Celotex Corporation is a defunct American manufacturer of insulation and construction materials. It was the subject of a number of high-profile lawsuits over products containing

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

in the 1980s, eventually declaring

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

in 1990.

History

The company was founded in 1920 in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as a subsidiary of Philip Carey Corporation, to manufacture its namesake product Celotex insulation board, often called simply ''Celotex''. Celotex is a fiberboard made from

bagasse Bagasse ( ) is the dry pulpy fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel for the production of heat, energy, and electricity, and in the manufacture of pulp and building ...

(sugar cane waste after extraction of the juice), first produced in a factory in

Marrero, Louisiana Marrero is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. Marrero is on the south side (referred to as the "West Bank") of the Mississippi River, within the New Orleans– Metairie– Kenner metropolitan ...

, outside of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In 1932, Celotex Corporation was spun off as an independent company. In 1961, Jim Walter Corporation, a homebuilding company, acquired Celotex, moving the headquarters to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

in 1965.

Celotex Asbestos Litigation and Settlement Trust

A $1.2 billion settlement trust was established in 1998 to settle claims arising from asbestos-containing products manufactured by both Celotex and Philip Carey. The claims were filed by workers, former employees, family members and others who developed serious health conditions like mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos. The litigation revealed that Carey and Celotex had long known about the asbestos-exposure risks but failed to warn workers and the public. Celotex emerged from Chapter 11 in 1996. The wallboard business was sold to

BPB plc BPB Ltd (formerly BPB plc) (British Plaster Board) was a British building materials business. It once was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2005, the company was purchased by Saint-Gobain of France. The company's subsidiary British Gypsu ...

, its roofing products business to CertainTeed in 2000, its fiberboard products division along with the Celotex brand to Knight Industries LLC in 2001, and its rigid foam insulation division to the

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...

in 2001. Celotex moved again, to

Saint Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the state that is not a county seat (the ...

, in 2001. In 2012,

Saint-Gobain Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris as the Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs, and today headquartered on the outskirts of Paris, at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a ...

acquired the British manufacturing interests of Celotex. In 2017, a disastrous fire at the

Grenfell Tower Grenfell Tower is a derelict 24-storey residential tower block in North Kensington in West London, England. The tower was completed in 1974 as part of the first phase of the Lancaster West Estate. Most of the tower was destroyed in a Grenfell T ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

was blamed on exterior cladding manufactured by Celotex-Saint-Gobain. Investigations revealed that Celotex had been aware of the fire risks associated with their products and actively covered up its findings. As of 2020, the brand name Celotex was owned by Saint-Gobain, which manufactures products under the Celotex brand. This includes products such as insulation boards and insulated plasterboards.

References

External links

Brochure: "Celotex Insulating Lumber"
(1923) 1920 establishments in Illinois Building materials companies Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990 Manufacturing companies based in Chicago Defunct manufacturing companies of the United States {{US-company-stub

History

Celotex Asbestos Litigation and Settlement Trust

See also

References

External links