Holmes Foundry Caposite plant Lead

Excerpt Taken from:
 Sarnia's ex-chemical workers 'dropping like flies':
 Exposure in '50s, '60s to asbestos, petroleum products
 and other chemicals leaves grim legacy of disease;
 compensation tough to get

 Saturday, February 13, 1999
 MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT
 The Globe and Mail


 Clare Hall, a former worker at Holmes' foundry operation, recalls in the early 1970s that when new chemicals were brought into the plant, the pigeons that used to roost there began dying.
 "They'd hit the floor. Sometimes they'd kick their feet but they'd be dead," he said.
 Mr. Hall suffers from heart disease, and he's worried because three friends who used to work at Holmes, all in their 50s, have recently died. Two died from heart attacks and one from cancer.

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 - 1918: The Holmes Foundry was established. Earlier, Ford Motor Company contracted the plant to supply engine blocks & brake linings, which were the two principal items that the foundry manufactured.
- July of 1970: American Motors, Canada (AMC) acquired 100 per cent of the Holmes Foundry.
 - September, 1988: Chrysler scheduled the operation for closure.
- 1989: Most of the facility was torn down.
 (OHSCANADA - Canada's Occupational Health & Safety Magazine)

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 - The company, which now exists under new owners and a different name, stopped using asbestos in 1974.
 - The factory used asbestos to manufacture blocks and pipe insulation.
- The foundry made engine blocks for vehicles.

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- When Chrysler Corporation acquired AMC in 1987, it also took ownership of the Holmes Foundry facility and its manufacturing business. Chrysler scheduled the operation for closure in September, 1988. By 1989, most of the facility was torn down.



Three Divisions of Holmes Foundry Plant Lead

At one time, there were three separate operations at Holmes:
- the Caposite Insulation plant -- produced pipe insulation made from asbestos from 1956 to 1974
- the Holmes Insulation Plant -- manufactured insulation from rockwool
- the Holmes Foundry -- it was no clear what exactly was being produced here.

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Although the plants had three separate identities, they shared much of the same equipment, such as lift trucks, and the plants were inter-connected. When work at one of the plants was short, workers were sent to another part of the operation where they were needed. Therefore no one was safe from the asbesto epidemic. The caposite plant closed in 1974, and Holmes Insulation moved to another location. The foundry continued to use the empty areas for storage.

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- The Holmes Foundry closed its doors permenantly as a plant in 1988.

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation Lead

Company: Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, a leading U.S. supplier of building materials to worldwide markets. The company's glass block products and FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation products are used extensively in industrial, commercial, and residential construction and renovation. Headquarters: 800 Presque Isle Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15239
(724) 327 - 6100
(724) 325 - 9704 (fax)

U.S. Facilities: Pittsburgh, PA*
Port Allegany, PA
Sedalia, MO

Key Personnel: Donald Schlegel, President and CEO
Tom Pirosko, Vice President, Sales & Marketing - Glass Block Products
Dave Goss, Vice President, Sales & Marketing - FOAMGLAS® Insulation Employees: 630 Distribution: International, through regional sales force and distributor network Ownership: Privately held by PPG Industries, Inc. and Corning, Inc. History:

1935 Corning GlassWorks develops Corning-Steuben block, the forerunner to Pittsburgh Corning's original product.
1937 Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, a 50-50 equity affiliate of Corning Glass Works and Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company is chartered in Pennsylvania. Construction of the company's first plant begins in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania.
1938 Glass block units in the DECORA® and ARGUS® patterns roll off the production line for the first time at the Port Allegany plant.
1941 Pittsburgh Corning experiments with FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation.
The first VUE® pattern glass block is produced.
1947 Sedalia plant begins production of glass block in July to meet increasing demand.
FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation is first manufactured for industrial use.
1953 Manufacturing of PC GlassBlock® products phased out at Sedalia facility and consolidated at Port Allegany facility.
1958 Pittsburgh Corning's first rectangular glass blocks are introduced. Color coatings are added to glass blocks.
1960 A new manufacturing building is added to the Port Allegany plant.
1962 A Research and Engineering Center opens in Plum Boro near Pittsburgh.
1973 VISTABRIK® solid glass block, and the THINLINE Series glass block are introduced.
General Office is moved to Plum Boro facility.
1974 GRILL BRICK cleaner, a cellular glass product for cleaning cooking surfaces, is added to Pittsburgh Corning's product line.
*Late 1970s After Pittsburgh Corning indicated an intention to discontinue glass block production, prominent architects ask Pittsburgh Corning to reconsider. A recommitment to the glass block market is made, and two major Glass Block modernization programs are initiated at Port Allegany.(a lead from a lead?)
1980s A resurgence of interest in Pittsburgh Corning glass block, especially for residential applications, leads to two major plant modernizations at the company's Port Allegany facility within five years.
1984 Pittsburgh Corning introduces HEDRON® corner block.
1988 Pittsburgh Corning introduces 4" x 8" glass blocks in the VUE® pattern.
1989 EndBlock finishing unit is introduced.
1990s Demand for glass block continues to grow. In response, Pittsburgh Corning introduces new patterns, finishing pieces and accessory materials to meet the industry's standards.
1990 KWiK'N EZ® Silicone System is introduced.
1991 TRIDRON 45° Block® units are introduced.
1992 THICKSET® block, in the ENDURA and VUE® patterns, is introduced.
1993 CIRRUS® pattern in THINLINE SERIES is introduced. VUE®pattern is added to Regular Series in 6" x 8" size.
1994 4" x 8" THINLINE EndBlock Finishing Unit is introduced.
8" ENCURVE ® Finishing Unit is introduced.
1995 THICKSET® block, in the DECORA® pattern, and Stipple VISTABRIK® solid glass block are introduced.
1996 ARQUE® block, a unique radial block with a 16-inch radius is introduced.
1996 MISTIQUE® pattern, a frosted glass block that allows for moderate light transmission and maximum privacy is introduced.
1997 Lightwise® factory-assembled glass block windows are introduced.
1998 Pittsburgh Corning Glass Block Shower Systems are introduced.
1999 IceScapes™ Pattern in the Premiere Series is introduced.

**At the time that the Pittsburg Corning Corporation sold asbestos that it could no longer use, it showed interest in discontinuing the production of glass blocks.
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December 20, 2000, Wednesday
MANAGEMENT; For Armstrong, Bankruptcy Is Lesser of Two Evils
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
Source: The New York Times
Section: Business/Financial Desk

Article on Armstrong Holdings chief executive Michael D Lockhart's decision to file bankruptcy protection to ensure company's long-term survival as asbestos-related claims against company were rising; says Lockhart had choice of either accepting risk of slow death by litigation or suffering stigma of seeking relief in bankruptcy court.

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April 29, 2001, Sunday
Business; Recovery Lessons From an Industrial Phoenix
By DANIEL GROSS
Source: The New York Times
Section: Money and Business/Financial Desk

Companies that have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently because of asbestos-related liability claims will look to resuscitated Johns-Manville Corp, which underwent similar difficulties and survived; Robert A Falise is chairman of Manville Personal Injury Trust, created in 1988 to pay claims filed against company; list of recent asbestos-related bankruptcy filings.