Chicago Street Car c. 1917

Empire State Building c. 1931

New York Rail Road c.1938

Buenos Aires Bus c. 1947

Federal Bank c. 2003

Company Evolution and History

The mission of Perey Turnstiles, Inc., is the design, manufacture and sale of tripod-turnstiles, Drop-Arm-Turnstiles, Optical-Turnstiles, Swing-Gates and other “crowd management, admissions and access control mechanisms”. Our reputation for quality, durability and customer service serves as the worldwide industry standard.

Through the years, the Perey name has been on turnstiles and equipment that address the needs of the sports, amusement, casino and mass transit industries. More recently Perey Turnstiles Inc. has focused on the needs of the security field and long before the initiation of equal-accessibility compliance regulations Perey Turnstiles was addressing the access issues of folks with physical challenges.

From Ebbets Field in 1941 to the Federal Reserve Banks today; from Disneyland’s opening in 1955 to Lockheed Missiles and Space today; from the New York City Transit Authority in 1913 to Chevron Oil today Perey has been leading the industry in crowd management, admissions and access control mechanisms.

Perey’s worldwide original patents are the foundations of the industry. They include the three wing full height turnstile (the Roto-Gate) and the three arm waist high turnstile (the Passimeter) in the 1920’s. We went on to develop and patent coin/token operation, automated-control operation, the “Twin” Roto-Gate design, wireless battery powered turnstiles and most of the technology that makes up the turnstile industry today.

Perey Turnstiles, Inc. has made the highest commitment to improvement in response to market trends. We have recognized the need for both ever shorter lead times and the ever greater product reliability. This means our customers have access to the world’s largest wealth of turnstile experience and support and the highest technology in the global industry.

Perey Turnstiles Inc. supports all turnstiles made with the “Perey” name since 1913. Possibly the most obvious indications that Perey Turnstiles is a name you can rely upon is…

• Blackpool Pleasure Beach, U.K., bought turnstiles from Perey in 1915 and in 2007
• Lawrence Livermore National Labs, U.S.A., bought turnstiles from Perey in 1947 and in 2009
• The Chicago Transit Authority, U.S.A., Bought turnstiles from Perey in 1928 and in 2010
• Tivoli Gardens, Denmark, bought turnstiles from Perey in 1936 and in 2009
• Churchill Downs Race Course, U.S.A., bought turnstiles from Perey in 1938 and in 2007
• The U.S. Army Air Cops bought turnstiles from Perey in 1940 and the U.S. Air Force bought turnstiles for Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, in 2010.

Turnstile History

The origins of the TURNSTILE date back to first millennium England.

The first turnstile maker was probably a farmer. Our farmer would have had cattle and crops and he would have fenced off the border between his crops and live stock with a rock wall.

In order to make going from his crops area to his livestock area easier, while keeping his cattle away from his crops, he would have built a stone STILE in his wall. The stone STILE probably consisted of two steps up, a short platform and two steps down.

At some point, our farmer would have grown tired of trudging up and down the steps of his STILE. One day, our enterprising farmer decided to plunge a post into the ground and mount a cross of wood on top of the post. He would have used a spike to keep the cross on the post and the cross would have rotated about the spike like the propeller of an airplane. Hence the TURNSTILE.

Today if you ask someone what a turnstile is, they will think of a housing with a revolving head mounted to it like a three-legged milk-stool on its side. This is, in fact, the very concept developed by John Perey and Conrad Trubenback in approximately 1928.

Today, turnstiles are as much mechanical devices as electronic. The turnstile has evolved from a simple counting device to a device that can, for example, count, scan a ticket, communicate via radio with a database management system to validate a ticket and be unlocked, all within milliseconds and all powered by battery.

While Perey Turnstiles, Inc., manufactures Optical Stiles (with no arms at all), Drop Arm Stiles (one long arm), Roto-Gates (7′ tall turnstiles) and gates, there is still only one absolutely reliable way to insure ONE entry per ticket or I.D. card and ONE count per person – That is the venerable turnstile.

We owe a debt to Mr. John Perey and Mr. Conrad Trubenbach who began the modern age of the turnstile and, if you think about it, may have touched more people with their invention than any other people on earth.