Problem comes under private equity firm's new ownership

COLUMBIA, 4/19/13 (Beat Byte) -- At the height of the national gun debate, regulators in the U.S. and Canada are working with a Columbia, Missouri firm to recall 4,000 faulty handgun vaults.

The firm, Battenfeld Technologies, was sold last year to a Connecticut-based private equity group, Clearview Capital Partners.
 
Combination-lock models of Battenfeld Technologies' Lockdown Compact and Large Handgun security vaults can fail, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission explains on its website. The vaults can unintentionally open stored weapons to children and unauthorized persons.
 
The recall started April 10, for vaults imported from China and sold in the U.S. and Canada from May 2012 through March 2013. "The lock can fail and allow unintended access to the contents of the vault," the Canadian government reports.
 
Battenfeld has advised vault owners to return the product for a refund and call 877-509-9160 for more information. No injuries or other customer complaints have been reported.
 
Battenfeld's longtime owners, the Potterfield family, sold the company in June 2012.
 
 
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