It all started on this day, back in 1773, when American Colonists dumped heavily taxed British tea into Boston Harbor. It’s that kind of commitment to change that has been at the heart of everything we do at American Locker for over 120 years.
It was at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773, that American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the harbor. This historic event was the first major act of defiance by the American colonists to British rule. It showed Great Britain that Americans wouldn’t take taxation and tyranny sitting down, and rallied American patriots across the 13 colonies to fight for independence.
Moments like this from our great American history remind us what it means to be truly American. This demonstrable act of rebellion set the stage for a nation that would constantly define itself by its commitment to do what’s right at any cost. That same spirit has been driving innovation at American Locker for over 120 years. Here are just a few notable highlights from our long history of innovation.
1895: U.S. Voting Machine Company is founded. American Locker Group traces its origins, at least in part, to the U.S. Voting Machine Company, which was founded in 1895 to exploit Thomas Edison’s pioneering invention to ensure honest election results.
1930s: U.S. Voting Machine Company creates American Locker to provide storage, distribution, and inventory management solutions based on individual and industry needs for companies like Greyhound Bus and Union Railroad.
1939: Greyhound Bus Terminals are installing American Locker Parcel Checking Lockers in bus terminals across the country.
1940s: When the Wanamaker’s Grand Depot first opened in 1880, it featured “free checking” and quickly became an institution for many years. But when American Locker installed their Parcel Checking Lockers in their place, the convenience and security of the self-serve lockers was so enthusiastically accepted that the “free checking” option was quickly abandoned.
1945: Rockwell Manufacturing, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, acquires U.S. Voting Machine Company and American Locker. American Locker products are gaining widespread popularity in locations everywhere.
1950s: American Locker continues to revolutionize the way people travel, with locker installations across the U.S. in high-trafficked terminals like the Union Railroad Depot in Indianapolis, Indiana.
1953: The world’s first coin-operated locker is invented by American Locker.
1958: American Locker Group is incorporated, as the popularity of coin-operated lockers continues to spread to airports and railway stations like this one in Binghamton, New York.
1960s: American Locker and U.S. Voting Machine Company are spun off from Rockwell Manufacturing and renamed Automatic Voting Machine Corporation (AVM).
1970s: American Locker Group becomes the sole corporate entity of AVM.
1973 – 1990: American Locker becomes the nation’s leading maker of storage lockers for business, recreation, and the U.S. Postal Service.
1999: American Locker was named number three by Business Wire in its list of the top ten 1998 technology stock performance winners.
2000 – Present: American Lockers continues its long history of producing innovative products with its Advanced Line of locker solutions that include self-serve kiosks, cell-phone charging stations, keyless lockers, and touchscreen-operated parcel pick-up stations.