Who is Secuyou? Here's our entrepreneurial story
The start of it all
Secuyou was established in 2008 by Leo Laursen, the inventor of an electronic lock for patio doors and windows. The idea was founded in 2005 when my neighbor had a break-in at his home. The thief had entered through a window and used the patio door as an exit route.
I wanted to spare myself and my family from this experience, thinking that maybe it was our turn next time and that burglary protection was necessary.
Therefore, I bought patio door locks and locks for the most exposed windows. My front door was well secured from the inside with an internal cylinder where the key was kept when we were at home.
But after buying and replacing the locks, the problem arose. I didn't lock them when we left the house. I simply forgot. Yes, do you want to run around the whole house and lock 5-6 locks every time you have to leave the house?
It was only when we were going away for weekends or on vacation that I locked them. Here, you often have a routine where you check if the lights, coffee machine, TV etc. are turned off etc. when the house is to be left alone.
But that's no use when most burglaries actually happen during the daytime on weekdays when people are at work. So naturally, these locks should be automated, like a car lock system at the touch of a button.
A patented product.
After working on solutions and researching the market, the product was patented in 2005. No one had previously combined in one patent the idea of making wireless locks that were battery-powered. In 2010, the patent was approved in 11 European countries.
Our patent has patent no. EP1871964.
Investors made it possible.
Velux A/S / VKR Holding A/S invested in Secuyou and enabled us to develop our first lock. It was launched in 2010.
In 2012, Secuyou changed ownership and Jens Ove Albertsen became co-owner instead of Velux A/S / VKR Holding A/S.
Leo Laursen Jens Ove Albertsen
Next generation Smart Lock, hooray for the smartphone.
Going to market with our first electronic lock taught us everything. Yes, you simply have to go to market with your product to get the right deep knowledge of the customer and how to sell your product.
Based on our experiences, we started developing the next generation in 2014 and the product was ready for launch in spring 2019.
A lot has happened since 2008 and one of the key things is that the remote control has been replaced by the smartphone. The smartphone has a much better user interface and we avoided having to develop a physical remote control, benefiting both the manufacturer and the customer. With the smartphone, we have also automated the process of remembering to lock. Now it happens automatically when you leave the house with your smartphone. Your smartphone has now become your wireless key and you can easily share access with others.
In addition to the operation, we have invested a lot of time in reducing the size of the lock. It has been reduced to a 1/3rd of the size (17.5 x 2.6 x 1.5 cm) while improving the strength of the product by more than 50 percent.
First generation patio door lock
All under one roof to ensure high quality.
All design and development is done in Secuyou and we know our product down to the smallest detail. This allows us to quickly make changes and improvements to the product. This applies to mechanics, electronics and apps. The mechanical parts are produced in Scandinavia and China. The electronics are produced in Denmark. All assembly, quality control, testing and packaging is also done in Denmark. So if you buy our products, you are guaranteed high quality.
We care about the environment.
We have located the production of the heavyweight parts in Scandinavia. It is the metal parts such as the console and handles etc. that make up 85% of the product's weight. Shipping is by truck, which is environmentally friendly. However, our plastic parts and small metal parts are produced in China, but only make up 15% of the product weight.
Furthermore, we have designed a product that can be repaired. You've probably heard it before, the product has passed its warranty and no longer works. We can take care of the repair or you can do it yourself for 1/4 of the normal price.