1.1 Introduction

A padlock is a type of portable lock intended to provide general protection against theft, vandalism, and burglary. Normally a padlock is used in conjunction with a chain, or to lock doors or shutters by means of metallic rings for anchoring.

It consists of a case in which there is a lock mechanism and a metal ring that can be either opened or closed; in some cases the ring is replaced by a pin. The mechanism is controlled by a key or by means of numbered combination wheels. The case of present-day padlocks can be made of iron, brass, steel or stainless steel, or even tempered steel (the latter bear the inscription "hardened"); some models are made with a one-piece case, others in brass that can have the case itself protected by a steel shell.

There are many models of padlocks that segment this market, from the locking system, to the degree of security, to the different sizes and materials used to suit any type of use.

China is the leading exporter of padlocks; in 2020, it exported 5 times more than the second largest exporter, Mexico. The UK imports a padlock value worth 43 millions dollars, placing the country in the 4th place worldwide.

The padlock market has not escaped technological developments, however, with the emergence of connected padlocks: these padlocks can be unlocked directly via a smartphone (remotely or locally) with Bluetooth or fingerprint operation. However, their use is still secondary and the priority is on mechanical locks. Innovations in this market show that it still remains an interesting market, which prospects new growth in the future.

1.2 Worldwide market

The following data is taken from UN comtrade with the indicator "****** - Padlocks; (***), of base metal.

Exports

Ranking of exporting countries by value and quantity of padlocks World, ****, in million US$ and million kg

Source: ****

This table gives the ranking of padlock exporting countries, which gives an idea of the main ...

1.3 British market

To understand how big is the UK padlock market value it is useful to see the values of the production of these items. Looking at the Eurostat webiste and checking the "PRCCODE ******** (***) - Base metal padlocks" is possibile to see that the production is valued ** million euros in ****. The value of ...

1.4 Impact of Ukraine-Russia war

Worldwide, the price of some items have been particularly affected by the war, especially the ones where the production of the raw materials is in either Russia or Ukraine. As one of the main materials that are used to construct padlock is steel, the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war would impact ...

2.1 Padlock demand

As it said before, a locker is used to pretect someone's belongings from being stolen. One of tha main application would be to prevent the stealing of bicycles.

In the UK, the number of bicycles sold in **** has been * million. Since April ****, in the UK there has been a remarkable and ...

2.2 Other drivers

Other drivers for the lockers demand would be the sales of suitcase and the sales of lockers,.

In the UK the value of the lockers sold in **** was **** millions of £, this number has been increasing since **** by **%.

Sales of manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures including lockers UK, *****-****, ...

3.1How does a locker work

There are mainly two types of padlocks, combination locks (***), although we will see in part * that there are new ways of opening padlocks, involving new technologies. The type of padlock chosen depends on its future use.

Operation

The padlock is a locking system that hides a somewhat complex system: it consists ...

3.2 Production of padlocks

It is possible to see the structure of the company that produces locks and hinges by cheking the SIC number **.**.

Currently, in the UK, there are *** manifacture registered, that produce these items, found mainly in the greather London area.

Type of manufacturing by number of people working in there UK, ****, ...

3.3 Where to buy a padlock in the UK

The main stores where you can buy padlocks are usually big home department store, hardware retail stores or sports stores.

The most popular department and home stores in the United Kingdom in **** are B&Q, **%, and John Lewis, **%. These stores sell a variety of products, mainly bricolage, home DIY products and ...

4.1 Types of padlocks

We have seen that the dimensions, the materials, or even the types of closures of a padlock could vary, here are the different types of padlocks according to its use

Key or code?

Code locks are often used when it is necessary to share access with a large number of users, ...

4.2 Prices

The prices of the padlocks varies a lot, depending on the material, on the security level, on the technology and on the brand. The following are the prices from the website PadlocksUK:

The prices of the padlocks depends on the industrial cost of them, which itselfs depends on raws materials price ...

4.3 New trends

The advent of technology has also entered the world of padlocks, giving rise to real padlocks-intelligent, connected to APPs, which can be tracked, which are self-charging and customizable. Moreover, with the increasing use of apps, such as Airbnb, where access to a place must always be shared with more people, more ...

5.1 Regulations

In order to produce padlocks in the UK, there is the British Standard (***) BS EN ***** that has to be follow.

This document applies to mechanical padlocks and padlock fittings used on buildings and general use, and specifies the test methods to be used. This document specifies performance and other requirements for ...