Crown Cork & Seal - Asbestos Product Manufacturers

The Crown Cork & Seal Company, a subsidy of Crown Holdings, Inc., started in 1892 when William Painter, founder of the company, created a new way to package beer and soft drinks that revolutionized the bottling industry. In 1898, Painter introduced an automatic machine that could fill and cap 24 bottles a minute. Painter started to sell this equipment and business expanded rapidly. The company opened up plants around the world, maintaining manufacturing operations in Europe, South America and Asia.

After World War I, Crown Cork & Seal started to manufacture soft drinks instead of beer due to the Prohibition. In 1927, Charles McManus merged the New Process Cork Company with Crown Cork & Seal, boosting net sales to $11 million. The company continues to flourish, selling half of the world's bottle caps in the 1930s. In 1936, the company took over Acme Can Company of Philadelphia and began branching out into canning. This led to the electrolytic tin-plating process and the invention of the Crowntainer in 1937, which was introduced as a quart bear can.

During World War II, Crown Cork & Seal shifted production to war-related products and developed the gas mask container. During this time, the company also introduced the Kork-N-Seal, Pour-N-Seal, and Merit Seal. After the war, the company became a part of the aerosol can business with the Spra-tainer, an aerosol can with multiple uses.

By 1957, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor diversification moves. John Connelly takes over and the company moved to Philadelphia in 1958. Two years later, the company started to work with the soft drink producers, becoming a major player in the market, as well as one of the biggest producers of aerosol cans. In 1969, the company introduced a popular two-piece steel beverage can to be used in place of the aluminum can.

From the 1970s onward, the company saw rapid financial growth and expansion into foreign markets. In 1992, the company takes over CONSTAR International, a leader in plastic containers designed for beverages, foods and households and became a world packaging leader.

Asbestos-Containing Products

There are a few asbestos-containing products that were manufactured by the Crown Cork & Seal Company in the 1950s and 1960s, including:

• Mundet Block Insulation
• Mundet Wool Insulating Cement
• Mundet Pipe Covering
• Mundet Cement

Asbestos-Related Occupations

The company's asbestos involvement comes from the brief amount of time that Crown Cork & Seal was part of the Mundet Cork Company. Mundet was a cork company that also had an insulation division. Employees that worked in this insulation division could have been exposed to during the manufacturing process. Workers in the construction industry could also have been placed at risk if they used Mundet insulation products. These insulation products can still present a risk today if they remain in older homes. Deterioration over time and/or disturbance of the asbestos during demolition or remodeling can release asbestos fibers into the air, where they can be inhaled.

Current Events

In 2002, Crown Cork & Seal received a favorable judgment that dismissed over 300 pending asbestos cases. This was a huge relief for the company. While Crown Cork & Seal was strictly a bottling and canning business, its brief connection with Mundet left the company paying hundreds of millions of dollars out in asbestos-related complaints.

Mundet sold the insulation division of the company a mere 93 days after Crown purchased stock and merged. However, this short period of time left them with millions of dollars in asbestos claims, threatening the company with bankruptcy. Unlike other companies that are involved in asbestos lawsuits, Crown Cork & Seal never actually manufactured a product containing asbestos, and all the asbestos exposure resulted from ownership of the insulation company. Future claims could still equal in the hundreds of millions of dollars and insurers are setting aside billions to cover asbestos-related claims.

Even though Crown Cork didn't manufacture the materials containing asbestos, they can still be held liable for the insulation products created by Mundet. If you were exposed to asbestos as a result of working for Mundet or with Mundet products and would like to learn more about mesothelioma and legal options available to those with asbestos-related disease, please fill out the form on this page to receive an informative packet in the mail.