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Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

Acme Lock & Door

Founded 1933 in Cincinnati by Herman and Florence Woods; owned by Tom O'Brian and partners 2020 to 2025 · 1 branch (Cincinnati, serving OH, KY, IN) · sold to Cobalt, Apr 2025

A 1933 Cincinnati locksmith, four generations of one family, then five years of growth under new owners before Cobalt

Page as of Sept 28, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

Acme Lock was founded in Cincinnati in 1933 by Herman and Florence Woods and stayed in the Woods family for four generations. For decades it was a downtown fixture: after a 2007 fire forced a move it added a hardware section, and in 2017 the family's Matt Woods reopened the hardware side as Woods Hardware in an 8,000 sq ft space at 125 E. Ninth Street, telling WCPO that downtown's growth meant 'we didn't have a choice but to grow'. Cobalt announcement, May 21, 2025 · WCPO, Jan 2017: Acme Lock and Hardware expands

In December 2020 Tom O'Brian bought the lock-and-door business with a group of partners. He is careful to say he did not start Acme, only that he 'had the privilege of being part of its story'. What he found, he says, was a smaller company whose team had 'a rare ability to tackle complex access challenges' and 'an absolute obsession with taking care of customers'. In the early days, he says, 'we made things happen and kept customers happy through sheer force of will'; the systems came later. Tom O'Brian, Founding Story (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement

Between 2020 and 2025 Tom and John O'Brian built out the infrastructure and scaled quickly, folding in two Cincinnati shops, Larry's Lock in 2022 and Fortress Safe & Lock in 2024, and growing Acme to 70 people. The company consolidated at a 25,000 sq ft showroom, shop and dispatch centre on Este Avenue and now describes itself as the region's largest team of door and lock technicians and sales engineers, handling everything from safe openings and rekeys to storefront glazing, access control and fire-door compliance under one roof. Cobalt company page · Acme website: Hours and Locations · Acme website: About

By 2024 the O'Brians were looking for a partner to fund the next stage. Tom calls the decision 'one of the toughest decisions I've had to make': the company had momentum, but keeping it up 'would require more resources and infrastructure than we could provide on our own'. Others could have filled that gap, he says, but Cobalt shared the belief that 'if you take care of your people and your customers, the rest takes care of itself'. Tom and John transitioned out gradually; COO Bradley Drury became CEO at close, and Cobalt's Tyler Hoffman called Acme 'among the most well managed operations we've encountered'. Tom O'Brian, Why Cobalt (Cobalt company page) · Cobalt announcement, May 21, 2025

The team

The people who built it

Acme's site has no team page; customer reviews on it name technicians Wayne, Daryl, Dan and a manager, Mike. Cobalt's announcement names Tom O'Brian, John O'Brian (described there as Tom's father) and COO-turned-CEO Bradley Drury; Cobalt's team page adds GM Dan Lumpkin. Founders Herman and Florence Woods and later owner Matt Woods are named in the announcement and 2017 local press. The family rule is applied strictly: Acme's own site lists no family.

Acme building on Cobalt's company page
Acme building on Cobalt's company page · source
Acme service truck on the company homepage
Acme service truck on the company homepage · source
Jobsite photo on Acme's careers page
Jobsite photo on Acme's careers page · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record

In their words

4 public statements by the founder and team
  • 2025
    Founding Story / Why Cobalt (Acme page) post
    Tom O'Brian · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · Tom O'Brian's first-person account: 'I didn't start Acme', the December 2020 purchase with partners, the team's customer obsession, growth 'through sheer force of will', the Larry's Lock and Fortress Safe & Lock add-ons; then why bringing on a partner was one of his toughest decisions and why Cobalt's people-and-customers belief won. Signed 'Owner (2020-2025)'.
  • 2025-05-21
    Cobalt Acquires Acme Lock & Door press
    Tom O'Brian; Tyler Hoffman · cobaltsp.com (News & Insights) · Buyer's announcement of its 14th acquisition. Gives the 1933 founding by Herman and Florence Woods, four family generations, the 2020 purchase, growth to 70 employees with two small acquisitions; quotes Tom on the team and on Cobalt being 'sharp, driven'; Tyler Hoffman thanks 'Tom, John, Bradley, and the Acme team'. Tom and John transition out; COO Bradley Drury becomes CEO.
  • 2017-01-17
    Acme Lock and Hardware expands into full-service hardware, garden center in downtown Cincinnati press
    Matt Woods · WCPO 9 (Cincinnati) · Pre-O'Brian local news: then-owner Matt Woods reopens the hardware side as Woods Hardware at 125 E. Ninth St.; recounts the 1933 family founding and the 2007 fire that prompted the hardware line.
  • undated
    About Us post
    Acme Lock & Door · acmelock.com · Company's own About page: 'Since 1933', largest team of door and lock technicians in the region, all fieldwork in-house, values of customer obsession, continuous improvement and excellence in execution. Footer still reads '© 2023' in Sept 2026.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Tom O'Brian to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.

The sale

As both sides told it · on the public record
Announced May 21, 2025 By Cobalt (own newsroom) Deal #14 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder left Cobalt, May 21, 2025
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced Acme on May 21, 2025 as its 14th acquisition and third of 2025. Tyler Hoffman said Cobalt was 'thrilled to partner with Tom, John, Bradley, and the Acme team' and called Acme 'among the most well managed operations we've encountered'. Cobalt's company page dates the acquisition to April 2025.

Announcement
What the founder said

Tom O'Brian said the O'Brians began looking for a partner in 2024 to support ambitious growth that needed more resources and infrastructure than they could supply alone. Other partners could have filled the gap, but Cobalt was 'sharp, driven' with a clear vision and, more importantly, shared his belief that taking care of people and customers takes care of the rest; that gave him confidence Acme's culture, team and legacy were in good hands. He and John transitioned out gradually.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public. No price, structure, rollover or earn-out disclosed. (The Blue Book directory lists an annual volume band, but that is a self-reported directory entry, not a release.) Advisors: None named on either side.

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2025-04
    Acquisition closes (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: April 2025'). source
  • 2025-05-21
    Cobalt announces the deal; Tom and John O'Brian begin transitioning out; COO Bradley Drury becomes CEO. source
  • 2025-10
    Hours and Locations page updated (a screenshot upload dated Oct 14, 2025) presenting the Este Avenue facility as 'St. Bernard Showroom & Headquarters'; The Blue Book still lists the old 125 E. 9th St. downtown address. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Cobalt's team page lists Dan Lumpkin as 'General Manager, Acme Lock & Door' under Partner Company Leadership (former president of a raw-material manufacturer; P&G and Apple projects). Bradley Drury, the CEO named at close, does not appear. No announcement of the change was found. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Acme's site (HubSpot, footer '© 2023') does not mention Cobalt; careers page says 'We're hiring!' for access control, door and storefront, safe, locksmith and operations roles with no job board. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Tom O'Brian
Owner (Dec 2020 to 2025), acquired Acme with a group of partners; The Blue Book lists him as Sales Manager
Left Gradually transitioned out of day-to-day operations after the sale; no public update since. A search result shows LinkedIn headline 'Tom O'Brian - Acme Lock and Door' source
John O'Brian
Co-owner/operator 2020 to 2025; described by Cobalt as Tom's father
Left Transitioned out of day-to-day operations with Tom source
Bradley Drury
COO under the O'Brians; named CEO at close (May 2025)
Now Not on Cobalt's team page as of Sept 2026; a search result shows LinkedIn headline 'Bradley Drury - Acme Lock and Door' source
Dan Lumpkin
Now General Manager, Acme Lock & Door (Cobalt team page, Sept 2026) source
Matt Woods
Fourth-generation Woods family owner (2017 press); sold to the O'Brian group in 2020
Left source

Companies Cobalt Service Partners also bought

20 on the public record

All 21 transactions →

Sources

Everything above, dated Sept 28, 2026

Unverified at publish: Whether Woods Hardware (the retail hardware store) was part of the 2020 sale to the O'Brians or of the Cobalt deal; who the 2020 'group of partners' were; whether Bradley Drury is still CEO now that Dan Lumpkin is listed as GM; the current status of Larry's Lock and Fortress Safe & Lock as brands; no photo of Tom or John O'Brian on a permitted source; no local press on the 2025 sale found.