Clevite
Clevite, Inc. was a Cleveland, Ohio based manufacturing company, founded as the Cleveland Graphite Bronze Company. The company was a leading producer of bearings and a significant US government defense contractor.
In 1952 Cleveland Graphite Bronz Company absorbed the Brush Development Company and Brush Labs in a merger. In 1953 it acquired 51% of Transistor Products Inc., and with other acquisitions such as the German Intermetall in 1955 developed a semiconductor division.
By 1959, over one-third of Clevite's sales were in electronics, split over four units: Clevite Transistor Prods.; Brush Instruments; Clevite Electronic Components; and Clevite Ordnance. Clevite won defense contracts for some of its products and opened a new ordnance plant in 1967.
In 1969, Clevite was acquired by Gould-National Batteries, a firm one-quarter its size. It adopted the Gould name in the hopes of having better brand recognition in the marketplace.
