Products

Of the many key accessories on sale today, the one most apt to be found in any lock shop is a key reel – a key tamer that keeps the “brass” under control. But the control exerted by a key reel is not like that of any ordinary key clip, key holder or key ring. Its distinctiveness comes from “spring power”, that is, a spring-powered key chain that returns its keys after use.

The presence of spring power in a key reel is now commonly accepted because it does work. Behind it, however, is a complex set of requirements that are not commonly recognized, even by the locksmiths who sell key reels. Through both design and intent, the key reek key chain must be flexible to wind around a small core. It must be small enough to fit within a compact container that is not bulky, heavy, or unwieldy when worn on a belt. And, most important, it must be strong enough to withstand the unpredictable torques of rough usage.

West Coast Corporation meets these tough-use requirements for its KEY-BAK® key reel by engineering its components for heavy-duty work. West Coast Corporation employs a vast array of specially-designed machinery to fabricate the stainless steel chain links, retracting springs, and reel cases used in the product. The apparent “simplicity” of the assembled KEY-BAK® belies the complex manufacturing process required to produce it.

"Our production processes are unusual, and we couldn’t always find all the answers in the book", says Boake Paugh, West Coast’s president. "We are always refining our manufacturing techniques, looking for better and less costly ways of producing a better product. Our stainless steel supplier, for example, furnished us with a variety of tempers before we came up with the best combination for a high quality key chain reel".

In line with this policy, the company switched from carbon steel to stainless steel to increase life use for the KEY-BAK® model springs. West Coast Corporation has also devised many “one-of-a-kind” machines for its production. Its flat-link chain machine, for instance, is believed to be the only equipment of its type in use in the U.S. This is the machine that is the heart of the key chain production process. It converts strip stock directly into finished chain in a single operation. Successive chain links are stamped from incoming coil strip, passed by transfer jaws through openings in the preceding link, then turned into position and bent into final shape. And all at a speed faster than the eye can follow.

It is this special link-forming process, using special formula stainless steel stock that gives the KEY-BAK the strength and flexibility necessary in a key chain reel. But the chain links are just part of the finished product. It takes a powerful retractor spring and heavy-duty outer case to complete the job; and West Coast Corporation has developed special equipment for each step of the process.

“The KEY-BAK®s stainless steel clock-spring”, says Paugh, “is produced on an automatic machine that cuts it to length and forms the ends of each piece. Our automatic indexing assembly machine performs three forming and punching operations on the stamped steel cases for the key reels. It inserts and rivets a zinc center post and then die stamps the completed case.”

An Example of West Coast high quality control is seen in the specialized handling given the finish carbon steel used to make the reel cases. “These coils of strip are interleaved with paper at the mill to prevent surface scratches.” Paugh points out. This protective paper is disposed of when the coil is fed into the punch presses by sucking the continuous strip op paper into a barrel-type vacuum cleaner. “Rapid removal of finished parts from the press, at 150 strokes per minute, is accomplished by an air blast with precautions to protect the parts surface finish”, Paugh explains.

Today, some 60 years after the first model KEY-BAK® was produced, there are millions in use in more than 20 commercial and institutional fields. Its distribution is world-wide, with customers in every continent. The single original design has been developed into different models, plus custom versions for special uses.

West Coast Corporation is the outgrowth of the Lummis Manufacturing Company founded in 1948 by W.R. Lummis. Lummis had been a railroad man most of his life. He originated the idea for a key chain reel when he saw the need for a safer way for railroad switchmen to carry their switch keys. Often, brakemen and switchmen were injured when their dangling key chains caught on moving trains. The answer, as M. Lummis saw it, was a reel that would keep the keys at the wearer’s side, handy to use, but safe from snagging on moving cars.

Since the first crude, but workable key reel was produced, the company has striven constantly to improve both the design and quality of its product. Paugh credits the cooperative assistance of West Coast suppliers in helping develop the high-quality KEY-BAK® produced today. Such close cooperation resulted in the specialized formula steel used in the KEY-BAK® manufacturing process.

The production of the key reel is done at the company’s Ontario, California, plant. A continuous testing program is carried out on all finished products. Each KEY-BAK® key chain reel is checked for proper operation before packaging.

“Careful attention to design, materials selection, and production operations has enabled us to build our reputation as manufacturers of products of the highest quality”, says West Coast Corporation’s president. “It also enables us to guarantee our product and offer factory repair service at a nominal cost regardless of how many years a KEY-BAK® has been in use”.