Honeywell Heating - Asbestos Product Manufacturers

The Honeywell Heating Specialty Company, Inc. was founded in 1906 by Mark C. Honeywell. In 1927, the company merged with the Minneapolis Heat Regulator company and became the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company. The original president, W.R. Sweatt, and his son gave the company a combined total of 75 years of leadership, turning thermostatic heating control into a growing business.

James H. Binger took over the company as president in 1961 and became the chairman four years later. After this, he put more of an emphasis on the profits that the company was making and increased the international expansion. Binger also changed the name to Honeywell and expanded the company into cameras, photographic equipment, defense, aerospace, and computers.

Honeywell started in computers with Raytheon and a business called Datamatic Corp, but soon bought out the share so that the business became another division of Honeywell. They also bought Computer Control Corporation and were one of the eight main computer companies during the 1960s. Honeywell later bought General Electric's computer division in 1970.

During World War II, Honeywell started in the defense industry, making bombs, missile guidance, napalm, and landmines. This was later turned into Alliant Techsystems. Honeywell also had a specialty materials business going back as far as 1870 and a small sulfuric acid company. This fledgling company combined with five smaller ones to become AlliedSignal, which eventually became Honeywell's Specialty Materials business.

Asbestos-Containing Products

Honeywell's asbestos-containing products comes from its subsidiary, North American Refracteries Company, also known as NARCO. These products include:

• Aerogun
• Anti-erode
• BOF Cote
• BOF Patch
• Gun Mix
• Hot Gun
• Narcocast Refractory Cement
• Narcocrete Refractory Cement
• Narcogun
• Narcolite Gun A Mix
• Narcolite Refractory Cement
• Narcotab Refractory Cement
• Narmag Gun Mix
• Staz-On Insulating Cement
• Unicote Gun Mix

Asbestos-Related Occupations

Many of the asbestos-related products manufactured by Honeywell were used by the Navy. This has placed both the employees manufacturing the product and the Navy at risk. Asbestos was commonly used as an insulation material because it was fireproof, rustproof, and was generally inexpensive. However, asbestos also has health risks, as the toxic fibers can easily break off through normal wear and tear. If these fibers are inhaled, they often become lodged in the lining of the lungs and result in the development of mesothelioma.

Current Events

Honeywell is currently a major American multinational conglomerate company. It is a member of the Fortune 500 and employs around 122,000 people around the world. Unfortunately, though, the company has had its share of asbestos-related issues.

Honeywell owned NARCO from 1979 to 1986. This subsidiary manufactured numerous asbestos-containing products, which eventually led the company into bankruptcy protection in 2002 after having asbestos-related lawsuits filed against them.

Honeywell has reached an agreement with about 90 percent of the claims that have been filed against NARCO. The agreement allows the company to set up a trust to pay for current and future asbestos lawsuits, and if approved, the trust will set aside $900 million to cover the liabilities.