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. Its motto became 'We Will Not Be Undersold,' and it still is. 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. For the next three years, Karel commuted back and forth from London, England to Detroit, Michigan. Then, in 1968 with business growing, he hired John Earles as Vice-President and decided that it was time to move to the Motor City permanently with his wife Sheila and daughter Paula. Shortly after, KBC moved further up Eight Mile Road to more spacious and glamorous digs, right next to the most notorious topless bar in Detroit, The Booby Trap, a true Detroit landmark.