St. Louis –Squire North America has named Craftmaster Hardware as its newest authorized U.S. distributor, expanding access to Squire’s premium mechanical padlocks among institutional locksmiths, facility managers, security professionals and critical infrastructure organizations.

The partnership grew out of discussions held during the spring Security Hardware Distributors Association (SHDA) meetings. Squire and its North American representative, Channel Championz, met with Craftmaster leadership to explore opportunities within the institutional and high-security markets.

The announcement comes as Craftmaster celebrates its 75th anniversary. Founded in New York City in 1951, Craftmaster has grown into a national security hardware distributor supporting institutional customers with products from more than 180 door hardware and security brands.

“Craftmaster is exactly the kind of distributor partner we hoped to identify through our SHDA meetings,” said Jerry Burhans, Channel Championz founder and Squire’s North American channel development representative. “Their people understand high-security padlocks, institutional applications, and the needs of customers who cannot afford to compromise on performance. They also give us a highly credible path to serve utilities, government facilities and other critical infrastructure customers while maintaining Squire’s distributor-first approach.”

Craftmaster’s customer base includes institutional locksmiths, government agencies, correctional facilities, facility managers, and security professionals seeking specialized products for demanding applications. Its experienced sales team regularly helps customers identify and source high-security products that may not be available through conventional retail or general industrial channels.

“Our customers often come to us with a straightforward request. They need a robust, serious padlock rather than another commodity product,” said Dan Donohue, Vice President Sales & General Manager of Craftmaster Hardware. “Squire brings us a differentiated range backed by centuries of lock-making experience, tested security performance, and products designed for demanding outdoor and high-security environments. We see strong potential among our institutional customers as well as in utilities, government, industrial, and critical infrastructure applications.”

Founded in England in 1780, Squire is one of the world’s oldest lock manufacturers. Its commercial mechanical range includes keyed and resettable combination padlocks developed for high-security, harsh-weather and high-abuse environments. The portfolio also includes the flagship Stronghold® platform as well as stainless steel, weather-resistant, and heavy-duty combination products for applications such as perimeter gates, utility facilities, telecommunications sites, oil and gas operations, warehouses, shipping containers and government properties.

The Craftmaster introduction will be supported by product education, technical information, digital marketing assets, application guidance and sales training. Plans also include adding selected Squire products to Craftmaster’s and Taylor Security’s e-commerce platforms, and introducing the brand through customer communications and product-focused email campaigns.

“Our distributor channel commitment is important,” Burhans added. “Our role is to help educate the market and put the right product in front of the right customer. Craftmaster provides the product expertise, availability, and trusted customer relationship needed to turn that interest into a successful long-term program.”

The addition of Craftmaster represents another step in Squire’s measured expansion within the North American commercial security market. Rather than pursuing broad distribution, Squire is selecting partners with established expertise, appropriate customer relationships, and the ability to properly position premium mechanical security products.