History
1929 – 1947
KLA Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, by three friends, Kraus, Ludwigson and Almas.
Early projects included radio transmission, antenna reception, voice reproduction, data collection, and time keeping systems.
Early customers included Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Packard Motors.
KLA was instrumental in promoting the War Bond Drive through the use of the days’ latest technologies: Public Address Systems
Legend has it that Al Capone frequented nightclubs that were staffed by KLA Technicians operating the music systems.
1947 – 1973
Through the 1940’s and 1950’s, High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) radio continued to be the rage. KLA was among the Midwest’s leading retailers, distributors, and installers of these products.
James “Pat” O’Bryan started with KLA in 1947 upon returning home from the Army after WWII. Pat began to purchase stock in 1956 and acquired a controlling interest in KLA in 1964.
With Pat’s leadership, KLA branched out to nine retail locations including many inside the then J.L. Hudson’s stores (now Macy’s) throughout Michigan.
KLA continued to install a variety of systems for churches, schools, governments, auditoriums, stadiums, racetracks, professional sports arenas, and recording studios including Hitsville USA, the Motown Recording Studios.
1973 – 1990
In March of 1973, KLA closed all of its retail locations and moved to Dearborn, Michigan. Pat decided that there was greater potential in the systems contracting and installation business.
In 1978, KLA became the first local company to install a Broadband Local Area Network Cabling System for General Motors and 3M. This coaxial cable network system was designed to remotely monitor and manage the resources on an automobile production system.
Broadband Local Area Networking was developed by the cable television industry and required the installation and testing of active components such as signal amplifiers, status monitors and system power supplies.
From 1978 through 1992, KLA installed Broadband Networks in more than 300 plants and facilities. During that period KLA installed thousands of sound and specialty communication systems including sound systems at the Pontiac Silverdome and The Palace of Auburn Hills.
1990 – 2000
On January 5, 1991, the President and Owner of KLA, Pat O’Bryan, passed away. His wife, Norma O’Bryan, assumed control of the company and became its President.
KLA named Matthew O’Bryan as Vice President of Operations and Donald O’Bryan as Vice President of Sales. Matt and Don were exposed to the industry at an early age, beginning their careers in 1984 and 1976 respectively.
In 1995, Ford Motor Company began its GENI (Global Enterprise Network Integrator) project. KLA was selected as one of the cabling contractors for the IBM managed project.
In 1997, KLA was named the sole provider for Structured Network Cabling projects at Ford manufacturing facilities throughout North America.
2000 – 2010
In 2002, Norma O’Bryan sold her interest in KLA to Don, Mary, and Matt O’Bryan. Matt was named President and CEO and Tommy Cataldo was named Vice President and General Manager.
KLA implemented a strategy of growth in 2007 and formed its Network Services Division. KLA expanded its service offerings and technical experience to include network design, implementation, and staging services, as well as wireless LAN design, survey, and implementation.
KLA opened its Network Staging Center in 2008 and has since been staging and implementing thousands of network routers, switches, and access points. KLA provides Cisco network implementation services for Ford, including the deployment of switches, routers, access points, controllers, IPTV, and IPTel.
2010 – 2020
KLA celebrated its 85th anniversary in June 2015 with the expansion of the Technical Engineering Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The space is used for network and wireless in-building services and acts as an extension of KLA’s Headquarters.
In June 2016, KLA expanded to the west coast with the opening of KLA Las Vegas, which offers KLA’s full suite of services.
In June 2018, Matt O’Bryan was named Entrepreneur Of The Year in Michigan and Northwest Ohio in the technology category. The program recognizes entrepreneurs who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
2020 – Present
During the COVID-19 pandemic, KLA was called upon by Ford Motor Company to support the manufacturing of masks, face shields, and ventilators. KLA assisted in setting up the network to support the manufacturing process. The Audio/Visual Productions group began offering streaming services for virtual events. These events allowed people and groups to worship virtually and attend graduations and celebrations while being socially distant. The Network Services team quickly pivoted to remote support of various customer sites, including increasing VPN capacities for work from home environments.
At the end of 2021, Don and Mary O’Bryan retired from KLA Laboratories. Don spent 44 years at KLA , and Mary 35 years. Upon their retirement, Matt O’Bryan took over as sole owner of the company.
In the fall of 2022, KLA opened an office in Irvine, California. The office expands KLA’s regional diversity and allows better support to clients on a national level.
In 2023, KLA added Staff Augmentation as a service offering. KLA has long-provided staff augmentation services to customers, and in 2023 it was formalized as a service offering.