Clevite

Clevite, Inc. was a Cleveland, Ohio based manufacturing company, founded as the Cleveland Graphite Bronze Company. The company was a leading producer of Babbit bearings and a significant US government defense contractor. The bearings were licensed in Britain to Vandervell Products Ltd; W. A. Robotham of Rolls-Royce said that "it was an exceedingly difficult task for Tony Vandervell... knowing the American company well".
In 1952 the Cleveland Graphite Bronze 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. Clevite purchased Shockley [Semiconductor Laboratory] in 1960 and continued operating it until selling it in 1968.
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.