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, asbestos-containing materials were utilized in the construction and maintenance of Georgia-Pacific plants. As a result of exposure to asbestos, many former Georgia-Pacific workers developed mesothelioma, a cancer that is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

History of Georgia-Pacific Corporation

In 1927, Owen R. Cheatham founded Georgia Hardwood Lumber, a wholesaler of hardwood lumber. After a series of name changes and the subsequent expansion of its product line, the company became the Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 1956. Throughout the 1950s, Georgia-Pacific participated in a $160 million timberland-acquisition program in the western and southern United States in order to vastly increase the company’s profit margin.  Georgia-Pacific borrowed heavily from banks and insurance companies expecting that the proceeds gained from future timber sales would more than double the required return on investment. With this aggressive business model, Georgia-Pacific became the timber industry’s leader through numerous acquisitions of lumber and plywood mills, as well as timber forests, paper mills and gypsum plants.

Since its initial establishment, Georgia-Pacific has grown to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of building products, pulp, paper, packaging, and chemicals. Georgia-Pacific owns numerous subsidiary companies, including Bestwall Gypsum Company, Vanity Fair Paper Mills, Fort James Corporation, and Exchange Oil and Gas Corporation.  It was a publically held company that was listed on the New York Stock Exchange from 1949 – 2005, when it was acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc. Today, Georgia-Pacific is a privately owned company that is headquarted in Atlanta and employs more than 40,000 workers at approximately 300 plants worldwide.

Georgia-Pacific New York Plants & Asbestos Exposure:

Georgia-Pacific Akron, New York Plant

Georgia-Pacific Plattsburgh, New York Plant


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