Appointed distributor

This is the name given to a company that has a contract with a manufacturer to sell its products in a particular area or channel, with direct access to its catalogue and, sometimes, to its spare parts or its protected key systems. In Spanish it is called a distribuidor oficial.

In the lock trade it is common with high security lock cylinders and with security or armoured doors, where certain keys and parts can only be ordered through the manufacturer’s network.

For you, as a customer, what counts is that the product is genuine, that you are given its paperwork and that the invoice states the brand and model. If you have doubts about a part that is going to be fitted, ask to see its box or its data sheet. For communities of owners and businesses we cover this as part of lock maintenance.