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Asbestos | Asbestos Industry
Companies > Combustion Engineering
Combustion Engineering Company History
Combustion Engineering first incorporated in 1912, a merger of the American Stoker Company and the Grieve Grate Company. Their hallmark product was the Type-E stoker boiler, though they offered several other underfeed stokers as well. In 1925, they entered the steam boiler business. They endured the Great Depression by forming strategic partnerships with other companies, notably the Superheater Company, which they later acquired in whole.
Combustion Engineering grew rapidly in the 1950's, expanding their operations to include oil and gas exploration, production, refining, and petrochemicals. The company also experimented with marine nuclear propulsion, where their superior design generated 10% more power than their main rival.
The company continued to grow, and in 1990 was acquired in whole by Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), a multinational conglomerate that is one of the largest electrical engineering companies in the world.
Combustion Engineering Products that Contained Asbestos
Combustion Engineering designed, sold, and built power plant generators and steam generators beginning in the early 1930's. They supplied boilers and boiler products to many industries, including the U.S. Navy. They had their own brands of pipecovering and block. Some Combustion Engineering products known to contain asbestos include Super #3000, SKD 50 Cement, Hilite Insulating Cement, and Stic-Tite Insulating Cement. Working directly with any of these products, or in job sites, shipyards, and / or vessels where such products were used, may have exposed you to dangerous asbestos dust. Such asbestos exposure can lead to a variety of life-threatening diseases, including mesothelioma.
Industries and Occupations at Risk for Asbestos Exposure
Combustion Engineering products containing asbestos were employed by a wide number of industries. They were a major supplier of boilers and boiler products to the United States Navy. Additionally, workers in the aerospace, construction, foundry, insulation, longshore, maritime, petrochemical, utility, railroad, steel/iron, and textile industries may have had significant exposure.
Following is a partial list of occupations known to have had exposure to dangerous products manufactured and/or sold by Combustion Engineering. This list is not intended to be comprehensive; rather it provides an example of the types of workers that may have sustained exposure to asbestos through Combustion Engineering products.
- Acoustical Worker
- Air & Heat Technician
- Boiler Tender
- Boilermaker
- Carpenter
- Engine Mechanic
- Engine Room Operator
- Foundry Worker
- Furnace Worker
- HVAC Installer
- Insulator
- Longshoreman
- Merchant Marine
- Pipefitter
- Rigger
- Roughneck
- Shipfitter
- Steamfitter
- Steelworker
- Switchman
- Welder
Recent News
Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), went nearly bankrupt in the early 2000s as a result of Combustion Engineering's crushing financial debt and lingering asbestos liability. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2003. Their reorganization plan, which took affect April 1, 2006, established a trust to settle asbestos personal injury claims. This trust was funded by cash and other assets worth about $1.43 billion. The company's fortunes have taken a turn for the better since that time, and they are today a leader in power and automation technologies. ABB operates in more than 100 countries, and employs about 104,000 people.
