Bendix Corporation

Bendix Corporation was a major American manufacturer of automotive and aviation parts, best known in the asbestos context for producing asbestos-containing brake linings, brake shoes, and clutch facings for cars, trucks, and aircraft from the 1930s through the 1980s. Its brake products exposed factory workers, mechanics, brake repair workers, and shade-tree do-it-yourselfers to chrysotile asbestos dust released during grinding, beveling, and brake servicing. Bendix was acquired by Allied Corporation in 1983 (later Honeywell International), which inherited its asbestos liabilities and has paid billions in settlements and verdicts.

Origin

The company was founded in 1924 by inventor Vincent Bendix, who pioneered the Bendix drive starter and four-wheel automotive brake systems. Its brake division became one of the largest suppliers of friction products to Ford, Chrysler, and aftermarket distributors during the mid-20th century, with major plants in Troy, New York; South Bend, Indiana; and Cleveland, Ohio.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Bendix is one of the most frequently named defendants in mesothelioma and lung cancer cases brought by auto mechanics, brake repair workers, and people who did their own brake jobs. Internal Bendix documents (including a 1966 letter from a Bendix purchasing agent that joked "if you have enjoyed a good life while working with asbestos products why not die from it") have been used in court to show the company knew about asbestos hazards but continued production without adequate warnings. Today, claims against Bendix products are handled by Honeywell International, which remains an active defendant and has been the subject of significant verdicts and settlement programs. If you worked on brakes, professionally or as a hobbyist, identifying Bendix-branded brake linings, drums, or boxes in your work history can be a key piece of your case.

Related Terms

Honeywell International, Chrysotile, Brake Linings, Friction Products, Product Identification, Bystander Exposure

Notes

• If you or a family member worked as an auto mechanic, brake specialist, or did home brake repairs, try to recall and document the brand names of brake parts used. Bendix, Raybestos, Abex, and similar names are critical for product identification.
• Preserve any old receipts, parts catalogs, employment records, or photographs from auto shops, dealerships, or aviation maintenance facilities where Bendix products may have been used.
• Claims involving Bendix brake products are pursued against Honeywell International, the successor company; ask your legal team specifically about Honeywell's claims-handling history and current settlement posture.
• Spouses and children exposed through laundering dusty work clothes (take-home exposure) may also have viable claims related to Bendix brake dust.
• Mechanics often used compressed air to blow out brake drums, a practice that aerosolized large amounts of asbestos dust; documenting this work practice strengthens exposure evidence.

Asbestos products

3 products our documents name Bendix Corporation as making or selling. Each product's page says what the documents say about it, including its asbestos content.

• Bendix (Bendix)
• Bendix Brake Linings (Bendix)
• Organic Brake Pads (Bendix)

Court cases

5 court decisions in our case-law library name Bendix Corporation as a defendant, newest first.

• Vanni v. Honeywell International, Inc. (2021)
• Phillips v. Honeywell International Inc. (2017)
• Smith v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (2016)
• Oddo v. Asbestos Corporation Ltd. (2015)
• In re Moorenovich (1986)

In our library

1 document in our library name Bendix Corporation, by collection.

Other library documents (1)

• Package: Bendix Brake Lining (The Bendix Corporation, Friction Materials Division) (publisher)

In the Union Carbide documents

Bendix Corporation is named in 15 Union Carbide documents dated 1966 to 1981 (15 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. All are published in our collection.

• Chemical Week, "Asbestos: Awaiting 'Trial'" (1966) UC-193 (mentioned)
• A. E. Pufahl to Sales Distribution on Asbestos Toxicology Publicity, with Attached Articles, Dernehl Report and FDA Correspondence (1966) Union Carbide 100 (mentioned)
• A. E. Pufahl to T. Dougherty and Other Union Carbide Staff on Asbestos Toxicology Publicity, with Attached Articles, Toxicology Report and FDA Letters (1966) UC-123 (mentioned)
• A. E. Pufahl to Sales Staff on Customer Responses to Asbestos Toxicology Publicity (1966) UC-784 (mentioned)
• Chemical Week, "Asbestos: Awaiting 'Trial'" (1966) UC-5269 (mentioned)
• M. M. Swetonic (AIA/NA) to Member Companies on the June 22 Meeting about the OSHA Asbestos Standards (1972) UC-5186 (mentioned)
• W. N. Johnson to J. W. Rawlings on the June 22, 1972 Asbestos Information Association Meeting (1972) Union Carbide 205 (mentioned)
• W. Johnson to J. W. Rawlings on the June 22, 1972 Asbestos Information Association Meeting (1972) UC-1518 (mentioned)
• M. P. Proctor (Thorpe Products Co.) to D. S. Meaden (Shell Oil Co.) on the OSHA Asbestos Dust Standard, with Attachments (1972) UC-2065 (mentioned)
• L. G. McMullen Industrial Hygiene Preliminary Report to A. W. Boyd on Asbestos Exposures During Kaylo Insulation Tear-Out at Oxide I Converter (1973) UC-4618 (mentioned)
• NIOSH Cumulative Supplement to July 1974 Edition of NIOSH Certified Personal Protective Equipment (September 1974) UC-1316 (mentioned)
• Union Carbide C&P Contractor Safety Clause and Contractor Philosophy Index, with Occupational Safety & Health Reporter Page on Multi-Employer Worksites (1975) UC-1792 (mentioned)
• Asbestos Information Association/North America File on the Third Annual Industry-Government Conference, Sept. 8-9, 1976 (1976) UC-4241 (mentioned)
• Asbestos Information Association/North America List of Member Companies (1980) UC-4878 (mentioned)
• Asbestos Information Association/North America, Proceedings of the Sixth Industry-Government Conference, Alexandria, Virginia (1981) UC-4896 (mentioned)

Names in the documents

The spellings documents use for Bendix Corporation, OCR misreadings included, so a search for any of them finds this page: Bendix Corp · Bendix · The Bendix Corporation · The Bendix Corp.

Where this comes from

This page brings together every document in our library that names Bendix Corporation, across collections. Titles and affiliations are taken from the documents themselves, and units and subsidiaries are grouped under the company they belong to.