Background:
Hiatt Handcuffs in England was acquired by American
company Armor Holdings in 2006. Armor Holdings was then acquired by
British company BAE Systems. The Hiatt factory in Birmingham, England
was closed in late June, 2008. BAE moved the Hiatt factory to New
Hampshire and began making the Hiatt handcuff line under the Safariland
brand. In 2010, they closed the New Hampshire factory and now they are
made in Ontario, CA. All restraints made by BAE companies were placed
under the Safariland brand. This includes Monadnock disposable
restraints and NIK Flex-Cufs, Tranzport Hoods, and Spit Nets. In 2012
Safariland was acquired in a private equity deal led by the former CEO
of Armor Holdings, Warren Kanders. Kanders is the Chairman and CEO of
the new company which will continue to be named Safariland.
New announcement:
All Safariland restraints will placed under the Monadnock umbrella beginning 2013. Safariland handcuffs will be branded Hiatt again. The old Monadnock double cuffs and spare cuffs that were switched to Safariland will be Monadnock again. And the old NIK Flex-Cufs, Tranzport Hoods, and Spit Nets that became Safariland will also be under Monadnock. Production will be moved from Ontario, CA to Pittsfield, MA sometime in 2013. We are currently not sure when we will receive our first shipment of the new Hiatt items.