Wednesbury hardware firm Eliza Tinsley has agreed a collaboration with two other companies, which looks set to create at least ten new jobs in the region.

Formidable entrepreneur Eliza Tinsley set up a chain-making business in Cradley Heath in 1852. By 1871 the business employed around 4000 local people, producing wrought iron nails, rivets, chains, chain cables and anchors. In 2006 it was acquired by the India-based Jain family, and is now a leading supplier to the trade, operating from a site on Potters Lane in Wednesbury.

West Bromwich MP, Adrian Bailey, recently paid a visit to the factory, and it was during this visit that a partnership was announced between Eliza Tinsley, its sister company Avocet Hardware, a home security business based in West Yorkshire bought by the Jain family in 2012, and smart-lock developer Smarke, a London-based tech developer specialising in locks which use mobile technology to manage remote access to rental properties.

The three companies will now work together to create a brand new security product – an adapted form of Avocet’s snap-secure ABS lock will be fitted to all of Smarke’s keyless smart locks, with production to take place at Eliza Tinsley’s Wednesbury factory.

Commenting on the deal, Mr Bailey described the product as “groundbreaking” and said that the fusion of traditional Black Country lock-making craftsmanship with modern digital technology has the potential to transform home and business security.

Bassam Beidas, market development director of Smarke, told the Business Desk: “We are confident that by working together we will deliver the best possible digitised door entry solution for commercial and residential properties on the market today.”

Think Sandwell wishes Eliza Tinsley and its partners all the best for this new venture. To find out how we could help develop your business, visit our Business Services pages.