09/02/2026
It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our founder, Carl Breihan, on August 28, 2026.
Carl was more than the founder of CEM Electric and Applied Racing Components.
He was an inventor, an entrepreneur, a problem solver, and a man who spent more than five decades turning ideas into solutions.
Beginning with CEM Electric in 1973 and later building ARC, Carl dedicated his career to understanding temperature, performance, and safety. He saw problems and believed there had to be a better way.
That mindset led him to develop products that became part of the racing industry including the wrap-around nitrous bottle warmer, created as a safer alternative to the torches racers were using to heat their bottles. His message was simple: “No Torch.”
But the products are only part of Carl’s story.
Behind everything he built was a man who believed in hard work, doing things the right way, standing behind what you made, and taking care of the people around you.
He built relationships across generations of racers, dealers, customers, employees, and friends.
For our family and our team, continuing ARC and CEM Electric now means something even greater.
We are carrying forward his work, his standards, his ingenuity, and more than 50 years of knowledge and history.
Carl may no longer be standing behind the desk, answering a technical question, developing the next solution, or telling us exactly how he thinks something should be done but his fingerprints are on everything we do.
The innovator may be gone.
The legacy is just getting started.
Rest in peace, Carl Breihan.
1949–2026
Your Temperature Experts. His Legacy Lives On.
With much sadness and love,
- The Breihan Family & the ARC / CEM Electric Team 🏁❤️
