“Our goal from the start was to provide large-scale access control solutions without sacrificing the customer care you expect from a smaller, family-owned business”
-Rick, Owner of Hayward Turnstiles, Inc.
Humble Beginnings
Back in the early 2000s, Hayward Turnstiles was founded in an extra storage room at our founders’ high-precision machine shop in Milford, Connecticut. Much like Bill Gates in his garage, our founders Rick and Ron looked at their storage space not simply as an extra room, but as the potential for a successful business. Though the first couple of years were tough, Rick and Ron persevered, hoping that one day they would be able to provide reliable, industry-leading access control products worldwide. So they got to work.
The two brothers carefully designed each of their turnstile and gate protypes using components from their AS9100 machine shop. They figured that if their machines were precise enough to build parts for jet engines and helicopters, then they would produce some of the most reliable and meticulously designed access control turnstiles and gates on the market.
After numerous prototypes and thousands of tests, Rick and Ron were finally satisfied with their first product offerings. It was now time for them to carve out their niche in the industry.
Finding Our Place
Feeling satisfied with their newly-designed product lines, Rick and Ron had to now find their place in the highly-competitive access control industry. From many years of owning and operating their own family business, the two brothers understood the power of providing honest customer service and going the extra mile for their customers. Interestingly, this was something they did not see among the large global companies that occupied the access control industry at the time.
Noticing this, the two brothers decided to always prioritize customer service with Hayward Turnstiles, no matter how much the company grew. They knew that providing “big company” prices and fulfillment with the care and support of a small company would be their way of gaining traction in the industry. This is why, to this day, anybody that calls Hayward Turnstiles will be greeted by one of our access control specialists, not some automated phone answering system.
The Hayward Turnstiles Difference
Building on customer service, Rick and Ron wanted to ensure that each and every Hayward Turnstiles customer received a customized access control solution to fit their specific project needs. They agreed to never fall into the one-size-fits-all space like many bigger companies had done. As a result, The Hayward Turnstiles Difference was born.
The Hayward Turnstiles Difference is care. Our Access Control Specialists care about our customers and always recommend the best products for their project needs, even if that means choosing a cheaper product or even pointing potential customers in another direction. Whether it’s a small Safety Sleeve order or a large Optical Turnstile project, each order begins with a consultation. We then provide a fully customized solution, even going the extra mile to coordinate installation with one of our partners if needed.
As a result of our customer-first efforts, Hayward Turnstiles has is an accredited business with an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau.
Looking Forward
Over the past 15 years, we have seen Hayward Turnstiles grow from an idea in a storage room to a global, multi-location leader in the access control industry. We continue to grow and develop daily, adding new products and accessories that we feel would be beneficial to our diverse set of customers and partners. No matter how big we get, though, we will never sacrifice the value of a good relationship with our customers.
Seeing the world become increasingly digital, Hayward Turnstiles has crafted an industry-leading online experience that we continue to refine daily. From our online partner portal to our one-stop-shop Safety Sleeve store, we have spared no expense providing our customers with the most streamlined digital experience in the industry. We will continue refining our website and streamlining our processes into the future all with the hopes of making it easier and more pleasant for our customers to purchase access control solutions.