Since 1952 KARBELT SPEED & CUSTOM INC. has remained Canada's first and largest performance equipment distributor.

In March of 1952, after tiring of the driving school business, the late George and Lois Foote secured a $2,000.00 loan and opened a new family business in a small basement location on Bay Street in Toronto, Canada. The loan was used to purchase automotive seat belts, which were marketed under the name KAR-BELT and later changed to "KARBELT SALES". Following up on the success of the this new product in the automotive market the Foote's expanded their product offering to spark plugs, anti-freeze and wheel discs.

With the impressive growth of their business came the all too common lack of space issue. They needed to expand. This first expansion came in 1959 when the now thriving parts business moved up to the main floor of the same building. This extra space allowed for George and Lois to add to their product mix. Products such as floor shifters, fender-skirts, tube grills and chrome accessories were introduced into the accessory hungry Toronto area market.

In 1960, with their retail operation proving such a success, a wholesale division of KARBELT was established. This allowed the Foote's to further expand the introduction of performance parts into the growing Canadian market. Cal Custom, Hurst, Mallory, Foxcraft, Offenhauser and Isky were among their first few product lines. In 1961 the company was incorporated and renamed "KARBELT SPEED & CUSTOM INC."

In 1963, unable to find any Quebec retailers willing to sell performance parts, KARBELT opened Quebec's very first Speed and Custom shop. Doing so, the company became instrumental in the development of automotive performance in Quebec and then on into the Eastern Provinces, opening many Speed Shops in the years that followed.

One fact that they are still proud of is that KARBELT was the first Canadian distributor for Mr. Gasket Co.

Never letting a marketing chance pass by, George Foote leased the popular Cayuga 1320 Dragway from 1967-1969. He used the track as a proving grounds for his products and a promotional venue to market his industry to young up and coming Hot Rodders. This idea proved very successful, as many new Toronto area speed shops began to open in an effort to satisfy the demand for speed parts.

As factory performance car sales continued to increase, so did product demand. In 1971 KARBELT expanded to part of a highly visible location at 1830 Bayview Ave. in Toronto. Just one year later, they expanded again from their initial 5,000-sq. ft. to a larger 20,000-sq. ft. and finally in 1979 the Head Office and warehouse expanded to encompass the full 32,000-sq. ft. available. This location served as the Head Office until December 1995.

On January 1st, 1996, KARBELT expanded again to its new distribution facility in Ajax, Ontario, approximately 20 minutes east of Toronto. This highly productive warehouse facility features 24 foot high ceilings, four truck level doors and computerized shipping. Being located on over three acres of property leaves much room for future expansion.