The revolution will be digitized
When you decide to challenge established convention, you are either planning on changing the world or expecting to become a niche for those in the know. Finding a small comfortable and safe corner of the locking industry was never an option for iLOQ. From the very beginning it was clear that iLOQ’s mission was, and still is, to make mechanical locks and keys obsolete, ushering in a new digital era in access management – The smart locking revolution.
The makings of an epic tale
Every epic story starts with a protagonist. Someone that puts the story into action. The iLOQ story is no different. A locksmith and 4th generation entrepreneur Mika Pukari living in the isolated frozen North, only some 100 miles from the Arctic Circle, decided that he was perfectly positioned to challenge the entire traditional mechanical locking industry, which was dominated by just a handful of strong players (we all know who they are) that he felt were being weighed down by tradition and convention. 20 years ago, he left everything, including his locksmith business behind to start up iLOQ.
“Mika Pukari left everything,
including his locksmith business
behind to start up iLOQ.”
Sowing the seeds of a revolution
The digital revolution has already made sure that the children of today will no-longer recognize or know how to use a landline telephone, tube TV or film camera, and so many more things that are now only part of the visual catalogue of yesteryear. iLOQ is aiming to do the same to the mechanical lock and key.
Just like was the case during the first industrial revolution of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, change doesn’t happen overnight. Some segments are more conservative than others. The locking industry has certainly been one of those. Mika Pukari set out to disrupt the field of locking, where innovation had literally stayed stagnant for decades, if not centuries.
“The mechanical lock and key will
eventually join the landline telephone
in the museum of technology.”
Putting a plan into motion
As is the case with any truly great idea, the idea behind iLOQ is dead simple. To utilize the latest technologies to make traditional mechanical locking look like a relic of the past. The iLOQ innovation, simultaneously tackles the challenges faced by traditional digital solutions that are reliant on batteries or vast amounts of cabling. The challenge was always going to be breaking out of niche-status to become a viable option for the large multinational corporations dominating the industry. This was the spark needed to ignited a revolution.
The David vs. Goliath battle continues
It takes an entrepreneurial spirit and a certain kind of crazy to take on the giants of the mechanical locking world in their own stronghold markets. That’s exactly the kind of crazy there is no shortage of at iLOQ. In 2017, Mika Pukari was joined by Heikki Hiltunen as President and CEO of iLOQ. Heikki recognized iLOQ’s potential to grow into the giant-slayer it is finally becoming. In fact, Heikki believed in iLOQ so much that he took out a personal loan to invest in the company when he came on board. He left behind a lucrative international corporate position to come accelerate iLOQ’s international expansion and growth.
“It takes a certain kind of crazy
to go up against the giants of the
traditional locking industry.”
Together, the heroes of this story have taken iLOQ from the frozen tundra to now more than 14 countries and 1600 locations worldwide. Revenues exceeded 100M€ for the first time already in 2021. Mika and Heikki are not exactly known for being happy following trends in business. They are too busy creating them. They believe in the smart locking revolution because they are the ones making it a reality.
“iLOQ believes in the smart locking revolution
because they are the ones making it a reality.”
