TACOMA, Wash. — A hearty, happy centennial anniversary goes out to Robblee’s Total Security, a full-service security provider, based here, serving residential, commercial and industrial markets.
The company began in 1913, founded as J.A. Robblee & Co. by James A. Robblee and his four brothers in a shop that sold and repaired bicycles along with selling wheels and other items for a recent invention — the automobile. In 1918, William A. Robblee, a locksmith, joined his brothers, beginning a safe and lock division. The business continued to grow and in 1947 William’s son, William H. Robblee, along with his son-in-law, Thomas H. Patterson, bought out the safe and lock division so it could more efficiently serve within the budding security industry.
“Even a hundred years ago, the company was ahead of its time,” Robblee’s Total Security President Jim Patterson states in a press release. “From the beginning, the company was willing to be forward thinking and flexible. We’ve been able to evolve as the security landscape has evolved.”
The company’s impressive and storied history includes securing everything from bank safes to speakeasies during the Prohibition era. More impressive, however, is how the company weathered time, surviving world events including five major wars and the Great Depression. Robblee’s survived and thrived because it has remained on the forefront of the physical security industry from its inception, moving into access control and video surveillance in the 1980s. The company is a long-time member of the PSA Security Network.
“It takes more than resilience to survive more than a century. It isn’t just drive. In the physical security space, especially, it takes a willingness to change and adapt,” Patterson says. “Hold on to your values. Hold onto your work ethic. But let go of what doesn’t work and embrace the things in your space that do.”
Patterson further recommends doing all you can to stay relevant.
“To stay strong for the long-term, you need to stay relevant. Continue to learn every aspect of the industry. Follow every new and promising technology and know it all well. Additionally, stay on top of your branding, leveraging your established name to incorporate new facets of your business. That has been the key to our success in the security industry.”
