Chubb is one of the most well known names in locks, safes and security products. Founded in England, they have been manufacturing these products since the 19th century. Chubb safes were long renowned for their solid construction and quality engineering. Their current manufacturing facilities adhere to the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems. The safe making division – now known as Chubbsafes – is a part of the multinational Gunnebo security group.

A brief history of Chubb Safes

Chubb was founded in England in 1818 when brothers Charles and Jeremiah Chubb developed and patented their Detector Lock. In 1835, the first burglar resistant Chubb safe was patented. Three years later, their first fire resistant safe was added to the range. Chubb soon became a household name, renowned for the quality of their products.

Among Chubb’s innovations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the development of their Anti Blow Pipe (ABP) metal alloy which was resistant to oxy acetylene metal cutting tools. This was used extensively in Chubb’s range of high end safes and vault doors.

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, it became clear that safe breakers – armed with knowledge of explosives gained during WWII, as well as new drilling machines and oxy arc cutters – were capable of breaching ABP safes that had long been considered impenetrable. Chubb responded by developing sophisticated live relocking devices for their safes, as well as new metal alloys impervious to oxy arc and drill attack.

Chubbsafes Sovereign Safe from the late 1990s/early 2000s

New fire resistant cabinets and safes were also developed, designed to protect newly emerging computer media such as tapes and disks. Many high security locks were redesigned for mass production, while refinements in manufacturing meant ABP safes became more affordable.

A further development was the use of aluminium in the production of safe bodies. With an aluminium based alloy, safes could be built by casting a five-sided box around an inner steel shell. Many of these methods were used to create the Chubb Sovereign range of safes. Launched in 1979, this range evolved to become the Chubbsafes DuoGuard and ProGuard ranges of today.

Becoming Chubbsafes

Chubb was split into two separate companies in 2000. Chubb Fire and Security focuses on security products such as fire and burglar alarms. The safe and lock making divisions of the company was sold to Assa Abloy. The safe making division – Chubbsafes – was then sold to Gunnebo, a large multinational which incorporates many well-known safe brands and manufacturers. Chubbsafes continues to operate as part of the Gunnebo group today.

Chubbsafes Products

Chubbsafes manufactures a wide range of safes and secure storage cabinets. Many of their modern safes such as the Cobra, Duoguard and Trident carry fire protection certificates as well as being highly burglar resistant.

Chubbsafes also manufacture the highly popular Profile NT fireproof filing cabinet, which has been tested and certified in accordance with the NT FIRE 017 standard. The Profile NT is available in a variety of configurations from 2 drawer to 4 drawer, with either a 60 or 120 minute fire certificate.

Chubbsafes Contact Details

Chubbsafes/Gunnebo’s UK office can be found at Woden Road, Wolverhampton WV10 0BY (tel: +44 1902 455111, fax: +44 1902 351961).

For more information about Chubb, Chubbsafes and their products and history, please see their website at www.chubbsafes.co.uk.