Celotex Corp.

Company History & Products

The Celotex Corporation traces its origins to the early 1920s, when it began producing insulating fiberboard from sugarcane bagasse in Chicago, Illinois. The company quickly became a significant player in the American building materials industry, expanding its product lines to include roofing materials, acoustical ceiling tiles, and rigid insulation board. As demand for fire-resistant and weather-resistant construction products grew in the post-World War II housing boom, Celotex aggressively incorporated asbestos into many of its core product offerings.

Asbestos was prized by manufacturers like Celotex for its extraordinary heat resistance, tensile strength, and fireproofing properties. The mineral fiber could be mixed into asphalt roofing compounds to extend the life of shingles and improve their weather resistance. It could be pressed into rigid board form for thermal insulation applications and woven or adhered into ceiling tiles for acoustical damping. From the 1930s onward, Celotex relied heavily on asbestos in these ways, shipping millions of squares of roofing material and thousands of tons of insulation board to construction sites across the United States every year.

At its height, Celotex operated manufacturing facilities in several states, with particularly significant production at its Tampa, Florida plant and at locations serving the Midwest market out of the Chicago region. The company’s products were distributed through building supply wholesalers and sold directly to roofing and insulation contractors who would then apply them in residential homes, commercial buildings, schools, hospitals, and industrial facilities.

By the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the scientific consensus on asbestos hazards was growing undeniable. Internal documents from major asbestos manufacturers and suppliers showed that industry participants were aware of the health risks posed by airborne asbestos fibers well before the general public understood the danger. Despite this mounting knowledge, Celotex continued producing asbestos-containing roofing and insulation products through much of the 1970s. The company began transitioning to asbestos-free formulations only as regulatory pressure from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made continued use untenable.

The legacy of those decades of asbestos use caught up with Celotex in the form of thousands of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed by workers and their families. The volume of litigation ultimately proved financially catastrophic for the company and its parent, Jim Walter Corporation, leading to a historic bankruptcy filing in December 1990.

Asbestos-Containing Products & Exposure Risks

Celotex produced a broad portfolio of asbestos-containing building products over its history. The following table summarizes the major product categories, their typical asbestos content, the primary mechanism by which workers were exposed, and the trades most frequently affected.

It is important to note that asbestos exposure was not limited to the workers who installed these products originally. Maintenance workers, building inspectors, and renovation contractors who later disturbed aged or damaged Celotex materials decades after original installation also faced significant exposure risks. Asbestos fibers do not degrade over time; in fact, older materials that have been subject to weathering and physical deterioration may release fibers more readily than freshly manufactured products.

Manufacturing Facilities

Celotex operated production facilities at multiple sites across the United States throughout the period when asbestos-containing products were manufactured. Workers at these plants, as well as contractors who regularly worked at or near them, faced occupational asbestos exposure from both the raw fiber used in production and the finished products themselves. If you worked at any of the following locations, your employment history may be relevant to establishing an asbestos claim.

Workers who were employed at any of these facilities, or who were regularly contracted to perform installation and maintenance work at buildings supplied with Celotex products, may have been exposed to asbestos. Union halls for roofing workers, insulators (Heat and Frost Insulators union, AWIU Local), and building tradespeople in the regions served by these plants often have employment and exposure records that can be valuable in establishing legal claims.

The Philip Carey Connection & Corporate History

Understanding the full scope of Celotex’s asbestos legacy requires a look at the related corporate history involving Philip Carey Manufacturing Company. Philip Carey was a Cincinnati, Ohio-based manufacturer that had been producing asbestos-containing building products — including pipe insulation, block insulation, and other thermal insulation materials — since the late nineteenth century. Philip Carey products were staples of industrial insulation work in power plants, shipyards, refineries, and large commercial buildings throughout the first half of the twentieth century.

The corporate relationship between Celotex and Philip Carey developed through a series of mid-century mergers and acquisitions. In 1962, Philip Carey merged with Glen Alden Corporation, and through subsequent transactions the asbestos-related liabilities and corporate lineage of both companies became entangled with Celotex and its eventual parent, Jim Walter Corporation. While Celotex and Philip Carey were legally distinct entities at various points in their histories, claimants who were exposed to Philip Carey pipe insulation or Celotex roofing products often dealt with overlapping trust and litigation structures when seeking compensation.

Jim Walter Corporation, a Tampa-based conglomerate with significant interests in homebuilding materials and natural resources, acquired Celotex Corporation in the 1970s. Under Jim Walter’s ownership, Celotex continued as a major branded supplier of building products. However, the wave of asbestos personal injury litigation that began accelerating in the late 1970s and through the 1980s created massive contingent liabilities on Jim Walter’s balance sheet. By 1990, the asbestos claims facing Celotex had grown so enormous that Jim Walter Corporation itself was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas, making it one of the largest asbestos-driven corporate bankruptcies in American history at the time.

The bankruptcy reorganization process took years to complete. During that process, claimants’ committees negotiated the terms of the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, which was eventually funded and began processing claims. The trust operates under a Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) document that establishes scheduled values for different disease categories and a payment percentage applied to those values. Separately, the Philip Carey Manufacturing Company Asbestos Settlement Trust handles claims arising from exposure to Philip Carey products. Claimants who were exposed to products from both companies may be eligible to file claims with both trusts, potentially increasing their total recovery significantly.

The importance of thorough exposure history documentation cannot be overstated in this context. Because Celotex and Philip Carey products were often used together at the same job sites — for example, Celotex rigid insulation board alongside Philip Carey pipe covering in the same industrial or commercial building — workers from that era frequently have exposure claims against both companies’ trusts, as well as against the trusts of the raw asbestos fiber suppliers and other product manufacturers whose materials were present at the same locations. Experienced asbestos litigation attorneys routinely conduct comprehensive exposure history interviews precisely to identify all potential sources of compensation.

Trust Fund Status & How to File a Claim

The Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust is an active asbestos bankruptcy trust established as a result of the Jim Walter Corporation Chapter 11 reorganization. Individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or other asbestos-related diseases who can demonstrate exposure to Celotex-manufactured products are eligible to file a claim with the trust.

The trust currently pays claims at approximately 7% of the scheduled value for each recognized disease category. Scheduled values vary based on diagnosis. Mesothelioma claims carry a higher scheduled value than lung cancer claims, which in turn carry a higher value than non-malignant asbestos conditions such as asbestosis or pleural plaques. The actual dollar amount a claimant receives is calculated by multiplying the applicable scheduled value by the current payment percentage.

To file a claim with the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, claimants typically must provide the following documentation:

• Medical evidence — A pathology report, biopsy confirmation, or diagnosis from a licensed physician confirming the asbestos-related disease (e.g., mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer with a documented asbestos exposure history)
• Exposure evidence — Documentation establishing that the claimant worked with or around Celotex-manufactured products. This may include union employment records, Social Security Administration work history printouts, co-worker affidavits, contractor records, or job site documentation showing Celotex materials were present
• Identity and authorization — Proof of the claimant’s identity; if filing on behalf of a deceased claimant, letters testamentary or similar documentation of the personal representative’s authority to file on behalf of the estate

Claims can be filed under an Expedited Review process, which offers a fixed payment for straightforward claims meeting the trust’s threshold criteria, or under Individual Review, which allows for higher potential payments in cases with exceptional circumstances that justify a value above the scheduled amount. An experienced asbestos attorney can evaluate which pathway is most appropriate for a given claimant’s situation and can handle the claim filing process on the claimant’s behalf, typically on a contingency fee basis so there is no upfront cost to the claimant or their family.

It is also worth noting that workers who were exposed to both Celotex products and Philip Carey products may have claims against multiple trusts. There are currently dozens of active asbestos bankruptcy trusts in the United States holding billions of dollars in combined assets, and many mesothelioma victims are eligible to file with several trusts simultaneously. An attorney specializing in asbestos litigation will conduct a thorough exposure history review to identify all potentially responsible trusts and defendants, which can substantially increase the total compensation recovered.

Statutes of limitations apply to asbestos trust claims and to any parallel civil lawsuits that may be filed. In most jurisdictions, the limitations clock begins running from the date of diagnosis or the date the claimant reasonably should have known their disease was asbestos-related. These deadlines can be as short as one to three years depending on the state of diagnosis and the state where the exposure occurred, which makes prompt action essential. Families who have lost a loved one to mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease should consult an attorney as soon as possible to preserve their wrongful death and survival action rights.

Frequently Asked Questions