Tom Kearns & Assoc., Inc. was formed in 1980. Originally it was formed as a "Manufacturer's Representative Agency". The product line that was being represented was the time piece industry. Some of the lines represented were the General Time Corp. lines (primarily Westclox Big Ben alarm clocks, travel clocks and wall clocks); Equity alarm clocks and wall clocks; and general housewares.

As time went on, our principle owner, Tom Kearns developed relationships with the cutlery industry. These relationships began in 1989 with the Camillus Cutlery Company of Camillus, New York. Camillus Cutlery, at that time, was a 110 year old cutlery manufacturer, primarily doing OEM work for accounts such as Sears, Remington Arms, Boy Scouts of America, etc. Camillus Cutlery Company wanted to branch out with branded sales to retailers and wholesalers, plus develop custom cutlery for major manufacturers such as Milwaukee Tool Co., KAR Products, the National Rifle Assoc., and others. This is where Tom Kearns became the "go to guy" for developing this business and training the people Camillus Cutlery hired for their sales dept.

As the cutlery business in the U.S.A. evolved, due to the closing of many American cutlery manufacturers, Tom Kearns & Assoc., Inc. evolved into a direct importer of quality cutlery, along with being a successful Manufacturer Representative Agency.

In 2008, Tom began educating his daughter Kelli (Kearns) Nelson and her husband Eric Nelson to take over the utility knife portion of the business when he retired. Steel Bear Industries LLC was formed when Kelli and Eric decided to form a business entity under which they would operate. Tom will continue as a consultant for Steel Bear Industries LLC in order to ensure the same quality and service that was part of Tom Kearns and Associates Inc. continues.

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