W.R. Grace was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. In 1963, W.R. Grace bought an asbestos-containing vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. This mine produced around 200,000 tons of asbestos-containing vermiculite per year for use in construction work. Throughout the 1900s, W.R. Grace manufactured asbestos-containing products primarily for construction workers. This included insulation, […]
The Hysol factory located in Olean, New York, was originally operated by Hysol Aerospace & Industrial Adhesive Co. to manufacture asbestos-containing molding compounds and epoxies for the aerospace industry. The manufacturing plant in Olean was founded as the Dexter Electronic Materials Division in 1948 and operated until 2010. The company was known locally as Dexter […]
Durez Plastics Corporation in North Tonawanda, New York, will always be remembered by the community surrounding it for its role in exposing workers, and their families alike, to asbestos dust. Despite the tragedy surrounding the plant and many deaths among its workers caused by asbestos exposure, Durez was once an important employer and vital part […]
From 1931 to 1987, Fairchild Republic Co. manufactured aircraft and aircraft parts in East Farmingdale, Long Island, New York. Examples of Fairchild Republic planes include, but are not limited to, the F-84, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the A-10 Warthog. Many aircraft components contained asbestos, including engine insulation, electrical wiring, brakes, cockpit heating systems, engine heat […]
General Foods Corporation was founded in 1929 after a series of corporate mergers. In 1954 General Foods built a facility in Tarrytown, New York in Westchester County. General Foods was later purchased by Phillip Morris in 1985, and became Kraft Foods in 1989. Another change came in 1995, when Kraft Foods merged with Heinz. Unfortunately, […]
Finch Paper, formerly Finch Pruyn Paper was founded by Jeremiah and Daniel Finch, together with Samuel Pruyn in 1865 in Glen Falls, New York. Between 1900 and 1910, a groundwood pulp mill, using spruce and balsam, was built. In the 1920’s the company shifted its focus to manufacturing newsprint and hanging paper used for wallpaper. […]
GREAT LAKES PLASTIC COMPANY was founded in 1946, and was located in Buffalo, New York. Great Lakes was a Manufacturing plant that made different types of plastic molded products for various industries. During the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s, some of the molding compounds that Great Lakes used to make their plastic molded products contained asbestos. […]
The lawyers at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford are very familiar with past conditions at Durez Plastics because, since 1985, we have represented many workers from the plant suffering from mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. In representing former Durez workers, we have learned that some people who lived or worked on the outskirts of […]
General Electric constructed a plant in Brockport, New York, in 1948 in order to manufacture plastic component parts for some of its small household appliances. The plant was located on State Street in Brockport and sat on 28.6 acres of land. Workers manufactured plastic parts for retail housewares, such as all-purpose food mixers, blenders, electric […]
Auburn Steel Company (Austeel) was located in Auburn, New York, and it began operations in 1974. The steel mill was considered a “mini mill” and occupied an 812,000-square foot building. Auburn Steel was in the business of reclaiming old steel in order to melt it into billets and finished products. In February 1983, Auburn Steel […]
The Xerox Corporation is best known for its color and black and white copiers. In recent years, Xerox has evolved into providing printers, scanners and multifunction devices. Xerox also sells document management software and copier supplies, and it offers document management outsourcing services as well. Xerox was founded in Rochester, New York, in 1906 as […]
The Union Carbide Company was founded in Niagara Falls in 1898. At the time of its inception, Union Carbide was not only one of Niagara Falls’ first industrial firms, but it was also the nation’s largest producer of carbide products. Union Carbide occupied three major facilities in Western New York and employed roughly 5,000 people. […]
The West Valley Reprocessing Plant is a nuclear facility located on 200 acres of land in the town of Ashford, New York. The plant reprocessed used nuclear fuel rods (a procedure which allows nuclear materials to be safely stored or destroyed). The plant operated from 1966 until 1977, and it included a nuclear fuel reprocessing […]
With 1,100 guest rooms, three restaurants, a ballroom and numerous meeting rooms, the Hotel Statler was once the largest hotel in Buffalo, New York. Constructed in 1923, by Ellsworth Statler, it featured more guest rooms than any other hotel in Buffalo. With eighteen stories, it was the second-tallest building in the city. Hilton Hotels purchased […]
The Sealtest brand name was established by National Dairies in 1934, when it changed the name of its ice cream from Tasty to Sealtest. As the popularity of ice cream grew in the United States, Sealtest sold over 267,000 gallons during the first year its ice cream was mass produced. Sealtest Ice Cream was originally […]