American Optical

American Optical Operating Plant – Buffalo NY In 1935, The American Optical Company purchased Spencer Lens Company, located on Eggert Rd. in Buffalo, NY. By 1938, the plant began manufacturing ophthalmic instruments. In 1945, the Spencer Lens Company changed its name to American Optical Scientific Instrument Division and in 1950, their plant was expanded to […]

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Ingersoll-Rand

Asbestos Exposure & Cancer Risks at Ingersoll-Rand Plant in Athens, PA Ingersoll-Rand and the related company, Dresser-Rand, manufacture parts and products for use in various industrial, construction, mining, and commercial settings, including but not limited to drills, jackhammers, compressors, pumps, turbines, engines, pneumatics, machine tools and controls. Prior to the 1980s, asbestos-containing insulation and gasket […]

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Dresser-Rand Painted Post, NY

Asbestos Exposure & Cancer Risks at Ingersoll-Rand / Dresser-Rand Plant in Painted Post, NY Ingersoll-Rand and the related company, Dresser-Rand, manufacture parts and products for use in various industrial, construction, mining, and commercial settings, including but not limited to drills, jackhammers, compressors, pumps, turbines, engines, pneumatics, machine tools and controls. Prior to the 1980s, asbestos-containing […]

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3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company)

With its’ headquarters in Minnesota, 3M (also known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) was founded in 1901.  Originally founded as a mining company, it grew significantly over the years, and in 1916 purchased its first laboratory and began inventing new products.  The company grew exponentially after World War II, and as a result […]

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Hysol Aerospace, Dexter Hysol

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 […]

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GTE Sylvania

GTE Sylvania was an electronic equipment manufacturing company located in Seneca Falls, New York.  Although the manufacturing plant changed ownership, it is most commonly known as the manufacturing plant for GTE Sylvania. Following GTE’s sale to Philips in 1980, the plant expanded to manufacturing lighting devices, vacuum tubes and electronic devices.   Through the Seneca Falls […]

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Fairchild Republic Co.

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 […]

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Hercules/Ciba Geigy Plant

The former Ciba Geigy Main Plant was located to the east of Glens Falls within the Town of Queensbury, New York on a 45-acre site. Starting in 1901, the facility was used by the American Wallpaper Company, Imperial Color Works, and Underwood Paper Mills for manufacturing wallpaper and later expanding to producing inorganic pigments. Throughout […]

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General Foods Corporation

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, […]

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C.E. Thurston & Sons, Inc.

C.E. Thurston & Sons Inc. was founded in 1919 as a contracting services provider. The company began as a small distribution business for mechanical packing manufacturers, and expanded into insulation, marine and cold storage contracting. In 1949, the company was incorporated as C.E. Thurston & Sons, Inc., headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. The company provided materials […]

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Curtiss-Wright Corporation

Curtiss-Wright Corporation was formed in 1929  when Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation merged with Wright Aeronautical Corporation.  Curtiss-Wright Corporation had two Western New York factories located in Tonawanda and Cheektowaga, New York. The company was known for manufacturing airplanes, and played a significant role in the United States war effort during World War II. Many […]

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Chicago Pneumatic

Chicago Pneumatic was founded in 1901 as a manufacturer of various tools. These tools include generators, air compressors, power tools, light towers and hydraulic equipment. Chicago Pneumatic was founded by John W. Duntley who originally intended to make and sell construction tools “that weren’t available yet.”  In 1901, Chicago Pneumatic patented the first single-valve pneumatic […]

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Boise Cascade Corporation

In the 1960s, Boise operated concrete plants, plastic manufacturing plants, textiles and sand and gravel companies. In 1970 Boise’s current headquarters were built. However, with the promotion of John Ferry as Boise’s new CEO in 1972, Boise returned to its main operation of building materials and paper products. Employees at Boise’s plants, as well as […]

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Crane Company

Crane Co. is a publicly traded company founded in 1855 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Crane was one of the leading manufacturers of bathroom fixtures in the United States until it sold off that division in 1990.  Today Crane is a holding company operating four business segments, each of which designs and manufactures highly engineered […]

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Dunkirk Radiator

Dunkirk Radiator was founded in 1928 by Earle C. Reed at the same time as The Utica Companies of Utica New York. While they were founded jointly and shared products, they sold to different markets. Dunkirk Radiator manufactured radiators and boilers until the 1940’s when it shifted its efforts to help Uncle Sam. During World […]

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Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems/General Motors Components Holding Plant

The Lockport plant has gone by several names – it is formerly known as Harrison Radiator, and then Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems, and is now known as General Motors Components Holdings plant. Harrison Radiator was established in 1910 by Herbert Harrison in Lockport, New York.  During its first years of operation, the company was located […]

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Bendix Plant, Elmira, NY

The Bendix Plant in Elmira, NY was an engineering company that began with an agreement between founder Vincent Bendix and Eclipse Machine Company in 1914 to produce Bendix’s automotive starter.  Bendix Corporation acquired control of Eclipse Machine Company in 1928, and in 1929 the company changed its focus to aviation products and changed its name […]

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Beech-Nut

Beech-Nut Packing Company was founded in 1891 and is located in Canajoharie, New York in the Mohawk Valley. Beech-Nut was first named Imperial Packing Company. It became a major producer of baby food. Raymond P. Lipe, along with his friend John D. Zieley and their brothers, Walter H. Lipe and David Zieley, and Bartlett Arkell, […]

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Bausch & Lomb

Bausch & Lomb was founded in 1853 when John Jacob Bausch opened a small optical goods shop in Rochester, NY.  Bausch and Lomb began with the creation of rubber eyeglass frames and went on to patent binoculars, microscopes and other items such as a camera shutter. Bausch & Lomb is best known for its novel […]

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Babcock & Wilcox

Babcock and Wilcox was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Babcock & Wilcox produced various types of equipment used to contain high temperatures and resist extreme heat. The equipment manufactured by Babcock and Wilcox was primarily used in power generation machinery, such as boiler systems and steam systems. This power generation machinery utilized […]

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Anchor Packing Company

Anchor Packing Company was founded in the early 1900s with locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Montreal, Canada. The company made asbestos-containing industrial sealing products. These products included anchor packings, asbestos-containing mitts and gloves, gaskets, brake linings and a variety of molded products. Asbestos was used in these products, due to its fireproof capabilities in high […]

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American Olean Tile Company

The origins of the American Olean Tile Company date back to 1912 when it was founded by Charles T. Fuller and O.W. Pierce as the Olean Tile Company in Olean, New York.  With the hire of an Alfred University ceramics student, Gordon D. Philips, the company’s tile business steadily grew in the decades that followed.  […]

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American Laundry Machinery Company

Workers exposed to asbestos at The American Laundry Machinery Company are at risk for developing mesothelioma or lung cancer. In 1907 The American Laundry Machinery Company was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally, The American Laundry Machinery Company was a laundry machine manufacturer. In 1930, The American Laundry Machinery Company opened a facility at 110 Buffalo […]

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American Biltrite Inc.

American Biltrite Inc. was founded in 1908 in Trenton, New Jersey as Ewell Rubber and primarily produced rubber heels and soles for shoes.  Two years later the company added a second manufacturing facility, Panther Rubber Mfg. Co., in Stoughton, Massachusetts. Then, in 1913, the company expanded into Canada followed by the addition of another manufacturing […]

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Amatex Corporation

Amatex Corporation was founded in 1950 in Norristown, Pennsylvania as the American Asbestos Textile Corporation. Amatex manufactured textiles, including asbestos cloth, yarn, lap, thread and cord. Amatex focused its production on fiberglass textiles suited for high temperatures. In 1962, Amatex acquired an additional plant in Meredith, New Hampshire. Amatex Corporation still exists today and continues […]

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AlliedSignal, Inc.

AlliedSignal, Inc. was founded in 1985 when Allied Corp. and The Signal Companies Inc. merged. The origins of AlliedSignal date back to 1920, when Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation was formed. AlliedSignal began as a chemical company in Hopewell, Virginia and produced ammonia. In 1999 Allied Signal acquired Honeywell and it now goes by the […]

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Albany Felt Company

Founded in 1895, Albany Felt Company opened its doors along Broadway in Menands, NY.  The Albany Felt Company prospered in the decades that followed, ultimately expanding its facilities over 14.45 acres employing hundreds of Albany area residents at its peak.  In 1969, through the acquisition of Appleton Wire out of Wisconsin and Sweden’s Nordiska Maskinfilt, […]

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ABB Lummus Global, Inc.

Like many companies today, ABB Lummus Global, Inc. is the product of mergers. In 1988, Almänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (General Swedish Electrical Limited Company, ASEA – est. 1883) and Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC – est. 1891) merged into what would become ABB Asea Brown Boveri.  With additional purchases by ABB in 1989, they announced […]

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ABEX-Corporation (Medina, NY)

The Abex Corporation first appeared in 1928 serving primarily as a metals foundry. Over the course of the Corporation’s life, it opened a manufacturing facility located at 3928 Bates Road, Medina, New York, as a manufacturer of brakes and wheels. As time passed, the Abex Corporation continued to manufacture brakes until it was purchased by […]

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PINCO (Porcelain Insulators Corporation)

In 1904, Fred Locke purchased six acres of land in Lima, New York, in order to build a porcelain insulator manufacturing plant, known as the Lima Insulator Company. These insulators were placed on top of telegraph and power lines and aided in conducting high voltage electricity. Hard times hit the Lima plant in 1908 when […]

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Durez Plastics & Neighborhood Asbestos Exposure

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 […]

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General Electric Brockport Housewares Division

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 […]

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Louis DeMarkus Corporation

The Louis DeMarkus Corporation was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1953 by Arnold Jacobowitz.  Mr. Jacobowitz established his company after he purchased the DeMarkus Form (a carbon dioxide generation unit) from Hungarian physicist Louis DeMarkus.  Mr. Jacobowitz opened the first DeMarkus Corporation manufacturing facility at 3080 Main Street in order to design and manufacture […]

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Joy Manufacturing 

Joy Manufacturing Company was established in 1955 in Western New York, and at that time, employed four engineers. Shortly after it was established, Joy Manufacturing opened a Research and Development facility at 3101 Broadway Avenue in Cheektowaga, New York, for the purpose of designing and developing gas turbines, steam turbines, axial flow compressors and other […]

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Worthington Pump

On April 20, 1916, Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation was created out of the reorganization of the International Steam Pump Company. The International Steam Pump Company previously merged with five steam pump companies, including the Henry R. Worthington Company, the Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Works, the Deane Steam Pump Works and the Laidlaw Dunn […]

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Xerox – Webster Plant

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 […]

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Working With or Around Asbestos at Kodak

The men and women who worked at Kodak Park were exposed to asbestos in numerous buildings and operations, including roll coating, silver recovery, plastic molding, paper manufacturing, paper sensitizing and the powerhouses. Asbestos also insulated the steam lines in every building throughout Kodak Park. Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma or lung cancer. In recent […]

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Carbola Chemical Company

In 1900, the St. Lawrence Talc Company began mining operations in Lewis County, New York, close to the Village of Natural Bridge. Located on New York State Route 3, the mine was originally intended to produce silver, but when only trace amounts of it were found, production shifted to talc. In 1916, the company was […]

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Nicholson & Hall Boiler & Welding Corporation

In 1922, Lance Nicholson and Thomas Hall founded the Nicholson & Hall Boiler & Welding Corporation in what is now called the Cobblestone District of Buffalo, New York. With easy access to the Buffalo harbor, Nicholson & Hall originally serviced boilers onboard Great Lakes steamships. With the loss of shipping traffic into Buffalo Harbor due […]

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O-Cel-O

In 1946, O-Cel-O was founded on Leslie Street in Buffalo, New York, by former DuPont employees Jack Bitzer, Chester Hardt and Gerard Murray. The company manufactured artificial cellulose sponges for household use and was formed in order to take advantage of a shortage of natural sponges due to World War II and a sponge blight […]

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Penn Dixie Cement Company

In 1867, shortly after the discovery of rich beds of limestone in Howes Cave, New York, the Howes Cave Lime & Cement Company established a cement plant and limestone quarry on Industrial Drive. In 1898, the Helderberg Cement Company acquired the property, and in 1925, it merged with Security Cement & Lime Company forming the […]

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ALCOA a/k/a Aluminum Company of America

ALCOA Massena Operations is the world’s oldest continuously operating aluminum production and fabrication facility.  Alcoa, or the Aluminum Company of America, was founded in 1902 as the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. Alcoa’s smelting facility is located outside Massena, New York, in order to take advantage of the abundant hydroelectric power in the area. Alcoa smelts aluminum […]

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Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW)

The former Lake Ontario Ordnance Works (LOOW) is a 7,500 acre site located in the towns of Lewiston and Porter, New York.  In 1941, the Department of Defense (formerly Department of War) purchased land in Niagara County for the purpose of manufacturing trinitrotoluene (TNT). The LOOW manufactured nearly 42 million pounds of TNT in a […]

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Titanium Alloy Manufacturing

The Titanium Alloy Manufacturing Company (TAM) was founded in 1906,  by Dr. Auguste Rossi, William Meredith and Andrew Thompson. Located on Hyde Park Boulevard in Niagara Falls, New York, the company originally manufactured powdered ferrocarbon titanate (an additive used in the steelmaking process) and titanium dioxide (a pigment used in the manufacture of white paint). […]

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Union Carbide

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. […]

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Linde Air Products Chandler Street Plant

Linde Air Products was founded in 1907, as the American subsidiary of German industrial gas manufacturer Linde AG. The original Linde plant was located on Chandler Street in Buffalo, New York. It was the first plant in the United States to manufacture liquid oxygen, and it also manufactured other industrial gases, such as acetylene, nitrogen […]

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Union Carbide’s Plants

United States Bishop, California La Mesa, California Torrance, California Uravan, Colorado Alsip, Illinois East Chicago, Indiana Louisville, Kentucky Paducah, Kentucky Greensburg, Louisiana Hanhville, Louisiana Norco, Louisiana Taft, Louisiana Sault Saint Marie, Michigan Perth Amboy, New Jersey Niagara Falls, New York Tonawanda, New York Kitanning, Pennsylvania Peñuelas, Puerto Rico Cleveland, Ohio Marietta, Ohio Parma, Ohio Exeter, […]

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Varcum a.k.a. Reichhold Chemical

In 1932, George E. Lewis, a former executive of the Carborundum Company, founded the Varcum Chemical Company. The Varcum plant is located on Packard Road in Niagara Falls, New York, and it is a manufacturer of raw phenolic resins used in the production of phenolic plastic. Phenolic plastic is utilized in a large percentage of all […]

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Voplex Corporation

Voplex was a manufacturer of molded plastic products for automotive, locomotive and various other applications. The history of its Canandaigua plant can be traced back to 1958, when a company by the name of Leaming Industries, a manufacturer of record turntables for Stromberg-Carlson, moved its operations into a former pump manufacturing plant on Chapin Street in […]

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West Valley Reprocessing Plant

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 […]

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Western Electric

In 1947, the Western Electric Company established a plant on Kenmore Avenue in Tonawanda, New York. Curtiss-Wright, a manufacturer of aircraft, previously occupied this plant. Western Electric manufactured all switchboards, telephones and other equipment used within the AT&T system. Western Electric was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), which operated […]

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Westinghouse Electric Corporation

In 1947, Westinghouse Electric Corporation opened its Motor and Industrial Controls division in Cheektowaga, New York. The plant was located on Genesee Street, adjacent to the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport. The plant was originally constructed and occupied by The Curtiss-Wright Company, a manufacturer of aircraft. Westinghouse Electric Corporation manufactured various types of industrial motors, switches and […]

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St. Regis Paper

St. Regis Paper was established in 1899 by George Sherman and David Anderson. In 1901, construction of a mill in Deferiet, New York, was completed. The Village of Deferiet was also built by St. Regis to serve as a company town for the mill’s employees. During its peak production years in the mid-20th Century, the […]

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Stromberg-Carlson

In 1894, the Stromberg-Carlson Telephone Manufacturing Company was established in Chicago, Illinois, by Alfred Stromberg and Androv Carlson. The company relocated to Rochester, New York, in 1902, after it was purchased by the Home Telephone Company. Located on Carlson Road, Stromberg-Carlson manufactured communications equipment for the telephone and radio industries. In 1955, it was acquired […]

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Sealright Company

The Sealright Company, was founded in 1883, by Forrest Weeks as the Oswego Falls pulp and paper company. When Sealright was in operation, it was the largest manufacturer of frozen dairy dessert packaging in North America, which incorporated flexographic printing techniques in the manufacturing process of its packaging materials. Sealright maintained manufacturing facilities in Fulton, […]

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Sealtest Ice Cream

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 […]

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Sid Harvey Industries

Sid Harvey Industries, Inc., was founded in Hempstead, New York in 1931, and it is a manufacturer and distributor of heating, air-conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration supplies. Originally, the company was a wholesale supplier of parts and equipment for the oil heating industry. Sid Harvey grew rather quickly, and by World War II, its mail order […]

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Solvay Process Company

The Solvay Process Company was founded in 1881 by Rowland Hazard and William B. Cogswell. It was the first company in the United States to utilize the Solvay process for manufacturing sodium carbonate, which was invented in Belgium in 1861 by Ernest Solvay. Syracuse, New York, was selected for Solvay’s first plant because of its […]

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Sorrento Cheese

The Sorrento Cheese Company was founded in 1947 by Louis Russo in Blasdell, New York. Russo was a native of Sorrento, Italy, and he established Sorrento Cheese in order to market traditional Italian cheeses to the rapidly growing Italian-American population. In 1960, the company moved to its present location on South Park Avenue in Buffalo. […]

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South Buffalo Railway

The South Buffalo Railway Company was established in 1899, as a short-line railroad owned by the Lackawanna Steel Company, the predecessor to Bethlehem Steel. The railway also served other customers in Lackawanna, including Donner-Hanna Coke, Ford and Republic Steel. The South Buffalo Railway spanned over fifty miles of track in Western New York. Bethlehem Steel owned the South Buffalo Railway […]

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Spaulding Fibre

In recent years, former employees of Spaulding Fibre have developed and died of mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. Laborers who were employed at the Wheeler Street plant in Tonawanda, New York, were at high risk for exposure to asbestos-containing materials. Spaulding Fibre’s origins date back to 1873, when brothers Jonas and Waldo Spaulding formed […]

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Specialty Insulation Manufacturing Company

Clinton L. Bateholts, a pioneer in the field of plastics, founded Specialty Insulation Manufacturing Company in 1910, in Hoosick Falls, New York. Specialty Insulation’s first plant was located on Water and Superior Streets and was known locally as the Rubber Works. The plant eventually moved to a larger facility on Center Street where workers manufactured […]

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Pfaudler

Pfaudler Incorporated is a manufacturer of glass-lined tanks used in the food, beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Pfaudler was established in 1884, by brewer Casper Pfaudler as the Pfaudler Vacuum Fermentation Process Company. Casper Pfaudler wanted to accelerate the fermentation process through the application of a vacuum. He failed at this undertaking, but his glass-lined […]

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Pohlman Foundry

The Pohlman Foundry was located at 205 Baitz Avenue in Buffalo, New York, and it manufactured gray iron castings for pumps and compressors. The Foundry was in operation for 113 years, and its customers included manufacturers of automotive and industrial parts. In 1998, the Pohlman Foundry was acquired by Lionheart Industries Inc. In 2002, the […]

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National Gypsum

In 1926, the first mining and manufacturing plant of National Gypsum was established in Clarence, New York. The discovery of an almost pure gypsum deposit in Clarence Center prompted National Gypsum to begin gypsum mining and manufacturing operations for its wallboard and plaster products. A Buffalo, New York, inventor by the name of Joseph F. […]

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National Gypsum Plant Locations

United States Mobile, Alabama Oxford, Alabama Phoenix, Arizona Long Beach, California Pomona, California Richmond, California Apollo Beach, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Orlando, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Duluth, Georgia Savannah, Georgia Waukegan, Illinois Alexandria, Indiana Clinton, Indiana Jasper, Indiana Shoals, Indiana Dubuque, Iowa Fort Dodge, Iowa Medicine Lodge, Kansas Westwego, Louisiana Baltimore, Maryland Belcamp, Maryland Alpena, Michigan National […]

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Nestlé

In 1900, Nestlé founded its plant in Fulton, New York, which was also the first Nestlé plant to open in the United States. The Fulton plant initially produced Nestlé milk foods, but in 1909, the company expanded its operations and chocolate production began. In 1935, researchers at the Fulton plant developed the first cocoa mix, […]

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New York Air Brake

In 1876, Frederick Eames established the Eames Vacuum Brake Company on Beebee Island in Watertown, New York. Eames Vacuum Brake manufactured vacuum braking systems for railroad engines and cars. In 1890, the company was reorganized in order to manufacture railroad air brakes, and it was renamed the New York Air Brake Company. Due to increased […]

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Oldman Boiler Works

Established by William Oldman in 1863, Oldman Boiler Works was a fixture on Buffalo’s waterfront for more than a century. Oldman manufactured and repaired boilers and other equipment installed on numerous Great Lakes freighters that docked at the Buffalo Harbor. Oldman Boiler Works also manufactured various pieces of industrial equipment for companies, such as Bethlehem Steel, Mobil […]

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Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation

Founded by Franklin Olin in 1892, Olin Industries began as a blasting powder company, which supplied powder to Midwestern coal fields. Olin’s success allowed for the company’s expansion into small arms ammunition and the formation of the Western Cartridge Company in 1898. By the 1950s Olin Industries product line included brass and other nonferrous alloys, […]

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Owens Corning Delmar Plant

In 1938, Owens Corning, formerly known as Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation, was established from the joint partnership of two major American glasswork companies, Corning Glass Works and Owens-Illinois. Owens Corning, which is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, was the first company to manufacture fiberglass insulation. This material quickly became the most popular form of home insulation, and […]

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Kodak

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC represents numerous former and retired Kodak workers, including a pipefitter, painter, millwright, carpenter, engineer, machine operator, mixer and skilled-trades helper in their legal claims for mesothelioma and lung cancer.  In the process of representing these workers and their families, we have gathered a vast amount of information concerning the type […]

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Liquid Carbonic Corporation

The Liquid Carbonic Corporation, originally known as the Liquid Carbonic Company, was established in 1888 in Terre Haute, Indiana. For over 50 years, Liquid Carbonic concentrated on the production and supply of carbon dioxide and equipment related to soda fountain and soft drink bottling. In 1914, Liquid Carbonic introduced a low-pressure filling system for bottled […]

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IBM Endicott

International Business Machines (IBM) Binghamton was founded in 1911 in Endicott, New York, and it is one of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world. Originally called the Computing-Tabulating-Recording (CTR) Corporation, IBM was formed by the merger of four companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, the Computing Scale Corporation, […]

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International Paper Ticonderoga

The Ticonderoga Pulp & Paper Company was established in 1882 in Ticonderoga, New York, by Clayton Delano. Over the next several decades, the company constructed several mills in the village in order to manufacture various types of paper, including newsprint, writing paper and packaging materials. There were six separate mills in Ticonderoga: “A” Mill – […]

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Kimberly Clark

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, has represented numerous Kimberly Clark employees who developed mesothelioma or lung cancer as a result of working at this site. Kimberly Clark on Packard Road in Niagara Falls, New York, manufactured sanitary specialties, including familiar products such as Kleenex facial tissues and Kotex sanitary napkins. On the Kimberly Clark property, […]

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Knowlton Brothers

In 1808, Gurdon Caswell constructed a paper mill, called the Pioneer Mill, near the Black River in Watertown, New York, on what is now called Factory Street. In 1824, George W. Knowlton and Clarke Rice acquired the mill and renamed it Knowlton & Rice. The Knowlton & Rice Company manufactured paper for books and also […]

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General Electric Electronics Park

In 1947, General Electric (GE) constructed the headquarters for its electronics division, Electronics Park, in Liverpool, New York. Electronics Park consisted of nine buildings on 155 acres. In Building 5, GE manufactured consumer electronics, including televisions and radios. In Building 7, radar and sonar equipment was manufactured for the United States military. In numerous other […]

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General Electric Silicone Products, Waterford

In 1947, General Electric (GE) constructed a silicone manufacturing facility on an 800-acre site in Waterford, New York. The GE Waterford plant manufactures silicone compounds used in various applications, including building materials, automotive parts, aerospace components and cosmetics. During its peak production years during the 1960s and 1970s, GE Waterford employed over 1,000 people. In […]

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General Mills

In 1903, the Washburn-Crosby Milling Company established a flour mill adjacent to the Frontier Grain Elevator on South Michigan Avenue in Buffalo, New York. In 1928, Washburn-Crosby became General Mills, after a merger with twenty-six other milling companies. The mill expanded steadily throughout the early Twentieth Century, and by 1941, it was the most productive […]

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Genesee Brewing Company

The Genesee Brewing Company brewery was founded in 1878 by Mathius Knodolf.  The brewery is located on St. Paul Street in Rochester, New York, and it brews Genesee brand beers, as well as different brand names under contract for various beer companies. The Genesee Brewing Company is one of the largest breweries in the United […]

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Georgia-Pacific

Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, has represented numerous Georgia-Pacific employees who developed asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer as a result of working at its various manufacturing facilities throughout the United States.  Prior to the mid to late 1970s, Georgia-Pacific manufactured asbestos-containing joint compounds, plaster, bedding compounds, texture mixes and laminating compounds. In addition, […]

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Georgia-Pacific Akron, New York Plant

In 1920, the Bestwall Gypsum Company constructed a plant located at 13550 Bloomingdale Road in Akron, New York. CertainTeed Corporation, a manufacturer of building products, including drywall and joint compound, acquired Akron’s Bestwall facility in 1952; and, in 1956, Bestwall Gypsum Company spun off as an independent company thereby reestablishing its Akron, New York plant. […]

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Georgia-Pacific Paper Mill Plant in Plattsburgh, New York

In 1963, Georgia-Pacific acquired the former Vanity Fair Paper Mill on Margaret Street in Plattsburgh, New York. The mill was originally purposed as a factory for the Lozier Motor Company in the early 1900s. The Plattsburgh, New York mill consists of numerous buildings, including a steam plant, pump house, filter plant and paper mill. Georgia-Pacific’s Plattsburgh […]

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Georgia-Pacific Plants

Brewton, Alabama Fayette, Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Montgomery, Alabama Pennington, Alabama Peterman, Alabama Perdue Hill, Alabama Talladega, Alabama Tarrant, Alabama Thorsby, Alabama Flagstaff, Arizona Ashdown, Arkansas Crossett, Arkansas Fordyce, Arkansas Fort Smith, Arkansas Gurdon, Arkansas North Little Rock, Arkansas Antioch, California Buena Park, California Elk Grove, California Fresno, California Fort Bragg, California King City, California La […]

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Globe Woven Belting Company

In 1916, the Globe Woven Belting Company was established in Buffalo, New York, by Michael Bleecher as a manufacturer of high quality conveyor belt products. Initially, the company’s plant consisted of one building located at 1400 Clinton Street. Over the next few decades and as its operations grew, the facility expanded and added more wings […]

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Goulds Pumps

In 1848, Seabury S. Gould purchased the interests of Edward Mynderse and H.C. Silsby in Downs, Mynderse & Co., and the firm became Downs & Co, which was a manufacturer of wooden pumps. In 1849, during the first year of the Gold Rush, Mr. Gould cast his first all-iron pump. He believed that his pumps […]

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Gouverneur Talc

In 1948, the Gouverneur Talc Company began mining and milling talc near Balmat, New York. A subsidiary of R. T. Vanderbilt, Gouverneur Talc produced talc for various industrial uses, including the manufacture of paint, ceramics and plastic molding compound. In 1974, the mines and mills of the International Talc Company were acquired by Gouverneur Talc. […]

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Electro Metallurgical

In 1907, The Electro Metallurgical Company a.k.a. Electromet was established at the corner of 47th Street and Royal Avenue in Niagara Falls, New York. Electro Metallurgical produced ferro-metal alloys, tungsten, titanium, calcium carbide and acetylene. The company also provided extensive metallurgical research to other industries involved in the manufacture of carbon electrodes. In 1922, Union […]

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Foster Wheeler

Foster Wheeler was still a huge market force when it was incorporated in 1927. It was formed by the merger of the Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company and the Power Specialty Company. Originally founded in 1891, Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company produced steam condensers, pumps and heat exchangers that were used in the electric power […]

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Freihofer Baking Company

Charles Freihofer founded the Freihofer Baking Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1884. His business quickly boomed and on March 12, 1913, his brothers William, Edwin and Frank Freihofer established the Freihofer Baking Company in Troy, New York. The Freihofer Baking Company was an instant success in Troy. By 1914, another plant was constructed in Schenectady, […]

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Garlock Packing Company, Palmyra

Garlock Sealing Technologies is a manufacturer of fluid-sealing products, including gaskets and compression packing. Founded in 1887 by Olin Garlock, the Garlock Packing Company’s primary manufacturing facility is located in Palmyra, New York. Garlock currently operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NPO). Prior to December 31, 2000, Garlock incorporated asbestos […]

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Garlock Plant Locations

United States Paragould, Arkansas Wheat Ridge, Colorado Deland, Florida Camden, New Jersey Palmyra, New York Gastonia, North Carolina Columbia, South Carolina Houston, Texas Australia Yagoona South Gladstone Regency Park Canning Vale Boronia Brazil Sao Bernardo do Campo Canada Sherbrooke, Quebec China Beijing Chengdu Dalian Huizhou Shanghai Zhengzhou France Montbrison Pierrelatte Saint Etienne Germany Neuss India […]

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General Electric

In the 1870s and 1880s, noted inventor Thomas Edison established numerous companies in order to invent and manufacture electrical equipment, including Edison Lamp Company, Edison Machine Works and Edison Electric Light Company.  In 1889, Edison merged his companies and formed the Edison General Electric Company. As the result of a merger with the Thomson-Houston Electric […]

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General Electric Schenectady Plant

In 1886, Thomas Edison moved the Edison Machine Works from New York City to Schenectady, New York because of lower labor costs and land prices. The Edison Machine Works merged with several other Edison companies in 1889, forming Edison General Electric. A merger with the Thomson-Houston Electrical Company in 1892 created the General Electric Company […]

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Crouse-Hinds

Crouse-Hinds was founded in 1894 by Huntington B. Crouse and Jesse L. Hinds. Located in Syracuse, New York, it is a manufacturer of electrical conduit fittings, enclosures and explosion-proof products. In 1911, Crouse-Hinds constructed its plant at the corner of Seventh North and Wolf Streets. The plant eventually grew to include ten buildings on fifty-four […]

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Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant

In 1974, Cummins, Inc. established the Jamestown Engine Plant in Jamestown, New York. The Cummins plant manufactures diesel engines for heavy-duty trucks, tractors and other vehicles. The plant is over a million square feet, and it employs over 1,400 people. The Jamestown Engine Plant is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel engines in […]

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Dresser-Rand, Olean

In 1912, the Clark Brothers Company constructed the Dresser-Rand manufacturing facility in Olean, New York, in order to replace a factory in Belmont, New York, which burned down. Originally, the Olean factory manufactured equipment for agriculture and sawmills. Because Olean was home to one the most productive oil fields in the world during the early […]

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Dresser-Rand, Wellsville

The Dresser-Rand plant in Wellsville, New York, was constructed in 1916 by James L. Moore as the Moore Steam Turbine Company. After it was acquired by the Worthington Pump and Machinery Corporation in 1937, it became Worthington’s Steam Turbine Division. Worthington merged with Studebaker in 1967, and the company was renamed Studebaker-Worthington. During a reorganization […]

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Dunlop Tire & Rubber

In 1923, the Dunlop Tire & Rubber Company built its first American plant on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda, New York. The plant consists of ten manufacturing buildings on 130 acres. Dunlop remained an independent company until 1986, when Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired it. In 1997, Goodyear Tire & Rubber obtained a seventy-five percent controlling interest […]

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