Sentry Safes - An American Company

According to Merriam Webster, a sentry is a Guard or Watch; especially a soldier standing guard at a point of passage (as a gate). Other synonyms for sentry include sentinel, watchtower, lookout and patrol. The entymology of the word dates back to the 1500’s, coming from the Latin sentina (vigilance) and sentire (to perceive). Considering the meaning of sentry, it is understandable the naming of Sentry Safes.

Sentry safes were originally the trademark name of safes from the Brush & Co safe manufacturers located in Rochester, NY. The company was started in 1930 by John Brush, Sr. and his brother-in-law, Willard Punnett under the name the Brush-Punnett Company. In 1943, John bought out his brother-in-law to become the sole owner of the company, and the name was changed to Brush & Co. The company was passed down father to sons, and is now a 3rd generation family run company. The name was changed in 1987 to the Sentry Group to better identify with the name of its trademark safes - “Sentry”.

Sentry Group is known worldwide for their fire-resistant chests, file cabinets, safes, security storage containers and gun safes. One of the most exciting new products that Sentry is working on is the SentrySafe Fire-Safe/Waterproof Hard Drive enclosure. Sentry Safes formed a partnership with Maxtor Storage Solutions in November 2007 to produce the worlds first fire and water proof hard drives. The hard drive enclosures contain the Maxtor One Touch 4 mini hard drive, and comes with either an 80 or 160 gb storage capacity.

The Sentry Group has won many awards for service and product design for their Sentry safes and other products. Among some of their awards is “Vendor of the Year” from Lowe’s in 1999, Wal-Mart in 2001 and Office Max in 2002.

Considering their business philosophy, these awards are not surprising. They are the type of American company where most anyone would want to work. They are a family oriented company that believes in taking care of their own, and rewarding the hard work of their employees. They are a profit sharing company. Based on annual profitability, they give year-end bonuses to their employees. They also provide 401K retirement funds that includes service-based contributions, paid vacations and holidays, and my personal favorite - you get your birthday off - with pay! As well as a personalized birthday card handed out by the company owner with a monetary gift. The company also has annual parties, including a catered “Employee Appreciation Day”, Christmas bonuses and a free Thanksgiving Day turkey. On site, the company has a fitness center that includes an indoor swimming pool and sauna.

The original founders of Sentry Group had a guiding principle that they still adhere to today: “A useful product, honestly made and honestly sold … that is good business.” Sentry Group has shown that good American companies still exist, a company that not only makes a good product, Sentry Safes, but also takes care of their own. A place a person can not only be proud TO work, but take pride IN their work, providing the average American with a quality Sentry safes to protect their most valuable papers and assets.