1. Product Description: Door locks are used to lock up doors. Common door locks are called mort ice locks. A door lock is operated by a key and latch. Door locks can be vertical, rebated or dead type. Vertical locks are used in flush doors.
2. Rationale: Door locks are among the most essential household products. Millions and millions of rooms in houses, offices, shops, schools, hospitals, factories, etc need door locks for safe keeping of properties and the safty of people. All the door locks that the whole country needs every year are imported. Making of door locks mainly requires fabrication of different metals and assembling them; and this can be done in our country. So far no attempt has been made to produce door locks in any part of the country. The Amhara Region should take the initiative to manufacture the first modern door locks in the country.
3. Market Potential: There is no need to cite figures of imported door locks or the number of rooms that require door locks. It is enough to say that there will be sufficient market for door locks to absorb the production volume of any door locks producing plant.
4. Source of Raw Material: Door locks are made from different metals, and like any other metallic product produced in the country, metal inputs for the production of door locks will be imported.
5. Production process & Technology: A door lock consists of the following parts:- body cover, case plate, striking plate, latch bolt, levers, latch spring, liver pivot and other pins and keys. The body cover, face plate and striking plate are made of mild steel sheet. These parts are cut from the sheet on a power press. The latch and locking bolt are generally made of zinc alloy and are dying casted and fitted to the required shape and size. The latch spring is made of spring wire. The levers are made of brass or mild steel. The levers are sand casted or cut from the brass or steel sheet and galvanized after wards. The keys are generally made of zinc alloy nickel plated. The guide pins are turned and cut off on small machines. All the components are then assembled to make door locks. Main machines needed are power press, hand press, bench drilling machine, bench grinder, electro plating unit.
6. Estimated Investment: For producing about 120,000 pieces of door locks per year, Building cost (350m2) will be Birr 450,000, Plant, machinery and working capital will be 150,000, total Investment Birr 600,000.
7. Benefit: foreign exchange saving financial resource saving, self-sufficiency, introduction of new skills and technology.
8. Location: Combolcha.