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In 1956, Bob Labbe age 24 was employed as a toolmaker in Hartford Connecticut. He had a vision of a high speed screw machine that could produce lock tumbler pins 20 times faster than any machine he knew of.  When discussing this with his peers, they said it couldn't be done. The speeds required for such a production rate would not allow it.  Well, that's exactly the type of motivation that drives Bob. Just tell him it can't be done and he'll think of twenty different ways to do it. Within one year his first lock tumbler pin machine was producing parts that met his original objective and LAB was born. He refined his design as he built eleven more machines. Some of his early customers were Eagle Lock and Lori Lock.

In 1974 Bob Labbe revolutionized Lock Pin Kit designs by creating single level universal kits that were virtually leakproof and non existent. Bob would attend trade shows and literally throw his kits on the floor to demonstrate his new leak-proof designs and display his one level pinning system.

In 1977 Bob again revolutionized the Lock Pin industry when he created and copyrighted the .003 Universal Pin System. These were the smoothest operating, most accurate universal pins manufactured.

In 1978 after several moves to accommodate the growing business Bob purchased a building in Plymouth, Connecticut.

As the company continued to grow Bob assembled a talented staff of engineers and a marketing team. The LAB Team began to aggressively market tumbler pins and pin kits and quickly became one of the most respected brand names in the security industry. The accuracy and quality of LAB Tumbler Pins and Kits became the standard for the entire industry.

In 1994 LAB moved into its World Headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.

Now LAB is the largest manufacturer of quality lock tumbler pins and kits servicing major lock manufacturers and security professionals worldwide.