardware Sales and Supply, and Ben Silver of D. Silver Hardware. This was the infancy of an association that began as a way for distributors to share information and help each other survive.

Eventually, these meetings led to the formation of NLSA, which began in 1956 and coincided with the first meeting of ALOA. Nate Saginur from Toronto , Murray Kramer from New York , Bob Auburn from Los Angeles , Claude Montgomery from San Francisco , Hal Snyder from Seattle , and Stan Maziuk Sr. from Syracuse , were some of the members who joined with Hoffman, Simon, Zipf, Falk, Solomon, and Silver. Ben Silver was the leader who kept the meetings running and naturally became the first president of NLSA, an association in which distributor owners discussed issues ranging from how to help locksmith dealers become better businessmen, to the importance of marketing, and methods of working with manufacturers to supply their products to locksmiths.