The story
Lock-making in Dindigul dates back more than a century, and the town's locks were used in temples, granaries and government treasuries. Smiths in the villages around Dindigul hand-forge iron locks with complex lever mechanisms, including trick locks that need a sequence of steps to open. The Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers' Industrial Co-operative Society won a GI tag for the craft in 2019. Many units also make steel furniture and safes.
In numbers
The Dindigul lock industry has over 3,125 units, according to the GI filing reported in 2019.
Tamil Nadu earns two more GI tags — Dindigul Locks and Kandangi Sarees — S.S. Rana & Co. · 2019The units cluster in five villages around Dindigul: Nagal Nagar, Nallampatti, Kodaiparailpatti, Kamalapatti and Yagappanpatti.
Despite GI tag, Dindigul industry 'locked' in trouble — DT Next · 2020Dindigul Locks is a registered GI (application 400, certificate 358).
GI Registry — Dindigul Locks, application 400
GI tag
- Dindigul LocksApplication no. GI Application No. 400 (Certificate No. 358)GI Registry, Intellectual Property India — application 400
Ways in for a newcomer
- Heritage and trick locks sold online as gifts and collectibles
- Supply of locks to temples, banks and institutions
- Steel furniture and safe fabrication
- Key-cutting, repair and locksmith services
Problems the cluster faces
- Cheap machine-made locks from Aligarh and imports
- Ageing smiths and labour shortage
- Rising steel and brass costs
- Weak branding of GI locks
Businesses to start here
Tumbler Lock (Padlock) Manufacturing →Auto Lock Manufacturing →Digital Safe Locker Assembly →Steel Trunk Making Unit →