Commercial Locksmith Services

Commercial work sits at the centre of what we do. Cote Lock has been a commercial locksmith in Kitchener since 1976, and the family business is now in its third generation. Our customers are property managers, commercial and industrial buildings, and institutions: places where a lot of people need keys to some doors and not others, and where a door that won’t latch at closing time is a real problem.

Commercial door hardware, master key systems and high-security systems are our specialities. Below is the work we do for businesses, with a page on each.

What we look after

• Master key systems:** a key for each person that opens exactly the doors they need, laid out on a key schedule before any cylinder is pinned.
• High-security locks:** Mul-T-Lock cylinders and restricted keys, so a departing employee can’t have copies made at a hardware counter.
• Access control:** fob and card systems, including SMARTair wireless locks, with access set by person, door and time of day.
• Automatic door operators:** the Ditec HA8 and other swing-door operators in standard, heavy and high-wind duty, with wired, wireless or touchless buttons.
• Barrier-free washroom kits:** operator, buttons, occupancy-indicator lock and emergency call, put together as one system.
• Commercial door hardware:** closers, panic bars, continuous hinges, electric strikes, thresholds, and hollow metal doors with fire-rated frames.
• Safes:** new and used, from fire-rated to burglary-rated, on display at the shop.

For property managers

Lock work in a managed building tends to arrive in batches. A tenant moves out and only returns one of three keys. A contractor needs into the mechanical room for a week. The rear exit closer starts slamming, or stops closing at all. We handle the rekeying, the keys and the hardware repairs as one supplier, and we can build the building’s keying so a lost unit key means changing one cylinder rather than every lock on the floor.

For plants and industrial sites

Manufacturing and industrial buildings have doors with very different jobs: offices, tool cribs, chemical storage, shipping areas, and the man door beside the loading dock that takes a knock from a forklift now and then. Those doors need hardware rated for the abuse and keying that matches who works where. We supply and install heavy-duty closers, exit devices, continuous hinges and hollow metal doors and frames, and we key them into a system that fits the shift structure.

For institutions and public-facing buildings

Buildings open to the public carry extra expectations. Exits have to open with one motion. Entrances and washrooms often need to work for someone using a wheelchair or walker. Staff need to lock up offices without locking anyone in. Our work for institutions covers panic hardware, power door operators, barrier-free washroom kits and access control, along with the everyday keying.

Keeping control of who has keys

The weak point in most commercial key systems isn’t the lock. It’s the key that left with someone and was copied on the way out. Restricted keyways fix that: blanks aren’t sold on the open market, and copies are made only through an authorized dealer. Because we’re a Mul-T-Lock Super Center, those keys are cut here under our own account. When a business moves into a new location, rekeying is the first thing we recommend, since nobody knows how many keys the last tenant handed out.

“I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Coté Lock Service for many years now. Their professional, knowledgeable, swift service, coupled with that small family business feel, has helped foster a close working relationship. One that I’m sure will continue for many more years.” (Andy Kuntz, Kuntz Electroplating Inc.)

Trade brands, stocked and supported

We work with the hardware the commercial trade relies on: Schlage, Sargent, Yale, Falcon, Von Duprin, LCN, dormakaba, ASSA ABLOY, Adams Rite and Mul-T-Lock for locks, closers and exit devices, plus SMARTair, CDVI and RCI for access control and Ditec and Camden for door operators. Sticking with established trade brands means parts stay available for years, and your hardware matches what architects and contractors specify.

Getting started

Call the shop at 519-894-7055, email admin@cotelockservice.ca, or walk in at 300 Manitou Drive, Unit D. We’re open Monday to Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. For a larger job, such as a new key system or hardware across a building, send us the details for a quote and we’ll arrange a visit. We serve businesses in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Brantford and the surrounding towns. You can read more about our family business.