LAKE TWP. − Kirk Key Interlock spent millions on an office and production facility expansion to meet increasing demand for trapped-key interlocks.
Trapped-key interlocks are a safety system that ensures the proper steps are followed when accessing hazardous areas to reduce human error. They’re often used in industrial settings or by energy companies.
Aurelie Paul said the business has been growing in recent years as energy companies and data centers are being built to meet AI demands. Paul is managing director of Sentric Safety Group, which Kirk Key Interlock is a part of.
“Because the energy market is booming, we are also growing,” she said, adding that the interlock product is necessary to prevent workplace accidents in the industrial sector.
The company just finished a major expansion of its office and production facility at 9048 Meridian Circle NW in the AKCAN Industrial Park. The construction project, which began in 2025, expanded the facility by 60%.
Nabih Semaan, management consultant for the company, said the majority of Kirk Key Interlock employees are from Lake Township and nearby areas.
The company had about 50 employees before the expansion and now has about 90. They are continuing to hire to meet demand.
“That means business is growing and we’re helping and supporting the community as well,” Semaan said.
Director of Operations Tim Case said the expansion will help the company increase capacity and hiring more people is necessary to meet demand.
“(Before,) we were very cramped. We needed to add people, but we had no where to put them,” he said. “Now we will.”
Kirk Key expansion includes more production and office space, new equipment
Campbell Construction was the designer and builder for the multi-million-dollar expansion project.
Campbell Construction also built the existing building when the company originally moved from Massillon to Lake Township in 2014, Sentric Strategic Business Manager Lindsay Lockwood said.
The expansion to the production floor and warehousing areas have allowed the company to rearrange and add more workspaces and shipping space.
That allows other parts of the business to grow as well. The company produces its own housings and lock bolts for the product at the Lake Township facility.
“If it’s in-house, we are in control of it,” Production Planner Lauren Cothran said. “As we see an increase in our production, we can increase our capacity.”
Also in the production area is new machinery and equipment and a new loading dock which is able to receive from larger trucks and trailers.
Other spaces have also been transformed in the renovation and expansion. The former employee lunchroom is now a larger meeting room. The front office space section has also been expanded significantly to make room for more employees.
“We’ve grown that much where we needed to have additional spaces from a production capacity perspective, but then also as we’re expanding our employee base, we needed these work stations,” Lockwood said.
Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kirk Key Interlock expansion aims to meet booming product demands
Reporting by Grace Springer, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Grace Springer, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
