A material composite has at least one region of copper or a copper alloy, at least one region of a predominantly graphitic material, and at least one boundary region between them. The boundary region has one or more carbides from the group of the IV.sup.b, V.sup.b, VI.sup.b transition metals and one or more elements of the group consisting of Si, B, Al, Ge, Mn, Sn. In a preferred implementation of the invention, the composite is produced with a back-casting process.