Proamerica is headquarted in Baldwin Park, California, and has no connection to Stanley.
They were/are known also as "KAL", but the product is being stamped "Proamerica" to develop brand identity.
KAL was mostly manufactured in the US, but in the 80s, 90s, and later outsourced product from both Japan (which was actually decent quality) and Taiwan (I will offer no comment on that.) For
some consumers, the "KAL" name became associated and identified with "cheap Asian import".
Current Proamerica product is
all US-made.
Both KAL and Proamerica are big suppliers for military/GSA contracts and have been for years. (see Ebay sellers " markandmandee" and " Keystone Enterprises " for KAL/Proamerica surplus items sold on the cheap - many of which are engraved.)
Proamerica currently supplies items to Jensen Tool, Armstrong, and Proto, among others. (That's as much as I've been able to ferret out from talking with different people.)
As to product quality: I can speak only to fit/finish/appearance, which in my view is first-rate. Nicely made, good-looking product. Most of what I've acquired was little miniature pliers for my girlfriend to work on her "crafty" stuff, and I'm not in the habit of beating my tools, so I can't give you an honest assessment of how they perform under heavy use.
GJ member Jeremy V recently purchased the three-piece set of ring-hose pliers - this model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-America...631889?hash=item210d094451:g:o1YAAOSwiylXBs8T
It appears Bowers has sold out of the 3-piece sets and just has singles now. They were made to order for Bowers (partly at the request of GJ members. see the 'ring nose' plier thread cited below.)
Thus far Jeremy hasn't given us any feedback on them. ( or Silver 11, who also purchased a set.) See below and scroll up a few posts and read:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5691288&highlight=ring+nose+pliers#post5691288
I'm surprised Bowers brought in the ratchets. Obviously he's happy with product quality and sales figures. That he's expanding the line speaks volumes.
I have three or four of their little 1/4" drive ratchets in sets (of either Proamerica or KAL.) The ratchets have a surprisingly fine mechanism for such a tiny piece of machinery.
The 1/4" drive sets look like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-America...:g:2fMAAOSwe7BWzOZ9&item=161987305007&vxp=mtr
At least two of mine are military surplus and are in plastic blow-mold cases.
Fit, finish, and appearance on the sockets and other drive accessories is first-rate.
I don't use 1/4" drive to remove manifold bolts or wheel nuts - I have bigger stuff for that. I would imagine they'll serve their intended purpose working on lawnmowers.
It's not Snap-on, but it's certainly several rungs up the ladder from any Harbor Freight stuff. Also relatively competitively priced overall: some stuff is going to be higher than some other US brands, some lower.
