With over 25 years in the industry, Joanne Milne-Rowe, Sales Director at Codelocks, shares her journey before joining Codelocks, what excites her about access control and where she sees the industry heading next.
Although it’s difficult to believe, I’ve been in the industry for over 25 years now. It’s been a long and varied journey and one that started when I was just a teenager and joined Mul T Lock. I was pinning cylinders and cutting keys and then later transitioned into technical support where I worked on the master key systems.
When I had my daughter, I thought that would be the end of my master key systems career, but it didn’t take long until I was back in the industry with Winkhaus. Here, I was involved in handwriting the largest master key system in Europe for the London Underground.
This project raised my profile and attracted the attention of Colin Campbell, now Managing Director at Codelocks, who approached me for my first sales role at Ingersoll Rand. I quickly discovered my flair for sales and decided it was a career path I wanted to pursue.
In 2016, I joined Colin and the team at Codelocks. I’ve been here for six years now and was recently promoted to Sales Director, where I oversee the whole sales process. Day-to-day, my role involves building direct customer relationships, dealing with pricing, stock reporting, enquiries and managing a sales team.
I'm a people person, so working in sales suits me well. I have strong communication skills which have helped me grow in the industry and have come in useful when meeting a range of people. Sales can be fast-paced and constantly evolving, but I’m not scared of a challenge, and I can adapt to most situations.
What I particularly like about working at Codelocks is that every project is different. As an access control product, there’s a need for Codelocks across all sectors. Customers may come from different industries and have different needs, but part of the reward comes in creating a bespoke solution that solves their pain points and I enjoy collaborating with our industry partners to deliver it.
I also genuinely love working at Codelocks. We have a great team of people that are a pleasure to work with and the size of the business means that everyone makes a difference. Plus, we know how to throw a great party!
In 2018, I was appointed the national chair of the of Institute of Architectural Ironmongers (IAI), alongside my role at Codelocks. This was a formative experience for my professional development, enabling me to build professional relationships and shape change in one of the leading associations in our industry.
I'm also very proud of my Diploma from the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers.
Access control has changed massively since I first started out in the industry. Every year, innovation in technology means solutions are getting more sophisticated, smarter and personalised.
At Codelocks, I’ve noticed a growing interest from our clients looking for an access control solution that is tailored to their own product and service, rather than a one size fits all solution. Companies ultimately want to give their customers an easy and straightforward way to use their products, while guaranteeing the right people have access.
This is our bread and butter at Codelocks. From restaurant takeout to bike storage to ski chalets, we’re increasingly working on projects that deliver integrated solutions, essentially combining our access control technology with a client’s product. In particular, Codelocks’ propriety NetCode® technology, which enables the generation of time sensitive access codes and can be incorporated with a customer’s own booking system, is at the heart of more flexible and seamless access control.
In 2023, we’re working on new technology to advance our integrated solutions further so keep your eyes peeled for more information to follow.
I'm a very sociable person and I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. Some of my favourite activities include carp fishing with my dad, taking the dog for long country walks that inevitably end in a pub trip or challenging my friends to a dart game (I’m a mildly obsessive player).
24, Apr 2023