I have been in the lock & security industry for my entire 50+ year working career. I started out in 1975 in the Washington DC area and built a very successful locksmith shop which I sold in 1989. During that time I was an elected officer of the Maryland Locksmith Association, and also a board member of the Associated Locksmiths of America. This gave me access to some very good contacts in the industry and built some lasting friendships. I have also been an active instructor at several ALOA conventions, and local locksmith conventions where I taught classes on computer technology and electronic access control systems. I am one of the first 2 locksmiths to have earned the CML certification.
I left the DC area in 1992 to help form form TESA/Entry Systems in Atlanta. That company ultimately became Onity, Inc., one of the largest producers of electronic hotel locks in the world. I worked in the R&D Department and also ran the Corporate University. My name is on five of Onity’s patents. Onity was acquired by UTC, United Technologies Corp., a fortune 500 company (now Raytheon). During my time with Onity I traveled all over the world and gained a wide knowledge of other cultures, locking mechanisms, and manufacturing techniques.
After I left UTC, I did some consulting and teaching for Lockmasters Security Institute in Lexington, Kentucky. I helped rewrite both the Professional Locksmithing and the Electronic Access Control classes, and enjoyed teaching them both for a short time.
I recently retired and gave away my full-service locksmith company in Elberton, Georgia. Going forward, I plan to spend my remaining years teaching aspiring locksmiths. I recently re-wrote the ALOA Fundamentals of Locksmithing class, which is taught four times per year in Dallas, and once at the convention. The same class materials are available on my e-learning platform as an online class. Ask me for pricing and access.
See more about me and my current projects here
Jon Payne, CML, CAI
Certified Master Locksmith