California-based Powertec refers to itself as “the premier strength lifestyle brand” on its website, as well as “a pioneer and leader in the area of strength equipment.” While either of those statements may be bold enough to lead any fitness enthusiast to instill his or her trust in the Powertec brand, it doesn’t mean that even a pioneer and leader can’t be second-guessed. In this case, some faithful customers who put their faith in the Powertec weight workbenches might be testing more than just their physical strength.
This week, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Powertec, Inc. announced the recall of approximately 565 of the company’s popular workbenches because of a manufacturing defect in the backrest adjustment brackets. So far, the company has received at least one report of a minor injury after the the weld broke on a backrest adjustment bracket while a consumer was using one of the workbenches. This situation could be particularly dangerous if a person is lifting a heavy weight load, and that is why both the CPSC and Powertec are urging consumers to stop using the workbenches immediately.
There are currently three specific models of these at-home fitness systems involved in this recall: the Workbench Multipress with Isolateral Arms (Model No. WB-MP11), Workbench Olympic Bench (WB-OB11), and the Workbench Utility Bench (WB-UB11). The benches were produced and sold between September 2011 and May 2012 through the Powertec website and at specialty fitness retail stores across the U.S., and they retailed from $299 to $549. Consumers can contact Powertec directly at (877) 525-5710 to order a free repair kit or receive a refund on the workbench.
While not as common as some other household product defects, home fitness items can be equally or sometimes even more dangerous if they are defective. Last October, Fitness Anywhere recalled more than 40,000 suspension trainer devices because consumers were reporting possible head injuries.