Richard Anton KG has been manufacturing carbon for the brake pad industry since the late 1980s. Up until then, asbestos was somewhat of an all-purpose tool in the manufacture of brake pads. However, the formulation of brake pads had to be radically rethought based on the knowledge of the health risks arising from asbestos, which ultimately led to a ban on its use in brake pads. Graphite and calcined petroleum coke moved to the forefront.

Since then, development can be roughly divided into two approaches based on the composition of the raw materials used. This applies, in particular, to brake pads for road vehicles.

The first group are low-met pads, which are designed for very high braking performance and are therefore mainly used in Europe where high speeds are sometimes permitted on the road.

The other group are NAO (Non-Asbestos Organic) pads, which have been developed with comfort in mind (low noise, reduced rim contaminating brake disc abrasion) and are mainly used in Japan and the United States.

Synthetic graphites and calcined petroleum cokes from Richard Anton KG – sold worldwide under the brand name RANCO^® – make a very valuable contribution in achieving the specific goals in every situation. Richard Anton KG specialises in producing graphite and petroleum coke in a wide variety of grain fractions. This also guarantees the optimum integration of the RANCO types into the mostly highly complex matrix of the recipes.

Brake pad producers around the world have been relying on the outstanding quality of Richard Anton products for decades, making us one of the leading suppliers in the brake pad industry.