Our vaults are located in eight cities in four continents as of January 2023 and counting. The vaults are located in secured facilities which are on a need-to-know basis given the security sensitive nature of our business. 

Clutha Vault Incorporated vaults are secure spaces where money, valuables, records, and documents are stored. Our vaults are intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, much like a safe. Unlike safes, vaults are an integral part of the building within which they are built, using armored walls and a tightly fashioned door closed with a complex lock.

Our vaults are built as custom orders. Our vaults are usually the first aspect of what is designed into the buildings in which we locate our premises. The manufacturing process begins with the design of the vault, and the rest of the building is built around it.

Our vaults are typically made with steel-reinforced concrete. This material was not substantially different from that used in construction work. It relies on its immense thickness for strength. An ordinary vault from the middle of the 20th century might have been 18 in (45.72 cm) thick and was quite heavy and difficult to remove or remodel around. Modern vaults are now typically made of modular concrete panels using a special proprietary blend of concrete and additives for extreme strength. The concrete has been engineered for maximum crush resistance. A panel of this material, though only 3 in (7.62 cm) thick, may be up to 10 times as strong as an 18 in-thick (45.72-cm) panel of regular formula concreted.

There are at least two public examples of vaults withstanding a nuclear blast. The most famous is the Teikoku Bank in Hiroshima whose two Mosler Safe Company vaults survived the atomic blast with all contents intact. The bank manager wrote a congratulatory note to Mosler. A second is a vault at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly the Nevada Test Site) in which an above ground Mosler vault was one of many structures specifically constructed to be exposed to an atomic blast in Operation Plumb Bob - Project. Interestingly, our vaults are much more rugged than these two quoted.

Lock

A vault door, much like the smaller burglary safe door, is secured with numerous massive metal bolts (cylinders) extending from the door into the surrounding frame. Holding those bolts in place is some sort of lock. The lock is invariably mounted on the inside (behind) of the difficult-to-penetrate door and is usually very modest in size and strength, but very difficult to gain access to from the outside. There are many types of lock mechanisms in use:

A combination lock similar in principle to that of a padlock or safe door is very common. This is usually a mechanical device but products incorporating both mechanical and electronic mechanisms are available, making certain safe cracking techniques very difficult.

Some high-end vaults employ a two piece key to be used in conjunction with a combination lock. This key consists of a long stem as well as a short stamp which should be safe guarded separately and joined together to open the vault door.

A dual control (dual custody) combination lock has two dials controlling two locking mechanisms for the door. They are usually configured so that both locks must be dialed open at the same time for the door to be unlocked. No single person is given both combinations, requiring two people to cooperate to open the door. Some doors may be configured so that either dial will unlock the door, trading off increased convenience for lessened security.

A time lock is a clock that prevents the vault's door from opening until a specified number of hours have passed. This is still the "theft proof" lock system that Sargent invented in the late nineteenth century. Such locks are manufactured by only a few companies worldwide. The locking system is supplied to the vault manufacturer preassembled.

Many safe-cracking techniques also apply to the locking mechanism of the vault door. They may be complicated by the sheer thickness and strength of the door and panel.

Our vault doors are molded of special concrete used to make the panels, but it can be made in several ways. The door mold differs from the panel molds because there is a hole for the lock and the door will be clad in stainless steel.

Round vault doors were popular in the early 20th century and are iconic images for a high security. They fell out of favor due to manufacturing complexities, maintenance issues (door sag due to weight) and cost, but a few examples are still available.

A day gate is a second door inside the main vault door frame used for limited vault protection while the main door is open. It is often made of open metal mesh or glass and is intended to keep a casual visitor out rather than to provide true security. We design our doors according to this model.