After selling Lord Safe, I started a company Key One Limited. During this time my clients were the major New Zealand Banks, Corporates and Armourguard. My main work was servicing and opening locked out safes, bank vaults and any lock work they required. I also travelled to the USA, AUS and the UK to open banker’s high-grade safes.

While at Armourguard one of the guards’s lost the keys to every parking meter reader in Christchurch, the locks were Radial locks. I serviced and rekeyed over 1,000 of these in record time. Armourguard were one of my main clients and they offered to buy my company Key One to which I accepted. I was hired by Armourguard and while with them, I redesigned and implemented a new Abloy high security lock and mechanism for their armored truck fleet. During this time I provided Ray Beatson the CEO of the New Zealand Security Association the standard for the locking mechanism for armored cash trucks.

Upon leaving Armourguard, I started a company called SLS Security (Security Lock & Safe) again my clients were banks, corporates and government department’s. I sold SLS in 1998, this company still exists today.

In 1996 I designed a mounting plate for an electronic lock to retro fit any mechanical lock to Woolworths Safes as request by Mr Murray Pirret the then Security Manger and ex NZ Police, the retrofit was carried out New Zealand wide, providing a logistic issue, the retrofit was completed on time and on budget.

In 1999 APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Relationship) I was contracted by the NZ Police with the liaison officer being Sargent Shane Whittaker, to supply and install all gun safes to a number of very high security and sensitive locations throughout Auckland. I was provided top level clearance access to complete this work including the room of the then President of the United States, Bill Clinton. This operation was highly successful and completed without any breach’s, at the same time I also supplied and installed a number of high security safe’s to the New Zealand Armed Offenders Squad.

After a break of just over a year, I started John Tann Lock and Safe carrying out safe and lock services. I started in conjunction with my wife United Services Limited (USL).
We incorporated building repairs and maintenance the company no longer trades I have employed many people over the years.