Paula & KBC Team

All Metal... All The Time.

YOU'RE FAMILY AT KBC.

We combine old fashioned family values of integrity, trust, good value, friendship, and hard work with new high tech products and solutions. All that plus extensive inventory, sharp pricing, and what you need, when you need it has kept North America ordering from us since 1965.

WITH KBC, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.

We don’t hide anything. We offer you total honesty, realistic deliveries on tooling, let you choose from good, better, or best depending upon your project, and know that your word and your work are at the heart of who you are also.

NO JOB TOO BIG. NO JOB TOO SMALL.

All of our team members, including our managers, make sure your order gets out the door and to you. We work as a team to pick, pack, and ship it. Don’t be surprised to find any one of us in the warehouse, on the phone, or at the counter. Your satisfaction is of top priority at KBC!

The original location of KBC on 8 Mile
ONE ORDER AT A TIME.

We earn our paycheck every day, just like you. We work to ensure that we get you the best tools and solutions for your job every day. We’ve been in business since 1965, and we know that we earn your business one order, one tool at a time.

OUR HISTORY.

KBC Tools and Machinery, Inc., originally known as “Kabaco Tools” was started in 1965 by Karel Bass in Detroit, Michigan - The Motor City. KBC began as a catalog house selling surplus and English tools to the metalworking industry at a discount. KBC’s original home was 1,000 square feet of rental space on Eight Mile Road, right next to a Top Hat Hamburger Drive Thru, a Detroit tradition. In 1968 with business growing, it was time for expansion, after outgrowing the location several times, KBC moved to Eighteen Mile Road in Sterling Heights, Michigan – its current headquarters. With business booming, the catalog grew - more suppliers, products, and pages - and the clients just kept on buying.

Founder of KBC Karel Bass Always looking for new opportunities and challenges, KBC acquired a business in the 80’s in California, and the first KBC branch was born. It didn’t take long for things to come together and to see that the model could work in other locations. So, in the late 80’s, the first Canadian branch was opened in Mississauga, Ontario – just outside of Toronto. KBC had become international!

Branch growth continued with additions in Oldcastle, Ontario; Delta, British Columbia, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, allowing the KBC model to thrive, grow and reach more clients. In 2000 we launched our first E-commerce site, and today we serve customers throughout North America - even as far as NWT and Hawaii.

With a strong, tenured management team, KBC has established itself as a unique player in our industrial space with several main differentiators from many competitors. We stock and sell both Tools and Machinery and we have locations in both the US and Canada – and with our own Proprietary Branded Machinery and Tooling Lines, there aren’t many players that match up!

With customer friendly showrooms our customers are encouraged to pop by any KBC branch to have a coffee, check out our many machines and precision instruments on display, and talk with the friendly team regarding their tooling and machinery needs. With over 100,000 items, from over 600 suppliers – we have some pretty cool stuff!

Many customers have been doing business with KBC for so long that we know them by voice when they call, despite sometimes having never met them in person! These old friends know that their order - like every order - is important to KBC.

Most important though in our success is our fabulous family of team members who make it happen every day and every order. Our team’s passion, determination, attention to detail, and care keep our clients coming back and spreading the word. KBC – ALL METAL…ALL THE TIME – Industrial Metalworking Tooling & Solutions Since 1965 - KBC is great!

Thank you for choosing KBC! 

Paula Bass, President