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Company · acquired by Cobalt Service Partners

Toepfer Security

Founded 1862 in Milwaukee by Frank Toepfer; Lund family-owned since 1982 · 1 branch (Waukesha, WI) · sold to Cobalt, Mar 2024

A 160-year-old Milwaukee lock shop, run by a father and son for four decades

Page as of Sept 28, 2026The sale ↓

Legacy

The founder’s story · from the public record

Toepfer is the oldest business in Cobalt's portfolio by a century. Frank Toepfer opened a lock and safe shop in Milwaukee in 1862, inspired, the company says, by Linus Yale's pin-tumbler mortise cylinder. The shop's mechanical bent ran wide: it built Milwaukee's first 'motor wagon' in 1890, and when Frank's grandson Edwin Jr. took over in 1959 he invented the electric strike, the door-release device now standard in access control, and accumulated more than 200 patents across the automotive and security industries. Toepfer: About Us / Our History

In 1982 Ron Lund Sr., a Korean War veteran who had served in the Marine Corps, bought the company from Edwin Toepfer. His son Ron Lund Jr. joined him a year later as an installation technician and, in his words, 'learned the business from the ground up.' Father and son worked side by side for nearly 30 years, and Ron Jr. says he adopted his father's Marine Corps values as the company's own. He became President in 2010 and ran Toepfer for 14 years. Cobalt company page: Founding Story · Cobalt: Cobalt Continues Momentum (Apr 2024)

Under the Lunds the lock-and-safe business became a security integrator: access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection and intercom systems designed, installed and serviced from Waukesha for local, regional and national clients in healthcare, schools, industry, retail, government and financial services. The company says it is 'long considered the go to' for integrated security and door hardware in its market, and that its engineers and technicians average more than 20 years in the trade. Cobalt company page: Why Cobalt? · Toepfer website

Ron Lund Jr. framed the sale around the growth of Toepfer's national client base: to keep serving those customers at the level they deserved, finding a partner 'committed to taking Toepfer and our team to the next level' became his top priority. After considering many options he chose Cobalt for its 'People First' approach and its commitment to service. The deal closed in March 2024, with Sandra Jones and Company advising the seller, and was announced that April alongside ADW, IDC and HSS. His closing line was that the team 'looks forward to the next chapter in our historic journey.' Cobalt company page: Why Cobalt? · Alpine Investors release (Apr 2024)

The team

The people who built it

Toepfer's rebuilt site names no current staff. The people named publicly are the Toepfer family (1862 to 1982), the Lund family (1982 to 2024), and no installed executive: Cobalt's team page lists nobody for Toepfer as of Sept 2026.

Toepfer Security building, Waukesha (Cobalt company page)
Toepfer Security building, Waukesha (Cobalt company page) · source
Historic Toepfer headquarters (company About page)
Historic Toepfer headquarters (company About page) · source
Edwin Toepfer, from the company's history page
Edwin Toepfer, from the company's history page · source
Gottfried Schloemer image from the company's history page (the 1890 motor wagon)
Gottfried Schloemer image from the company's history page (the 1890 motor wagon) · source
Family in the business (as the company itself lists them)
  • Ron Lund Sr. · Bought Toepfer from the Toepfer family in 1982; Marine Corps veteran; Ron Jr.'s father · source
  • Ron Lund Jr. · Joined 1983 as installation technician; Owner and President 2010 to 2024 · source

In the community

What they gave back · on the record
  • The company frames its work as 'building safer communities' and publishes guidance for schools on integrated security systems (blog, March 2025). Toepfer blog
  • Toepfer's About page keeps the company's Milwaukee history in public view: the 1862 founding, the 1890 motor wagon, and Edwin Toepfer Jr.'s electric strike and 200-plus patents. Toepfer: About Us

In their words

3 public statements by the founder and team
  • 2024
    Founding Story / Why Cobalt? (Toepfer Security page) essay
    Ron Lund Jr. · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies) · Ron Lund Jr.'s own account, signed 'Owner (2010-2024)': his father's 1982 purchase, joining as a technician in 1983, 30 years side by side, Marine Corps values, and choosing Cobalt for its People First approach as the national client base grew.
  • 2024-04-09
    Cobalt Continues Momentum With Four More Acquisitions press
    Tyler Hoffman; Anthony Gonzalez · cobaltsp.com; also Business Wire, Alpine newsroom, SDM, SSI · Buyer's announcement: Toepfer founded as Toepfer Lock & Safe in 1862, most recently owned by Ron Lund Jr., whose father bought it from the Toepfer family in 1982; installs and supports security systems nationally with a Milwaukee focus. Quotes are Hoffman and Gonzalez only.
  • 2024
    About Toepfer Security / Our History post
    Toepfer Security · toepfersecurity.com · Company history page: Frank Toepfer, Linus Yale's lock, the 1890 motor wagon, Edwin Jr.'s 1959 takeover, the electric strike and 200+ patents; values of heritage, pride, expertise and innovation.

Founder Q&A

In their own words · by email · published with permission

We’d like Ron Lund Jr. 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 Apr 9, 2024 By Cobalt (Business Wire); Alpine newsroom Deal #3 for Cobalt Service Partners Founder role after close not stated Business Wire, Apr 9, 2024
What Cobalt Service Partners said

Cobalt announced Toepfer on April 9, 2024 as one of four add-ons that extended the platform to the Midwest and into access control and video surveillance. Hoffman said the four founders had 'trusted us as the long-term home for their businesses'; Gonzalez said Cobalt's focus is removing roadblocks to scale, especially recruiting and developing technicians. Cobalt's company page dates the close to March 2024.

Announcement
What the founder said

Ron Lund Jr. said the growth of Toepfer's national client base made finding a partner who could take the team 'to the next level' a top priority; after considering many options, Cobalt's People First approach and commitment to best-in-class service stood out, and he was confident Cobalt's resources would significantly increase Toepfer's ability to serve its clients. He described his tenure as 'until selling the business to Cobalt in 2024'.

Source

Terms on the record: Nothing public. No price, structure, rollover or earn-out disclosed. Advisors: Seller: Sandra Jones and Company (financial advisor to Toepfer, per the Alpine release). Buyer: none named for this deal.

What happened after

Public signals since the sale · dated
  • 2024-03
    Close (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: March 2024'); announced April 9, 2024 with ADW, IDC and HSS. source
  • 2024-06 to 2024-08
    New Squarespace website launched (site ID created June 2024; images dated to Aug 2024) with a footer reading 'Proud member of the Cobalt Service Partners platform' linking to cobaltsp.com. The site drops door hardware and lock work from the services list and presents Toepfer as a business security integrator. source
  • 2025-01 to 2025-03
    Blog launched under a 'Guest User' byline: CCTV camera types, outdoor cameras, small-business cameras, integrated school security. source
  • 2026-09-28
    Cobalt's team page lists no installed CEO or GM for Toepfer, and Ron Lund Jr.'s Cobalt page signature ('Owner (2010-2024)') reads as a completed tenure. No public statement of who runs Toepfer day to day. source

Then and now

Founder and leadership
Ron Lund Jr.
Owner and President (2010 to 2024); with the company since 1983
Now Not published. Cobalt's page styles his ownership as 2010-2024 and says he served as President 'until selling the business to Cobalt in 2024'; no continuing role announced and no successor named source
Ron Lund Sr.
Owner from 1982 (bought from Edwin Toepfer); Ron Jr.'s father
Now 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 Ron Lund Jr. has any continuing role (his stayed status is unknown, not left: nothing says he departed, but his own signature dates his ownership to 2024 and no successor is named); no photograph of either Lund on any permitted source; employee count (never published); whether the historical claims on the About page (first Milwaukee motor wagon, invention of the electric strike, 200+ patents) are independently documented; the pre-sale website's content (not archived through this proxy); Google and BBB ratings (not fetchable).