Owens-Illinois

Owens-Illinois (O-I) is an American glass manufacturer that, from the 1940s until the end of 1958, also made an asbestos-containing high-temperature pipe and block insulation called Kaylo. Internal documents show that a laboratory it paid to study Kaylo told it in 1948 that Kaylo dust caused asbestosis in animals, while the company went on selling the product and later described its hazard in reassuring terms. Owens-Illinois became one of the most frequently named defendants in asbestos lawsuits, and its asbestos liabilities are now paid by a bankruptcy trust.

Origin

Owens-Illinois was formed in 1929 through the merger of the Owens Bottle Company and the Illinois Glass Company, both founded in the late 19th century. The company developed Kaylo, a calcium silicate pipe and block insulation containing about 15 to 20 percent asbestos, in the early 1940s; it was at the pilot-plant stage by 1943. Owens-Illinois made it at plants in Sayreville and Berlin, New Jersey, for a time through a subsidiary, American Structural Products Company. In 1958, Owens-Illinois sold the Kaylo business to Owens-Corning Fiberglas.

Corporate history

According to the 1986 Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases, a compilation by plaintiffs' attorneys, the company was incorporated in Ohio on December 16, 1907, as the Owens Bottle Machine Co., successor to a New Jersey corporation of the same name formed in 1903.¹ The book gives its later names as Owens Bottle Corp. (April 9, 1919), Owens-Illinois Glass Co. (April 17, 1929) and Owens-Illinois Inc. (May 1, 1965).¹

Significance in Asbestos Context

Owens-Illinois is significant because of what its own records show: in 1943 it asked the Saranac Laboratory whether Kaylo was a hazard to the people who made and installed it, and in 1948 Saranac reported that Kaylo dust caused asbestosis in guinea pigs and should be handled "as a hazardous dust." In 1952, Kaylo's research director told applicators in a trade journal that the product's calcium silicate was "non-toxic," without mentioning dust, and in 1956 the company described the animal findings to an outside consultant as "a mild asbestosis reaction." These documents, including the 1948 Saranac report and the company's correspondence with the laboratory, are routinely used in trials as evidence that the asbestos industry had early knowledge of the hazard and concealed it. For patients who worked as insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, shipyard workers, Navy personnel, or in industrial construction between 1948 and the 1970s (Kaylo remained in use long after O-I sold the line), identifying Kaylo exposure can be a key part of the claim. In 2020, Owens-Illinois placed its asbestos liabilities in a company called Paddock Enterprises, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust began operating in July 2022 and pays claims for exposure to Owens-Illinois asbestos before the end of 1958; exposure to Kaylo from 1959 on points to the Owens Corning trust instead.

Related Terms

Kaylo, Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust, Saranac Laboratory, State of the Art Defense, Pipe Insulation, Product Identification

Notes

• If you or your loved one worked with high-temperature pipe or block insulation before the 1970s, try to recall product names like Kaylo. Product identification is critical to naming Owens-Illinois in a claim.
• Preserve any old employment records, union records, Navy service records (DD-214 and shipboard assignments), and photographs of worksites; these help establish where and when Kaylo was likely present.
• Ask family members and former coworkers what they remember about insulation brands used at specific job sites; witness testimony often fills gaps where paperwork has been lost.
• Owens-Illinois's asbestos liabilities went through bankruptcy from 2020 to 2022, so claims are now made to the Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust rather than in a lawsuit against the company.
• Tell your attorney specifically about exposure before the end of 1958 (the years Owens-Illinois made Kaylo) and any later years when existing Kaylo stock may still have been installed or disturbed during repairs and demolition.

References

1. Barbara J. Peters and George A. Peters, Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases: Medical, Legal, and Engineering Aspects, vol. 2 (New York: Garland Law Publishing, 1986), p. 170.

Asbestos trust

If you or a family member worked with or around Owens-Illinois's asbestos products and later developed mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, a claim may be paid by the Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust. Free case review.

Asbestos products

1 product our documents name Owens-Illinois as making or selling. Each product's page says what the documents say about it, including its asbestos content.

• Kaylo (Owens-Illinois)

Court cases

170 court decisions in our case-law library name Owens-Illinois as a defendant, newest first.

• Jones v. Pneumo Abex LLC (2021)
• Adams v. Ethyl Corporation (2020)
• Gaddy v. Taylor Seidenbach, Inc. (2020)
• Gaddy v. Taylor Seidenbach, Inc. (2020)
• Hicks v. Ford Motor Company (2020)
• Jones v. Pneumo Abex LLC (2019)
• Rivera v. Huntington Ingalls, Inc. (2018)
• Jones v. Pneumo Abex LLC (2018)
• Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co. (2017)
• Krik v. Exxon Mobil Corp. (2017)
• Pecher v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2017)
• Savoie v. Pennsylvania General Insurance Co. (2017)
• All Craft Fabricators, Inc. v. Atc Assoc., Inc. (2017)
• Ney v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2016)
• Suoja v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2016)
• Ney v. Owens-Illinois (In re Asbestos Products Liability Litigation, 2016)
• Myers v. Crouse-Hinds Division OF Cooper Industries, Inc. (2016)
• Weis v. Dsm Copolymer, Inc. (2016)
• Feaster v. AW Chesterton Company (2015)
• Sydow v. Weyerhaeuser Company (2015)
• Kochera v. General Electric Company (2015)
• Suoja v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2015)
• McALVEY v. Atlas Copco Compressors, LLC (2015)
• Brady v. Crane Co. (In re New York City Asbestos Litigation, 2015)
• McALVEY v. Atlas Copco Compressors, LLC (2015)
• Arendt v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2015)
• Krik v. Crane Co. (2014)
• Ahnert v. Brand Insulation Inc. (2014)
• Boyer v. Weyerhaeuser Company (2014)
• Rothchild v. Crane Co. (2014)
• Rothchild v. Crane Co. (2014)
• Golden v. Alliance Laundry Sys. (2014)
• Gillenwater v. Honeywell Intern., Inc. (2013)
• Joyner v. AC & R. Insulation Co. (2013)
• Joyner v. AC & R. Insulation Co. (2013)
• Menssen v. Pneumo Abex Corporation (2012)
• Corley v. Bill Vann Co. (In re Liability Litigation, 2011)
• Crane v. Linkus (2010)
• Corley v. Long-Lewis, Inc. (2010)
• Burger v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2009)
• Dukes v. Pneumo Abex Corporations (2008)
• Penn v. A-Best Prods. Co. (2007)
• Garcia v. Duro Dyne Corporation (2007)
• Rahmes v. Adience Inc. (2007)
• Vince v. Crane Co. (2007)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Hunter (2005)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Cook (2005)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Cook (2005)
• Cadlo v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (2004)
• Cichirillo v. Avondale Industries (2004)
• Torrejon v. Mobil Oil Co. (2004)
• Caruso v. M & O Insulation Co. (2003)
• Hughes v. Olin Corporation (2003)
• Chavers v. Gatke Corp. (2003)
• Hennegan v. Cooper/T. Smith Stevedoring Co. (2002)
• Owens-Illinois v. Gianotti (2002)
• Boldini v. Owens Corning (2001)
• Chrabas v. Owens-Illinois (Matter of Eighth Judicial District Asbestos Litigation, 2000)
• In re Patenaude (2000)
• Burgess v. Abex Corp. EX rel. Pneumo Abex (2000)
• Sopha v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1999)
• McClure v. Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1999)
• Porter Hayden Company v. Wyche (1999)
• Lambert v. Babcock & Wilcox Co. (1999)
• Greenleaf v. Garlock, Inc. (1999)
• Holmes v. ACandS, Inc. (1999)
• Owens Corning v. Walatka (1999)
• Asbestos v. Bordelon, Inc. (1998)
• McClure v. Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1998)
• Harder v. ACandS, Inc. (1998)
• Ruckstuhl v. Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1998)
• Adams v. Owens-Illinois (1998)
• Thayer v. Pittsburgh-Corning Corporation (1997)
• In re Celotex Corp. (1997)
• Rutherford v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1997)
• Anchor Packing Co. v. Grimshaw (1997)
• Kurak v. AP Green Refractories Co. (1997)
• Tallman v. WR Grace & Co.-Conn. (1997)
• Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. v. Schmidt (1996)
• Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. v. Garrett (1996)
• Nelson v. Keene Corp. (1996)
• Egan v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. (1996)
• Viereck v. Fibreboard Corp. (1996)
• Simmons v. Pacor, Inc. (1996)
• ACandS, Inc. v. Godwin (1995)
• Barnes v. Keene Corp. (1995)
• Baumgart v. Keene Bldg. Products Corp. (1995)
• Higgins v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas (1995)
• Ripa v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas (1995)
• Sparks v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1995)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. United Ins. Co. (1994)
• Perrin v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1994)
• Busfield v. AC & S., Inc. (1994)
• Atkinson v. Celotex Corp. (1994)
• Davies v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1994)
• Coates v. AC and S, Inc. (1994)
• Angelo v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1993)
• Srite v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1993)
• Watkins v. Fibreboard Corp. (1993)
• Jackson v. Anchor Packing Co. (1993)
• Dempsey v. Pacor, Inc. (1993)
• Hogland v. Celotex Corp. (1993)
• Miller v. American President Lines, Ltd. (1993)
• Fibreboard Corp. v. Fenton (1993)
• Blancha v. Raymark Industries (1992)
• Kreppein v. Celotex Corp. (1992)
• Bowers v. Fibreboard Corporation (1992)
• Feldman v. Owens-Illinois (In re Brooklyn Navy Yard Asbestos Litigation, 1992)
• Baione v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1992)
• Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Balbos (1992)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Armstrong (1992)
• Miller v. Armstrong World Industries (1991)
• Fenton v. Fibreboard Corp. (1991)
• Hagen v. Celotex Corp. (1991)
• Kulzer v. Pittsburgh-Corning Corp. (1991)
• Fibreboard Corp. v. Pool (1991)
• Sawyer v. Fibreboard Corp. (In re Hawaii Federal Asbestos Cases, 1991)
• Landrigan v. Celotex Corp. (1991)
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Edwards (1990)
• Hoffman v. Allied Corp. (1990)
• Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Balbos (1990)
• Bushless v. GAF Corp. (1990)
• White v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Kreppein v. Owens-Illinois (In re New York Asbestos Litigation, 1990)
• Howell v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Leng v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Johnson v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Raney v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1990)
• Kraciun v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1990)
• Sholtis v. American Cyanamid Co. (1989)
• Board of Education v. A, C & S, Inc. (1989)
• IN the Matter of Estate OF Foster (1989)
• District of Columbia v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation (1989)
• Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp. (1989)
• Anjeski v. Keene Bldg. & Development Co. (1989)
• Kaiser v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1989)
• Dube v. Pittsburgh Corning (1989)
• Miller v. Celotex Corp. (1989)
• Fisher v. Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corp. (1989)
• Whatley v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1988)
• Menne v. Celotex Corp. (1988)
• Hardy v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1988)
• Blazek v. Nicolet, Inc. (1988)
• Knox v. AC & S, Inc. (1988)
• Bauer v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1988)
• Campo v. Asbestospray Corp. (1988)
• Goldman v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1987)
• Case v. Fibreboard Corp. (1987)
• In re Asbestos Litigation (1987)
• Rice v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1987)

And 20 more: search the case law.

In our library

6 documents in our library name Owens-Illinois, by collection.

In the Union Carbide documents

Owens-Illinois is named in 2 Union Carbide documents dated 1963 to 1986 (2 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. 1 of them are published in our collection.

• William A. Lotz to J. H. Boynton on Methods for Evaluating Kaylo Dust, with H. V. Smith's Reply to Lotz (1963) UC-4811 (mentioned)

Names in the documents

The spellings documents use for Owens-Illinois, OCR misreadings included, so a search for any of them finds this page: Owens-Illinois, Inc.

Where this comes from

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