Celotex

The Celotex Corporation, a Chicago company in the 1930s, made insulating board from sugar-cane fiber and Cemesto, its board faced with asbestos cement, along with asbestos-containing roof coatings; it became part of the Jim Walter Corporation and later answered for the Philip Carey insulation business. Celotex and its affiliate Carey Canada filed for bankruptcy in 1990, and the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, set up in 1997, pays claims for their products.

Draft. The history on this page was written from the documents in our library and has not yet been reviewed by a person.

History

Bror G. Dahlberg founded the Celotex Company in the early 1920s. In June 1931 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, introduced a new board from "the Celotex Company" of 919 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, reminding readers that Celotex was made from bagasse.¹ In 1940 the journal quoted Dahlberg as president of Celotex Corporation, whose English plant had been running at capacity since the war began.¹⁰ According to the 1986 Sourcebook on Asbestos Diseases, a compilation by plaintiffs' attorneys, The Celotex Corporation was incorporated in Delaware on June 29, 1935.²⁵

The new board was Cemesto. The journal described it in July 1931 as Celotex insulating board between two layers of asbestos cement, bonded while the asbestos-cement sheet was still wet.² In November 1937 it reported that Celotex had begun making the asbestos-cement clad board, which it called "Cemesto," at a plant in Metuchen, New Jersey, and was in full production.¹¹ In March 1942 the journal reported Cemesto Board in use as the walls of 600 houses being built at the Glenn L. Martin airplane plants outside Baltimore, and in 1945 the journal reported that a prefabricated-building firm, Modulok, Inc., had used it on fifteen Navy projects.¹²¹³ A 1990 EPA notice of what Celotex reported says Cemesto Board was produced from the 1930s to the early 1960s; an insurer's 1981 list describes it as "cane fiber & asbestos-cemnt."³

Celotex also sold roofing products. Labels in our library for its S.I.S. Roof Adhesive and Aluminum Roof Coating (Fibrated) carry the name of The Celotex Corporation of Tampa, Florida; the trademark files give first use in 1935 (recorded for The Barrett Company) and 1938.⁷¹⁴ The 1986 Sourcebook says Celotex acquired the Barrett Division of Allied Chemical, which ran roofing plants, effective August 1, 1967.²⁵ The same insurer's list describes Acousti-Celotex wallboard as asbestos cement and mineral fibre.¹⁵

The Jim Walter Corporation, Celotex's parent, acquired the Philip Carey business in 1972, and Celotex later answered for Philip Carey products and plants.⁹¹⁶ In the data sheet The Travelers Insurance Company compiled for a 1980 asbestos seminar from defendants' interrogatory answers, Celotex said it purchased the assets and assumed the liabilities of Philip Carey Corporation in 1972, and that it had made and marketed asbestos products since entering the business that year, Philip Carey having done so since 1906.²⁶ The 1986 Sourcebook says Panacon Corporation, the successor to Philip Carey, was merged into Celotex on June 30, 1972.²⁵ Both sources name Celotex itself, rather than the Jim Walter Corporation, as the company that took over the business. The book describes Celotex as a wholly owned subsidiary of Jim Walter, which it says was incorporated in Florida in 1955 and never made asbestos-containing products.²⁷ The 1980 data sheet lists Celotex's plants as Lockland, Ohio, and Linden, New Jersey, from 1972, and its fiber suppliers from 1972 as Vermont Asbestos (GAF), Asbestos Corporation, Calaveras Asbestos, Union Carbide, Johns-Manville and Carey-Canadian Mines.²⁶ The 1981 insurer's list marks Thermotex B, an asphalt product the 1990 notice puts at 14 percent asbestos, as "PHILIP CAREY:1906-72."⁵ For Careytemp pipe covering and block, the notice gives production from 1958 to 1969 at 6 to 7 percent asbestos, with the asbestos removed in 1969, while the insurer's list names a Celo-Temp "FORMERLY CAREY-TEMP."⁶¹⁷ The 1980 data sheet gives two reasons for making Careytemp asbestos-free in September 1969: glass fiber made the insulation less likely to break than shorter asbestos fibers, and "health hazards." A company product list copied into the same compilation gives only the breakage reason.²⁶²⁸ In its 1984 interrogatory answers, Celotex said of the Carey plant at Linden, New Jersey, which made asbestos papers and felts, that it "took over in 1969," earlier than the 1972 acquisition date; the answers do not explain the difference.¹⁶ The plant list in the 1980 Travelers compilation also dates Linden's asbestos-paper Aircell pipe coverings from February 18, 1969, to August 1970, while the data sheet itself dates the Linden plant from 1972.²⁸²⁶

In 1975 Asbestos reported that the EPA had ordered Celotex to shut down its small asbestos-paint factory at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, after "hazardous" asbestos emissions were noted in a routine inspection; the journal called it the first EPA administrative order to close a production facility anywhere in the country.¹⁸

What the documents show

Celotex took part in the Gypsum Association. A Celotex representative is listed among those at the Gypsum Association Safety Committee meeting of September 1967, whose minutes record one member noting reports of lung cancer among people living near an asbestos plant and legal action against the manufacturer.¹⁹

In the 1980 Travelers data sheet, Celotex gave 1972 as its first knowledge of asbestos hazards; the sheet adds that it "probably had knowledge (imputed from Philip Carey) in late 1950's." It gave its first warning labels as 1971 by Philip Carey and 1972 by Celotex.²⁶ Celotex said it made no direct or indirect sales to the Navy, while Philip Carey had sold to government purchasing agents for Navy use.²⁹

Union Carbide, which sold Calidria asbestos, called on Celotex and its parent for years. In June 1975 its salesmen gave a Calidria seminar to the research staff of Jim Walter Research Corp. in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the theme of custom-designing "a product that Celotex wants" drew interest.²⁰ On June 29, 1977, salesman J. E. Walsh wrote that Celotex's purchasing agent in Tampa explained word from Celotex research that Celotex was going asbestos-free (the report does not say for which products): the decision was made "without regard to the fact that they owned Carey," and rested on three points, that none of the three major producers used asbestos, that its marketing people saw no advantage in an asbestos-containing product, and that its law department was concerned about potential liability claims.²¹ In the same report the agent promised to push Union Carbide's bulk-handling idea for Celotex's roof coating materials.²¹

The later reports show asbestos still in use in Celotex roofing. In May 1979 a purchasing agent at the "purchasing headquarters of Jim Walter Corporation" said the company was still appealing a divestiture order affecting its Carey asbestos group and expected to have sold the Carey operation within two years.⁸ According to the 1986 Sourcebook, the Federal Trade Commission had ruled the Panacon acquisition anticompetitive and ordered the sale of the former Philip Carey roofing production; the Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded that order on September 12, 1980; the book also says Celotex agreed in a consent order with the FTC to divest four asphalt roofing plants.²⁷ In February 1980 Walsh reported that a Celotex purchasing agent was buying asbestos for roof coatings and planning for a possible supply shortage, and by September 1980 a Jim Walter research group leader told him Calidria use at the Celotex division was "about all but dead," mainly because of price.⁴²² The documents do not say how the 1977 asbestos-free decision and the continued roof-coating purchases fit together.

In the courts

Our case-law library holds 131 decisions that name Celotex as a defendant, most from the 1980s.²³ In Celotex Corp. v. Copeland (1985), the Florida Supreme Court held that market share liability was not needed where the plaintiff could identify at least some makers of the products that injured him.²⁴

Bankruptcy and trust

By 1990 Celotex and its affiliate Carey Canada both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.⁹ The Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust was established in 1997 with about $1.25 billion and pays claims for exposure to Celotex and Carey Canada products, including those sold under the Philip Carey and Carey names.⁹

References

1. Asbestos magazine, June 1931, p. 50
2. Asbestos magazine, July 1931, p. 6
3. Cemesto Board (Celotex) product page
4. Union Carbide exhibit UC-588: J. E. Walsh call report on Celotex Corporation, Tampa, February 21, 1980, p. 2
5. Thermotex B (Celotex) product page
6. Carey-temp (Celotex) product page
7. S.I.S. Roof Adhesive (Celotex) product page and label, ACL Doc 20557
8. Union Carbide exhibit UC-588: J. E. Walsh call report on Celotex, Tampa, May 16, 1979, p. 1
9. Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust
10. Asbestos magazine, June 1940, p. 34
11. Asbestos magazine, November 1937, p. 36
12. Asbestos magazine, March 1942, p. 25
13. Asbestos magazine, July 1945, p. 6
14. Aluminum Roof Coating (Celotex) product page and label, ACL Doc 20276
15. Acousti-Celotex (Celotex) product page
16. Philip Carey / The Celotex Corporation plant at Linden, New Jersey
17. Celo-temp (Celotex) product page
18. Asbestos magazine, August 1975, p. 12
19. Union Carbide exhibit UC-5490: Gypsum Association Safety Committee minutes, September 19, 1967, pp. 1–2
20. Union Carbide exhibit UC-263: J. E. Walsh report of call on Jim Walter Research Corp., June 19, 1975, p. 1
21. Union Carbide exhibit UC-4476: J. E. Walsh call report on Celotex Corporation, Tampa, June 29, 1977
22. Union Carbide exhibit UC-263: J. E. Walsh call report on Jim Walter Research, September 17, 1980, p. 4
23. Celotex company page
24. Celotex Corp. v. Copeland (Florida Supreme Court, 1985)
25. 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. 163.
26. Travelers Asbestos Seminar Booklet (1980): Celotex Product Information, p. 2
27. 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. 164.
28. Travelers Asbestos Seminar Booklet (1980): Celotex Product Information, p. 10
29. Travelers Asbestos Seminar Booklet (1980): Celotex Product Information, p. 3

Asbestos trust

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

Asbestos products

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

Plants

Plants where asbestos products were made that the documents say Celotex ran.

• Celotex Corporation plant at Perth Amboy, New Jersey
• Philip Carey / The Celotex Corporation plant at Linden, New Jersey
• Philip Carey and later owners plant at Lockland, Ohio
• Philip Carey Corp. / Celotex plant at Cincinnati, Ohio

Court cases

131 court decisions in our case-law library name Celotex as a defendant, newest first.

• Penn v. Amchem Products (2010)
• Niven v. EJ Bartells Co. (1999)
• Cimino v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1998)
• Huber v. Watson (1997)
• In re Celotex Corp. (1997)
• Nelson v. Keene Corp. (1996)
• Barnes v. Keene Corp. (1995)
• Baumgart v. Keene Bldg. Products Corp. (1995)
• Rohrbaugh v. Celotex Corp. (1995)
• Kirk v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1995)
• Busfield v. AC & S., Inc. (1994)
• Hartman v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (1994)
• Coates v. AC and S, Inc. (1994)
• Hogland v. Celotex Corp. (1993)
• Marinari v. Asbestos Corp., Ltd. (1992)
• Bowers v. Fibreboard Corporation (1992)
• O'banion v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1992)
• 80 S. 8th St. Ltd. Ptsp. v. Carey-Canada (1992)
• Cole v. Celotex Corp. (1992)
• Rohrbaugh v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1992)
• Borman v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1992)
• Waller v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (1991)
• Miller v. Armstrong World Industries (1991)
• Hagen v. Celotex Corp. (1991)
• O'brien v. National Gypsum Co. (1991)
• Money v. Manville Corp. Asbestos Comp. Fund (1991)
• Fibreboard Corp. v. Pool (1991)
• Landrigan v. Celotex Corp. (1991)
• Manzi v. HK Porter Co. (1991)
• Koker v. Armstrong Cork, Inc. (1991)
• Moran v. G. & WH Corson, Inc. (1991)
• Cimino v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1990)
• Potts v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Celotex Corp. v. Tate (1990)
• Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. v. Balbos (1990)
• King v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1990)
• White v. Celotex Corp. (1990)
• Novelli v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1990)
• Cimino v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (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)
• Hammer v. Rosenthal Jew. Sup. Corp. (1990)
• Raney v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. (1990)
• Kraciun v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. (1990)
• Farrall v. AC & S. Co., Inc. (1990)
• Sholtis v. American Cyanamid Co. (1989)
• Rummo v. The Celotex Corp. (In re Joint Eastern & Southern Dist. Asbestos Lit., 1989)
• Naden v. Celotex Corp. (1989)
• Board of Education v. A, C & S, Inc. (1989)
• Menne v. Celotex Corp. (1989)
• District of Columbia v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation (1989)
• Gaulding v. Celotex Corp. (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)
• Pecorino v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1988)
• Whatley v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1988)
• Potts v. Celotex Corp. (1988)
• Menne v. Celotex Corp. (1988)
• Adkins v. GAF Corp. (1988)
• Marshall v. Celotex Corp. (1988)
• Hardy v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1988)
• Blazek v. Nicolet, Inc. (1988)
• Knox v. AC & S, Inc. (1988)
• Sorenson v. Raymark Industries (1988)
• Campo v. Asbestospray Corp. (1988)
• Celotex Corp. v. Meehan (1988)
• Campolongo v. Celotex Corp. (1988)
• Goldman v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1987)
• VaSalle v. Celotex Corp. (1987)
• Case v. Fibreboard Corp. (1987)
• In re Asbestos Litigation (1987)
• Marshall v. Celotex Corp. (1987)
• Marshall v. Celotex Corp. (1987)
• Rice v. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (1987)
• Marshall v. Celotex Corp. (1987)
• Larson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1986)
• In re Hawaii Federal Asbestos Cases (1986)
• Vigiolto v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1986)
• Menne v. Celotex Corp. (1986)
• Morgan v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1986)
• Silver v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1986)
• Seckular v. Celotex (1986)
• Roehling v. Nat. Gypsum Co. Gold Bond Bldg. (1986)
• In re Moorenovich (1986)
• Joyce v. AC and S., Inc. (1986)
• Jenkins v. Raymark Industries, Inc. (1986)
• Knauer v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1986)
• Lohrmann v. Pittsburgh Corning Corp. (1986)
• Graffagnino v. Fibreboard Corp. (1985)
• Wilder v. Amatex Corp. (1985)
• Rosenberg v. Celotex Corp. (1985)
• Dartez v. Fibreboard Corp. (1985)
• Lee v. Celotex Corp. (1985)
• Celotex Corp. v. Copeland (1985)
• Gideon v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1985)
• Krull v. Celotex Corp. (1985)
• Lowe v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1985)
• Devlin v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1985)
• Nance v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1985)
• Meehan v. Celotex Corp. (1985)
• Joyce v. AC & s., Inc. (1984)
• Laster v. Celotex Corp. (1984)
• Adams v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1984)
• English v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1984)
• Copeland v. Celotex Corp. (1984)
• Doe v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1984)
• Johnson County, Tenn. v. US Gypsum Co. (1984)
• Froud v. Celotex Corp. (1983)
• Hobby v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1983)
• Nutt v. AC & S., Inc. (1983)
• Wedgeworth v. Fibreboard Corp. (1983)
• O'stricker v. Jim Walter Corp. (1983)
• Staiano v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1982)
• Neal v. Carey Canadian Mines, Ltd. (1982)
• Wilson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1982)
• Hardy v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1982)
• Froud v. Celotex Corporation (1982)
• DeCosse v. Armstrong Cork Co. (1982)
• Fearson v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1981)
• White v. Johns-Manville Corp. (1981)
• Clutter v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1981)
• Hardy v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1981)
• Locke v. Johns-Manville (1981)
• McCarty v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp. (1980)
• Daniels v. Combustion Engineering, Inc. (1978)

In our library

4 documents in our library name Celotex, by collection.

Other library documents (4)

• Celotex at the Fair (1939) (publisher)
• Label: Celotex Aluminum Roof Coating, Fibrated, 5 gallons (The Celotex Corporation) (1938) (publisher)
• Label: Celotex Plastic Roof Cement, 1 gallon (The Celotex Corporation) (1938) (publisher)
• Label: S.I.S Roof Adhesive, 1 gallon (The Celotex Corporation) (1935) (publisher)

In the Union Carbide documents

Celotex is named in 32 Union Carbide documents dated 1959 to 2001 (1 as the source, 32 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. 31 of them are published in our collection.

• T. J. Hall to Dr. A. E. Pufahl on West Coast Asbestos Markets and Customer Calls (1959) Union Carbide 42 (mentioned)
• Union Carbide Sales Memo on West Coast Asbestos Markets (1959) with Calidria RG-244 Call Reports and Mixing Tests at Reichhold, Jacksonville (1970, 1975) UC-942 (mentioned)
• T. J. Hall to A. E. Pufahl and Others on West Coast Asbestos Markets (1959) UC-2642 (mentioned)
• Minutes of the Gypsum Association Safety Committee Meeting, Buffalo, New York (1966-09-20) UC-5489 (mentioned)
• Gypsum Association Safety Committee Meeting Minutes, Saddle Brook, New Jersey (1967) UC-5490 (mentioned)
• Minutes of the Gypsum Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Including Safety Committee Remarks on Asbestos (1972) UC-5475 (mentioned)
• Gypsum Association Special Committee on Asbestos in Joint Treatment Compound: Report of August 8, 1973 Meeting on Field Testing Plan (1973) UC-5455 (mentioned)
• J. L. Myers to F. H. Larrison on June Calidria Sales Estimates, with G. L. Dickson to R. E. Byrne on SG-210 and HPO Projected June Sales (1975) UC-2859 (mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh Call Reports on Jim Walter Research Corp. and Celotex Use of Calidria, with Copies to R. E. Byrne, T. P. Norris and W. C. Thurber (1975, 1980) UC-263 (mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh to Wilmer Davis (Monarch Paint Company) on the Status of OSHA Asbestos Regulations and Tape Joint Compounds (1976) UC-1592 (mentioned)
• H. B. Rhodes to R. H. Mereness Transmitting Draft Progress Report of the AIA/NA Ad Hoc Committee on Construction, with Related AIA/NA Memos (1976) UC-4105 (mentioned)
• Technical Service Developmental Programs, Plant Assistance, Customer Technical Service and Dust Count Services Summary (1976) UC-2202 (mentioned)
• B. L. Ingalls to H. B. Rhodes on Calidria Asbestos Marketing Services Work Assignments, January-October 1976, with Attached Service Lists (1976) UC-5111 (mentioned)
• Celotex Corporation (Charles D. Fletcher) to Chemical Suppliers on the Federal Toxic Substances Control Act, Acknowledged by Union Carbide Metals Division (1977) UC-1351 (source, mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh Call Report on Celotex Corporation, Tampa, Florida, Reporting Celotex's Decision to Go Asbestos-Free (1977) UC-4476 (mentioned)
• Tribune-Review (Greensburg, PA), 'Nicely Safeguard Project Initiated' and '$1.8 Million Settles Suits On Asbestos' (1979) UC-1954 (mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh Customer Call Reports on Calls to Celotex Purchasing, Tampa, Florida (1977-1980) UC-588 (mentioned)
• J. E. Welsh Call Report on Celotex Corporation, Tampa, on Calidria Supply and SG144 Sample (1980) Union Carbide 547 (mentioned)
• J. F. Welsh Customer Call Report on Celotex Corporation, Tampa, Roof Coating Business (1980) UC-5054 (mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh Call Report on Gulf States Asphalt, Houston, on Shrink-Wrapped HPO Pallets and Bag Disposal (1980) UC-4549 (mentioned)
• Union Carbide Chemicals/Plastics Insulation Standard, Material Specification 4M:4M-B / 4A:4A-B / 4SS:4SS-B for Perlite Insulation (1980) UC-3721 (mentioned)
• D. T. Watters to I. P. Blackwood et al. on Potential Health Risks of Insulation Materials (Perlite Insulation Specification 4) (1981) UC-3253 (mentioned)
• D. T. Watters to I. P. Blackwood and Others on Potential Health Risks of Insulation Materials (1981) UC-3720 (mentioned)
• Summonses and Amended Complaints in Partain v. North Bros. Co. et al. and Cooper v. North Bros. Co. et al., Naming Union Carbide as Defendant (1983) UC-1411 (mentioned)
• Deposition of Douglas Merrill (Kelly-Moore/PACO) on Asbestos Fiber Suppliers, Warnings and Products, Fairl v. Western MacArthur Co. (1984) UC-5164 (mentioned)
• Defendants' Line and Page Designations of Deposition and Trial Testimony in Moake v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas (2000) UC-1658 (mentioned)
• Defendants' Line and Page Designations of Deposition and Trial Testimony, Villarreal v. GAF Corporation Holdings, Inc., et al. (2001) UC-2008 (mentioned)
• J. E. Walsh Customer Call Reports on Gulf States Asphalt, Houston and Westwego (1979-1981) UC-683 (mentioned)
• Union Carbide File on the AIA/NA Technical Committee, the Standards and Technical Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee for Construction, with H. B. Rhodes Letter to J. J. Gafford (1973-1976) UC-4242 (mentioned)
• Robert L. Bockstahler Deposition Excerpts on Eagle-Picher Asbestos Insulation Products and Fiber Suppliers (1984-1985) UC-4913 (mentioned)
• Union Carbide's Responses to Plaintiffs' Set No. 46 Interrogatories on Asbestos Exports and Imports at the Ports of Stockton and Sacramento (undated) UC-5327 (mentioned)

Names in the documents

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

Where this comes from

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