Last Updated on October 22, 2026 by Team TBH
ForwardPass is the smart locker brand launched by LocknCharge in July 2026. The launch created a dedicated identity for LocknCharge’s smart locker business, including the former FUYL Smart Locker line, which is now presented under the ForwardPass name.
The brand transition did not create a new company or separate the smart locker business from its existing ownership. ForwardPass remains part of the same family-led organization, while LocknCharge continues to represent the company’s charging carts and stations.
The LocknCharge device management history behind ForwardPass reaches back to PC Locs, founded in Western Australia in 1998. The business expanded from physical device security products into charging carts and stations, device storage, and smart lockers.
From PC Locs to LocknCharge to ForwardPass
ForwardPass builds on nearly three decades of business growth and product development, beginning with PC Locs in Australia and continuing through LocknCharge’s international expansion. ForwardPass now serves as the dedicated brand for the company’s smart locker portfolio and device handoff workflows, while LocknCharge continues to focus on charging carts and stations.
The ForwardPass company history can be traced through three stages:
- PC Locs: Australian educator Paul Symons founded PC Locs in Western Australia in 1998 after identifying a need to secure computers at his school. The company began with desktop lockdown kits and later expanded into products designed to secure, store, charge, and move devices within schools and other organizations.
- LocknCharge: As the business established an international presence, LocknCharge became the name associated with its device-management operations outside Australia. The portfolio grew to include charging carts and stations, storage products, and smart locker systems for controlled access to devices.
- ForwardPass: In 2026, LocknCharge established ForwardPass as the dedicated brand for its smart locker business. The ForwardPass portfolio focuses on physical device handoffs, including loaners, repairs, deployments, replacements, and charging.
This progression reflects an expansion in the problems the company addressed. Early products focused primarily on securing and storing devices. Smart lockers introduced a way to control device access while also supporting repeatable handoff processes. ForwardPass by LocknCharge builds on the PC Locs and LocknCharge heritage, giving smart locker workflows a dedicated brand identity.
Family leadership continues behind the ForwardPass brand
ForwardPass continues the family-led business history that began with Paul Symons, who founded PC Locs in Western Australia in 1998. His son, James Symons, was involved from the company’s early days and helped produce the device lockdown kits that formed its first product line.
As the business expanded internationally, James Symons moved from product work into sales and management, with previous roles including General Manager. He currently serves as acting CEO of PC Locs, LocknCharge, and ForwardPass.
What changed and what stayed the same in the 2026 launch?
The change is primarily a brand transition. LocknCharge moved its smart locker business under the ForwardPass name. The smart locker business stays under the same ownership, with the same leadership, sales, support, reseller, and distributor relationships in place.
The main changes are the following:
- FUYL Classic is now also known as ForwardPass Classic.
- FUYL Enhanced is also known as ForwardPass Enhanced.
- Current smart locker sales and marketing materials now use the ForwardPass name.
- ForwardPass is now the dedicated brand for the smart locker portfolio.
Several operational elements stayed the same:
- Ownership and leadership
- Sales and support teams
- Established ordering and quotation processes
- Reseller and distributor relationships
- Support for installed FUYL systems
For new purchases, customers and partners should use current ForwardPass materials. Legacy FUYL documentation may still be relevant when supporting installed systems.
Why vendor heritage matters for IT procurement decisions
Procurement teams use vendor heritage as evidence of whether a provider has the experience, organizational maturity, and support continuity to sustain a long-term technology relationship. That record helps buyers assess the company behind the product, not just the product itself.
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant methodology treats maturity and demonstrated execution as meaningful parts of vendor evaluation. It describes Leaders as providers with mature offerings that meet market demand and the ability to sustain their position as requirements evolve.
For IT procurement teams, a documented vendor history can provide evidence in several areas:
- Experience serving customers across changing technology requirements
- A record of adapting products as device-management needs evolve
- Established structures for service and customer relationships
- Continuity in leadership and ownership over time
That context is relevant when evaluating smart locker brand heritage. The ForwardPass brand launched in 2026, but ForwardPass is not a startup. Its operating history extends through PC Locs and LocknCharge, giving buyers a longer record to examine.
Heritage should not replace current due diligence, however. Buyers still need to assess the specific product configuration, support terms, security requirements, integrations, and commercial fit. The track record provides additional evidence about the organization expected to support that investment over its lifecycle.
Bottom line
B2B brand transitions work best when customers can clearly connect the new identity to the products, relationships, and operating history they already recognize. That principle is central to the ForwardPass transition, which gives LocknCharge’s smart locker business a distinct market identity while preserving a clear line back through LocknCharge and PC Locs smart lockers.
For buyers, the operating history provides evidence of how the business has developed its products, expanded internationally, maintained customer support, and carried leadership across different stages of growth.
ForwardPass now has to build on that record under its own name. Procurement teams will increasingly judge the brand by the performance of its smart locker portfolio, the quality of its support, and its ability to address changing device handoff requirements.
To explore more content like this, follow The Brand Hopper
Subscribe to our newsletter
