Raybestos is one of the oldest continuously recognisable names in the automotive brake aftermarket. Its history is closely connected to the development of friction materials—materials designed to convert a vehicle’s kinetic energy into heat during braking.

The company began at a time when the automobile industry was still developing. Early vehicles needed braking materials that could withstand considerably more heat and friction than materials such as leather, cotton, and other early solutions. Raybestos became particularly important through its development and production of specialised brake linings.3

Over more than a century, the Raybestos name moved through several corporate organisations and industries. The historical company became involved not only in automotive brakes but also in clutches, industrial friction materials, insulation and other engineered materials. The modern Raybestos brand, however, is principally associated with automotive braking products.

Raybestos traces its origin to 1902, when Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law established the A.H. Raymond Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The original operation was reportedly a very small shop; the later Raybestos Powertrain historical archive describes it as a four-man operation.4

The emerging automobile industry created a significant engineering problem: conventional braking materials could deteriorate under the intense heat and friction generated during repeated braking.

Raymond and Law worked on friction materials capable of surviving these conditions. In 1906, they developed a woven brake lining, an important milestone in automotive friction technology.

This technology helped establish the company’s reputation and eventually gave rise to the Raybestos name.

The name Raybestos combines the name Raymond with asbestos, reflecting the asbestos-based friction materials used historically by the company.

This is an important part of Raybestos history because asbestos was once widely valued for its heat resistance and friction characteristics. Historical Raybestos products included asbestos-containing friction materials and other products.

However, the health hazards associated with asbestos subsequently became a major legal and corporate issue for the historical Raybestos businesses. The modern Raybestos brake brand should therefore be distinguished from the historical companies that manufactured asbestos-containing products.

During the first half of the 20th century, Raybestos expanded considerably as automobile ownership increased.

Its products moved beyond simple brake linings into a wider range of friction products, including:

• Drum brake linings
• Disc brake pads
• Clutch facings
• Automotive brake blocks
• Transmission friction elements
• Rivets and related fastening products
• Industrial friction materials
• Hydraulic and other brake components

Historical records show that friction materials eventually represented the majority of the company’s business.4

Raybestos also became involved in military production during World War II and subsequently developed applications for industrial and aerospace markets.

A major corporate development occurred in 1929, when Raybestos combined with the Manhattan Rubber Manufacturing Company.

The resulting organisation became associated with the name Raybestos-Manhattan. The company consequently had interests extending beyond automotive braking into rubber products, friction materials and other engineered materials.5

This period is important because “Raybestos” historically refers to more than today’s brake aftermarket brand. The historical Raybestos-Manhattan organisation was a much broader industrial company.

During the middle decades of the 20th century, Raybestos became a major participant in the American automotive industry.

Its products were used in:

• Passenger cars
• Trucks
• Heavy-duty vehicles
• Agricultural machinery
• Industrial equipment
• Aircraft-related applications
• Automatic transmissions

Raybestos also developed significant expertise in clutch and transmission friction materials.

The company’s historical influence therefore extended beyond brakes into the broader field of automotive friction technology.6

Raybestos developed a reputation for high-performance braking and friction technology, including involvement with motorsports.

Historical accounts note that Raybestos-equipped cars were particularly successful at the Indianapolis 500, with the brand reportedly associated with every winning car from 1957 through 1979.7

Motorsport was valuable to Raybestos not simply as advertising but as a demanding environment for testing friction materials under extreme temperature, pressure and repeated braking conditions.

This helped reinforce the brand’s association with performance engineering.

One of the most complicated parts of Raybestos history concerns asbestos.

Historically, asbestos was widely used because it offered:

• High heat resistance
• Good friction characteristics
• Durability
• Resistance to combustion
• Useful reinforcement properties

These properties made asbestos attractive for brake linings and clutch materials.

However, prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres was later established to cause serious diseases, including mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.

The historical Raybestos-Manhattan/Raymark businesses subsequently faced extensive litigation and financial liabilities associated with asbestos exposure. The corporate history eventually included bankruptcy proceedings and asbestos-related trust arrangements.8

This historical issue is important when researching Raybestos because the modern Raybestos brake brand is not simply the same corporate entity that operated the historical Raybestos-Manhattan businesses.

The historical Raybestos organisation underwent multiple corporate transformations during the late 20th century.

The business associated with Raybestos-Manhattan eventually became known as Raymark Industries. Raymark later entered bankruptcy proceedings, and its historical operations and assets were reorganised.

The Raybestos trademark subsequently continued under different ownership and licensing arrangements.

Consequently, it is useful to distinguish between:

Historical Raybestos companies
→ A.H. Raymond Company
→ Raybestos
→ Raybestos-Manhattan
→ Raymark/Raytech-era organisations

and the modern Raybestos aftermarket brake brand.

A particularly important modern chapter began with Brake Parts Inc. (BPI).

BPI had previously licensed the Raybestos name and eventually acquired the Raybestos brand outright in December 2014 from Affinia Group and Affinia International.8

This gave BPI control over the Raybestos trademark and its associated brake-product identity worldwide.

BPI positioned Raybestos as its flagship braking brand and continued expanding the product portfolio.

During this period, Raybestos became strongly focused on the automotive aftermarket, rather than attempting to reproduce the enormous diversified industrial structure of the historical Raybestos-Manhattan companies.

Modern Raybestos offers a broad range of replacement braking components.

Its product categories include:

Friction products

• Disc brake pads
• Drum brake shoes
• Brake linings
• Specialty friction products

Rotors and drums

• Disc brake rotors
• Coated rotors
• Brake drums

Calipers

• New calipers
• Remanufactured calipers
• Semi-loaded calipers
• Caliper-and-bracket assemblies

Hydraulic components

• Brake hoses
• Master cylinders
• Wheel cylinders
• Hydraulic components

Hardware

• Brake hardware
• Parking-brake components
• Caliper hardware
• Related installation components

The company’s online catalogue contains tens of thousands of catalogued brake applications and components.9

One of the most recognisable modern Raybestos product families is Element3.

Element3 is positioned as Raybestos’ premium product family and incorporates technologies intended to improve:

• Stopping performance
• Noise control
• Pad life
• Durability
• Corrosion resistance

A key technology associated with Element3 brake pads is Enhanced Hybrid Technology (EHT).

Raybestos describes EHT as combining characteristics of ceramic and semi-metallic friction formulations. The company developed the technology to provide a balance of braking performance, durability and noise control.10

Element3 also includes components such as coated rotors, calipers, master cylinders and hydraulic products.11

R-Line is Raybestos’ mainstream product family.

It is intended primarily for normal everyday replacement applications and is positioned around:

• Reliable braking
• OE-style fit and function
• Broad vehicle coverage
• Cost-effective replacement

Raybestos itself describes R-Line as its family intended for everyday driving.12

In other words, the product hierarchy can broadly be understood as:

R-Line → everyday replacement

Element3 → premium/enhanced replacement

Specialty → specialised/high-demand applications

The Specialty family addresses applications where ordinary replacement components may not be sufficient.

Examples include:

• Street-performance braking
• Truck applications
• Heavy-duty use
• Specialty friction requirements
• High-temperature applications

Raybestos’ catalogue includes Specialty rotors and truck brake pads, among other products.13

Engineering and validation have traditionally been an important part of the Raybestos identity.

Brake components can be subjected to:

• Dynamometer testing
• Noise testing
• Wear testing
• Temperature testing
• Pressure testing
• Corrosion testing
• Vehicle testing
• Fleet testing

Raybestos documentation describes testing of friction materials and complete braking systems under various temperature, pressure and noise conditions.13

For example, some modern Raybestos calipers are engineered to meet OE performance requirements and undergo corrosion-resistance testing such as ASTM B117 salt-spray testing.14

An important point about Raybestos is that the modern brand is primarily associated with the automotive aftermarket.

“Aftermarket” does not necessarily mean low-quality or generic. Raybestos offers products engineered around OE fit, form and function, while also offering upgraded products intended to exceed ordinary replacement requirements.

The catalogue therefore covers a spectrum from standard replacement parts to premium and specialty components.

For many years, Raybestos was associated with Brake Parts Inc. (BPI). BPI itself became part of First Brands Group in 2020.

However, in June 2026, Friction One announced the acquisition of the Raybestos brand and associated intellectual property. The transaction included the Raybestos brand, formulations, engineering specifications, application information, marketing assets and technical resources.2

Therefore, as of August 2026, the current owner of the Raybestos braking brand is Friction One, rather than First Brands Group.

Friction One describes the acquisition as part of its effort to preserve what it calls the “Authentic Raybestos” engineering and product heritage while integrating the brand into its manufacturing and supply network.3

The acquisition appears to be more than a simple trademark purchase.

In July 2026, Friction One also announced the acquisition of BPI’s former engineering, R&D and testing laboratory in McHenry, Illinois.

The facility includes seven dynamometers, including two LINK Model 3900 units, along with other testing equipment and tooling.15

That is significant because it means Friction One acquired not only the name but also important parts of the technical infrastructure associated with modern Raybestos brake development.

Friction One’s stated strategy combines Raybestos’ existing:

• Product formulations
• Engineering specifications
• Application data
• Technical knowledge
• Testing capabilities

with Friction One’s manufacturing footprint in North America and Asia.16

There is an important naming distinction.

Raybestos Brakes and Raybestos Powertrain are related historically but should not automatically be treated as the same modern business.

Raybestos Powertrain specialises in automatic transmission friction products and components, rather than primarily automotive braking systems. Its current website describes its focus as automatic transmission parts and lists ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and IATF 16949 certifications.17

The Raybestos trademark is used by Raybestos Powertrain under license from Brake Parts Inc., according to its website.17

So, in simple terms:

The shared name comes from their common historical heritage, but they represent distinct modern businesses.

Raybestos has traditionally positioned itself as a professional-grade braking brand rather than simply a low-cost replacement-parts label.

Its brand identity is built around several themes:

Heritage
More than 120 years of history in friction technology.

Engineering
Emphasis on formulation development, application engineering and testing.

Coverage
A very large aftermarket catalogue.

Safety
Brake-system reliability and predictable stopping performance.

Performance
Premium and specialty products aimed at demanding applications.

The long-standing slogan “The Best in Brakes” captures this positioning.18

Raybestos is significant in automotive history for several reasons.

Exceptional longevity

The brand dates to the earliest decades of the automobile industry, making it considerably older than many contemporary automotive aftermarket brands.

Development of friction technology

The company’s early woven brake lining was an important development in automotive braking.4

Major automotive supplier status

Raybestos expanded into brakes, clutches, transmission components and other friction applications.

Aftermarket presence

The modern company offers a comprehensive range of brake-system components rather than specialising only in brake pads.

Corporate resilience

The Raybestos name has persisted through mergers, reorganisations, bankruptcy-related corporate changes, licensing arrangements and multiple ownership transitions.

The early dates are supported by Raybestos’ historical archive and historical corporate records, while the recent ownership changes are documented by Friction One.19

Raybestos is best understood as a historic automotive friction and braking brand rather than simply a brake-pad manufacturer.

Its story has three distinct eras:

1. The pioneering era (1902–mid-20th century)
Raybestos helped develop modern friction materials as the automobile industry expanded.

2. The industrial/corporate era (mid-20th century–2000s)
The Raybestos name became associated with a much larger industrial organisation, including brakes, clutches, transmission components and other engineered materials. This era was also marked by the serious consequences of historical asbestos use.

3. The modern aftermarket era (2000s–present)
The Raybestos name became focused primarily on automotive replacement braking products, with BPI developing product families such as Element3, R-Line and Specialty. In 2026, ownership transitioned to Friction One, which is now attempting to combine the historic Raybestos engineering heritage with a new global manufacturing platform.20

1. Raybestos
2. BPI-AG23APPLICATION GUIDEAPPLICATION GUIDEBrake
3. Friction One Acquires Raybestos®, Securing the Foundation Behind One of Braking’s Most Trusted Names
4. An American Success Story: A History Timeline | Raybestos Powertrain
5. An Inside Look at How BPI Markets Raybestos – The BRAKE Report
6. Raybestos – Manhattan – The Law Offices of Justinian C. Lane, Esq. – PLLC
7. Raybestos: Asbestos Trust Fund: Products & Contamination Sites
8. Brake Parts Inc (BPI) Acquires Raybestos
9. Find Your Brake Part | Brake Parts Finder
10. Raybestos Updates Website to Showcase
11. Raybestos Disc Brake Pad PGD3
12. Raybestos Disc Brake Pad Set SP2436TRH
13. Raybestos®The best in brakes®RAYBESTOS®POLICE FR
14. Raybestos Disc Brake Caliper FRC11702N
15. Friction One Acquires BPI’s World-Class Engineering R&D and Testing Laboratory, Reinforcing Its Commitment to Authentic Raybestos
16. About Us | Raybestos Powertrain
17. Automatic Transmission Parts Supplier | Raybestos Powertrain
18. Descubre la historia de Raybestos-Manhattan – Manhattan Abrasives
19. Raybestos® Brand Brakes Announces Promotional Campaign For 100-Year Anniversary In 2002 | Dana Limited
20. AutoZone Introduces Raybestos Brake Components in U.S. Stores | AutoZone, Inc