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Owens-Illinois Glass Company / Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation plant at Berlin, New Jersey

The Kaylo plant at Berlin, New Jersey, was run first by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and from 1958 by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation: in sworn answers in a 1988 lawsuit, Owens-Illinois said that "The Berlin plant was in operation from approximately 1943 until on or about April 30, 1958," and named Berlin and Sayreville, New Jersey, as its plants for "Kaylo" asbestos-containing products.2 Owens Corning's sworn answers in a 1997 lawsuit say that "OC purchased the assets of the Kaylo division of Owens-Illinois, specifically the Berlin, New Jersey, manufacturing plant, in May 1958."1

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What the plant made

The Navy's list of qualified products named Berlin, N. J. as the plant for Owens-Illinois's Kaylo in 1951, and an Aetna engineering report of April 28, 1958 names the plant as "Owens-Illinois Kaylo Division Berlin, N. J."3,4 From November 1958 the Navy's list carried Owens-Corning's Kaylo with its plant at Berlin, and it still named Berlin for Kaylo in 1972 and, as Kaylo 10AF, in 1989.3

Owens Corning's 1997 answers say "its asbestos-containing Kaylo insulation products were manufactured at its Berlin plant" from May 1958 until November 1972, "when OC ceased the production of asbestos-containing Kaylo products."1 By the same account, "By early 1972, asbestos-free Kaylo was being produced for testing and test marketing" at Berlin, and "full scale production began in November 1972."1

Kaylo was calcium silicate pipe covering and block insulation.5,6 The companies' own figures for its asbestos describe the product in general, not Berlin's output in particular: W. G. Hazard of Owens-Illinois's Industrial Relations Division gave "15 to 20 percent of asbestos of the amosite and chrysotile varieties," and Owens-Corning wrote that "Kaylo products contain approximately 13 - 22% asbestos fibers."7,8

The people who worked there

Owens Corning's 1997 answers describe the plant's health program: after buying the plant, "OC continued the program previously instituted by Owens-Illinois of providing periodic chest x-rays," and kept these procedures for Berlin employees "until 1993 when the plant closed."1 The same answers name the doctors who gave pre-employment and periodic physical examinations, from Doctor H. C. Schwartz, 1958 to 1970, to Doctor Ercole J. Liberi, plant physician from September 1982 until 1993.1 They say dust counts for asbestos were taken at the plant by Aetna in 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1972, by Bradley in 1968 and 1969, and by Clayton in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, and that a survey of the plant's workers was concluded in December 1970.1

Owens Corning says "The Berlin, New Jersey plant ceased operation in 1993."1

Location

Berlin, New Jersey, the city named in the documents. The dot marks the city, not the plant's address.

Pictures of products made here

Labels, packages, photographs and catalog pages from our library of products documents say were made at this plant. Each picture has its own page and library number.

Asbestos products made here

The products documents say were made at this plant, with the years a document gives for the product here. Each product's page has what the documents say about it, including its asbestos content.

Asbestos claims

If you or a family member worked at this plant, lived with someone who did, or worked with its products, and later developed mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, a claim may be paid by the Owens Corning/Fibreboard asbestos trust (Owens Corning subfund) or the Owens-Illinois Asbestos Personal Injury Trust. Free case review.

What each document says

Every statement about this plant in the documents, in each document's own words.

Owens Corning's Responses to Plaintiffs' Master Interrogatories in Greco v. A-Best Products (1997)

  • Dust and health: “plant physicians 1958-1993 (pre-employment and periodic physical examinations)” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 501
  • Asbestos products made: “asbestos-containing Kaylo insulation products ... from May 1958 until November 1972” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 261
  • Owned or run by: “OC purchased the assets of the Kaylo division of Owens-Illinois, specifically the Berlin, New Jersey, manufacturing plant, in May 1958.” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 61
  • Dust and health: “periodic chest x-rays (begun by Owens-Illinois) continued by OC from May 1958 until 1993” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 811
  • Dust and health: “dust level counts by Aetna (1961-1972), Bradley (1968, 1969) and Clayton (1970-1973)” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 341
  • Description: “asbestos-free Kaylo produced for testing by early 1972; full scale production began in November 1972” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 721
  • Dust and health: “no worker's compensation cases filed by employees as of the mid-1960s” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 461
  • Asbestos use ended: “November 1972, when OC ceased the production of asbestos-containing Kaylo products” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 261
  • Closed: “1993 when the plant was closed” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 501
  • Dust and health: “survey of its workers ... concluded in December 1970” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 341
  • Closed: “The Berlin, New Jersey plant ceased operation in 1993.” (Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation), p. 271

Owens-Illinois's Responses to Plaintiffs' First Interrogatories in Bexley v. Armstrong World Industries (1988)

  • Operated: “from approximately 1943 until on or about April 30, 1958” (Owens-Illinois Glass Company), p. 72
  • Asbestos products made: “manufacturing plants ... for "Kaylo" asbestos-containing products” (Owens-Illinois Glass Company), p. 72

Other names

Documents call this plant “Berlin, New Jersey”, “Berlin, N. J.”, “Berlin, NJ”, “Owens-Illinois Kaylo Division Berlin, N. J.”, “Berlin, New Jersey, Kaylo manufacturing plant”, “Berlin plant”.

See also

References

  1. Owens Corning's Responses to Plaintiffs' Master Interrogatories in Greco v. A-Best Products (September 13, 1997), pp. 6, 26–27, 34, 50, 72, 81.
  2. Owens-Illinois's Responses to Plaintiffs' First Interrogatories in Bexley v. Armstrong World Industries (March 25, 1988), p. 7.
  3. Military Qualified Products List (1951–1995) (December 3, 1951), pp. 1, 48, 108, 148.
  4. Aetna Life Affiliated Companies, Dust Survey of Owens-Illinois's Kaylo Plant at Berlin, New Jersey (April 28, 1958), p. 2.
  5. The Potter v. Fibreboard Case File (1969-1972), Answers to plaintiff's interrogatories (December 23, 1969), p. 4.
  6. U. E. Bowes to Leroy U. Gardner Asking Saranac to Test a Hydrous Calcium Silicate (February 12, 1943), p. 1.
  7. W. G. Hazard to Arthur J. Vorwald on the Composition of Kaylo (September 21, 1948), p. 2.
  8. The Tomplait v. Combustion Engineering Case File (1962-1969), Answers to second interrogatories (April 16, 1968), p. 1.

Mentioned on this site

Cite this page

“Owens-Illinois Glass Company / Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation plant at Berlin, New Jersey.” AsbestosClaims.Law Library. https://asbestosclaims.law/library/plants/berlin-nj-owens-illinois.

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