FROM filing keys by hand to laser cutting, Rodney Graham has seen it all in the past quarter of a century.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The RCG Locksmiths proprietor yesterday celebrated 25 years in the industry.
He was just 16 when he embarked on a four-year apprenticeship with Bathurst Locksmiths.
"I finished school on the Thursday afternoon and started there on the Friday morning," he said.
As a first-year apprentice, he took home $81 in his first paypacket.
He said he's seen many changes in the industry in the past two decades, none bigger than the advances in machinery and technology.
"The mechanics of a lock haven't changed at all. But the technology we use to put that together has changed," he said. "We used to cut keys by hand with a file. You don't miss those days, but you do.
"You learn a lot by doing it the original way."
Nowadays, Rodney works with key cutting machines worth over $40,000 each.
"They have cameras in them now," he said. "We've got the best and the most advanced equipment in the Central West."
Rodney and his wife have been at the helm of RCG Locksmiths for almost five years. What started as a two-man operation has expanded to involve 11 staff, including three fully-qualified locksmiths and two apprentices, and two shopfronts, one in Bathurst and one in Lithgow.
The business services the Central West, from Katoomba to Parkes and Forbes.
On the side, Rodney and his wife also run Prestige Embroidery Bathurst and a commercial laundry, R and G Linen.
"When we opened, we were just doing residential work and key cutting," Rodney said. "Now we do residential, architectural, commercial, automatic doors, automotive locks and keys, roller and car remotes, and much more.”
"We just keep expanding. But I love what I do. I work between 70 and 80 hours a week, but at the end of the day, I love helping people and I love my job." he said.