Key Outerwear

About
In 1908, C.A. Lakin and Harry McKey founded the Lakin-McKey Manufacturing Company in Fort Scott, Kansas. The company operated as a regional manufacturer of bib overalls in the Kansas-Missouri area over the next thirty years, selling its products under the “Lakin-McKey” trademark. By 1938, Mr. Lakin had left the business and Mr. McKey shortened the company’s name and trademark to “KEY”. Wanting to remain in the workwear business, Kenneth Pollock bough KEY in 1938.

After World War Two, KEY expanded its product line from primarily bib overalls to also include dungarees (carpenter pants), jeans, shirts, insulated outerwear and other work wear products. Over time KEY acquired or developed various labels and brands to better merchandise its expanding product lines, including the Tuf-Nut, Polar King and Wolf Mountain labels. KEY operated numerous factories throughout the Midwest to support its production. In 1990, Kenneth Pollock sold KEY to his son, Bill Pollock and his wife, Aileen, who continue to own KEY today. In 1994, KEY built a new distribution center in Fort Scott. KEY is now in its 104th year of continuous operations and is in its 74th year of continuous ownership within the Pollock family, which itself has over 100 years of clothing experience.

KEY has developed a long tradition of producing quality work wear. If you purchase a KEY product, you can be assured that it will meet your satisfaction. If it does not, we will make it right. Thank you for your interest in KEY.