About Us

Long Life Ltd. opened its doors in 1970 at 407 Birchmount Road in Scarborough, Ontario. What started as a small repair shop grew, year by year, into Canada’s go-to specialist for one specific problem: replacement keys and locks for office furniture. When a desk drawer wouldn’t open, a filing cabinet had lost its keys, or a discontinued chair needed a tiny part nobody made anymore, facilities managers, IT departments, school boards, and homeowners all eventually heard the same advice: “Call Long Life.”

We built our reputation on three things: a deep catalog of legacy key codes going back to the 1970s, an honest answer when we couldn’t help, and same-day shipping when we could. Over the decades, we worked with virtually every major office furniture manufacturer in North America, including Steelcase, Knoll, Herman Miller, Haworth, Teknion, Allsteel, HON, and Krug. We also carried parts for dozens of Canadian and discontinued brands like Artopex, Precision, ALB, Art Met, Storwall, Sturdy Met, and Pundra that newer suppliers simply don’t stock.

When we closed, we faced a choice. We could pack up five decades of identification know-how and let it disappear, or we could leave it online for the next generation of customers who would still need to identify a vintage lock or order a replacement key. We chose the second option. This website is the working catalog we used in the shop, including all the brands, the lock types, the identification photographs, and the part numbers we relied on every day. Everything is here so that anyone can still figure out what they have and how to replace it.

Orders are now fulfilled through our trusted partner retailer, Acme Lock & Key Toronto. They carry our inventory and know our catalog inside and out. When you’ve identified the lock you need on our site, Acme Lock & Key Toronto handles the order, the cut, and the shipping anywhere in Canada or the United States.

We never charged extra for the time spent identifying a lock from a photograph. We never sold a customer a part we didn’t believe would work. We told people when their easiest answer was to replace the whole cabinet instead of chasing a discontinued cylinder. We answered the phone. That was the business, and it’s the standard our partner retailer Acme Lock & Key Toronto continues to operate by today.

For visitors who want to see the building, share a memory, or use it as a landmark, here’s the location of the original Scarborough shop. Use the interactive map below or generate turn-by-turn driving directions with the form underneath.

Send us a clear photo of your lock with the code stamp visible. We’ll identify the manufacturer, model, and exact replacement part needed usually within one business day.