About Us

 

The Cartek Group is an automotive service equipment manufacturer and reseller made up of 10 international companies owned by a private venture capital group. We utilize our engineering company, Kodiak Engineering, to design cutting edge automotive wheel alignment machines using the expertise of renowned Swiss and US engineers. All alignment equipment is made in the USA employing our state of the art HAAS-Precision machining center and production facility in Kalamazoo Michigan. All materials machined for our alignment equipment are sourced in the USA through exclusive partnerships with major aluminum extruders and steel distributors.

 

 

History

 

The founders of BEAR were brother Will and Henry Damman, who went on to build the company that was incorporated in 1917 to design and manufacture auto equipment. The Happy Bear was with them from the earliest days. The accepted version of the little guy is based on a vintage slang expression, “It’s a bear!” Nowadays, of course, that would mean it’s a tough job, but over 100 years ago, it referred to a product that was rugged and top-quality. Will Damman thought it a perfect symbol for his top-quality company.

Since then, the company and the BEAR brand itself, were sold and transferred to multiple owners and entities.

In 1999, The Cartek Group, being the largest BEAR distributor worldwide, acquired the rights to design and manufacture all BEAR products, including all active patents at the time. This license included the rights to sell BEAR products everywhere in the world with the exception of North America.

From 1999 until 2009, The Cartek Group continued manufacturing and distributing automotive service equipment under the BEAR brand in 25 countries (not including the United States).

In late 2017, The Cartek Group was officially granted exclusive ownership of the BEAR Trademark and logo by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Since then The Cartek Group has been manufacturing and selling wheel alignment and other service equipment under its original Bear name and lovable mascot to the US market and around the world.

Cartek is an integrated manufacturer of BEAR products located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Our Wheel Alignment machines are designed, machined, assembled and tested in the United States.

BEAR has been a leading brand in the automotive industry supplying quality products for over 100 years.

 

Below is a timeline of our heritage: