Kentile Floors

Kentile Floors History and Asbestos Legacy

Many remember Kentile Floors for the company’s 8-story sign visible from the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn. When lit up in bright neon purple, the sign could be seen from miles away. Unfortunately, the company also is remembered for using asbestos in a wide range of flooring materials.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Kentile became one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of resilient floor tile and a leading distributor across the country. The company advertised its products in publications like Popular Science and promoted them as durable, greaseproof, and easy to clean. Kentile highlighted asbestos fibers as a selling point, calling them sturdy and heat resistant.

By 1969, Kentile expanded into vinyl sheet flooring, which had asbestos backing that crumbled easily when disturbed. This created serious asbestos exposure risks for workers, homeowners and those who installed or repaired the flooring. Asbestos can lead to serious respiratory conditions including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

Kentile Floors Asbestos Products

Kentile Floors manufactured and sold asbestos products for decades, especially in floor tiles that became common in homes, schools and commercial buildings. The company relied on asbestos for its strength, low cost and heat resistance.

Asbestos-Containing Kentile Flooring Product 

• Kencork cork floor tiles
• KenFlex floor tiles
• Kenlite asphalt vinyl tiles
• Kenrubber rubber floor tiles

Kentile promoted its tiles as durable, greaseproof and easy to clean, often pointing to asbestos fibers as a benefit. While cork tiles themselves likely didn’t contain asbestos, Kentile’s vinyl tiles made to look like cork did. 

Occupations At-Risk for Exposure from Kentile Products

Kentile Floors workers those who worked with the company’s products were at increased risk of asbestos exposure. Occupational asbestos exposure is the leading cause of mesothelioma.

Higher-Risk Occupations 

• Carpenters
• Electricians
• Floor manufacturing facility workers
• Painters
• Plumbers
• Tile installers

Workers outside the flooring trade often faced exposure during demolition, remodeling or floor replacement. Cutting, grinding or breaking Kentile tiles released asbestos fibers into the air, where people could inhale or swallow them. For example, janitors polishing or stripping floors often disturbed the tiles and faced similar risks.

Public Exposure to Kentile Asbestos Floor Tiles

Teachers and students faced exposure risks from Kentile’s asbestos floor tiles in schools. Everyday activities like moving desks, scraping them across worn or damaged tiles could potentially release fibers into the air. These airborne asbestos fibers could then be inhaled or swallowed.

The general public could encounter asbestos fibers in older buildings where Kentile flooring remains in place. Walking on worn or damaged tiles or accidental impacts could release fibers. 

DIY home renovators and hobbyists also risked asbestos exposure. Cutting, sanding or removing tiles during remodeling could release dangerous asbestos fibers in the home. Anyone interacting with these floors should exercise caution and consider professional asbestos removal if they suspect the tiles contain asbestos.

Kentile-Metex Asbestos Trust Development

Facing thousands of asbestos lawsuits from people exposed to its products, Kentile filed for bankruptcy in 1992. The company reorganized as Metex Manufacturing Company in 1998 and assumed Kentile’s asbestos liabilities. Initially, Kentile faced about 20,000 claims, and as Metex, it became responsible for ongoing lawsuits.

In 2014, Metex filed for bankruptcy again with roughly 6,000 active claims. A court approved the Metex Asbestos PI Trust in 2015 to pay both current and future claims while shielding the company from personal injury lawsuits. The trust started with $193 million, and in June 2020, the payment percentage was reduced to 7.25%, a standard level for asbestos trust funds. Payments are adjusted over time to ensure funds remain available for future claimants.

In July 2023, the trust added extra compensation, called a sequencing adjustment, for people who wait a year or more for their payment because of delays in processing. These adjustments apply only to certain types of claims and are based on a capped interest rate. Claims already paid through the courts do not qualify.

By 1969, Kentile was producing vinyl sheet flooring, which is an inexpensive and durable flooring usually cut to the size of a room and installed in one piece. Unfortunately, this type of flooring had friable asbestos backing and posed a high exposure risk if disturbed or damaged.

While Kentile’s cork floor tiles likely do not contain asbestos, vinyl tiles manufactured to look like cork are known to contain the toxic mineral.

Notable Kentile Lawsuits

Kentile Floors had already faced thousands of individual injury claims before filing for bankruptcy in 1992 and reorganizing as Metex Manufacturing Company in 1998. William and Judith Harrell filed their lawsuit after the bankruptcy but before the asbestos trust began paying claims, a period when Metex remained directly responsible for Kentile’s asbestos liabilities.

The Harrells’ lawsuit alleged that asbestos in Kentile flooring contributed to Judith Harrell’s injuries. In August 2010, a jury found Kentile partially responsible for her pain and suffering. The jury determined that asbestos from Kentile products, along with asbestos from Ford Motor Co, ExxonMobil and Georgia-Pacific products, played a role. The award totaled nearly $1.6 million, and Kentile was responsible for 6% of that amount.

This case shows how asbestos exposure from Kentile products harmed people long after installation. Asbestos litigation often involves multiple manufacturers because asbestos was widely used in building materials.

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