SentrySafe is a brand of safes manufactured in Rochester, New York. It is owned by the Master Lock Company.[1] It markets safes designed for home, business, and gun storage.[citation needed] In addition to security, SentrySafe includes a range of Underwriters Laboratories (UL)-rated safes to protect valuables from both fire and water.[citation needed]
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.
Brush & Co. moved into a new plant at 900 Linden Avenue in Rochester in 1968, with over 50,000 sq ft (5,000 m2). 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.[2][3]
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”.[4]
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”.[citation needed]
References
- ^ “Service & Support”. MasterLock.com. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ Mazza, Jordan (June 29, 2016). “Sentry Safe Closes Pittsford Headquarters”. Spectrum News 1 Capital Region. Charter Communications. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ Walsh, Patrice (April 26, 2016). “Former Sentry Safe Owner Says He Feels Betrayed by New Owners”. WHAM-TV. Rochester, New York: Deerfield Media. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ^ Redman v. John D. Brush and Co., 111 F.3d 1174 (4th Cir. April 28, 1997).
Further reading
- “Made in Our Hometown: Sentry Safe”. WHAM-TV. Rochester, New York: Deerfield Media. July 11, 2013. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014.
- “At Sentry, Employees Feel Secure”, R News website
- “Alfred University Presents Awards to Four Rochester-area Family Businesses”, AU Press Release 5/24/01, Alfred University website
- Walsh, Patrice (June 29, 2016). “Last Day for Many Sentry Safe Workers in Pittsford”. WHAM-TV. Rochester, New York: Deerfield Media. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
