Bruce Robertson’s invention, the Zedlock has reached the finals in the British Farming Awards 2014.
Bruce of Strood Farm, Zedlock, came up with the design for agricultural gates in December 2010, making a prototype at his farm in January 2011. The device uses a sliding bolt and deadlock combination offering increased security for farm premises.
A friend who is a patent lawyer helped him with the patent application, and in September 2011 the first Zedlocks went on sale.
“I invented the Zedlock because I was looking for a more secure alternative to a padlock and chain. In the yard at the farm I have an Ifor Williams trailer amongst other equipment, and I was only too aware how easy it was to crop a chain with bolt cutters, or smash the padlock with a hammer,” he says. “However, in creating the Zedlock I also solved two other problems; locks freezing and losing the padlock. Because the lock mechanism in a Zedlock has brass levers, it is much less prone to freezing than a padlock, and being integral to the gate, there is no chance of losing the padlock.”
In August 2013 the patent was granted on the Zedlock. Following this he approached a number of local friends and invited them to invest in Zedlock. Ten friends, amongst them farmers and shoot owners, invested a total of £85,000 to help fund the next stage of expansion. In December 2013 he introduced a number of enhancements to the Zedlock to improve its’ usability and durability.
Zedlock now offers an Industrial range – with Zedlocks to suit frames from 10mm to 80mm diameter supplied from stock and specials to suit gate frames of up to 150mm being made to order.
A T-handle, operated from the underside of the lock box, is ideal for sheeted gates. Double gate kits, hinge pin protectors and keying-alike are all popular options. Upcoming developments include locks for shipping containers and potentially an automated version.
As well as the security aspect, he says that the Zedlock offers a more convenient locking solution, and should last 10 years.
Zedlocks are made in England and all the final assembly work is carried out in the barn at Strood Farm. Prototypes are still made in the barn and tested on farm before going into production.