Foster Wheeler
Foster Wheeler began 1927 as a merger between two companies - Wheeler Condenser & Engineering Company, which made heat exchangers, pumps, and steam condensers for power plants and marine companies, and Power Specialty Company, which made boilers and super heaters. The company’s fortunes rose and fell over the following decades, becoming a leading manufacturer of boilers for the armed forces and other industries. Foster Wheeler reached a pinnacle in the 1970s, after it reorganized itself into a holding company with multiple subsidiaries in the energy project management and equipment manufacturing.
But their success did not last long and due to overbuilding, the company's profits slumped. Foster Wheeler devised new strategies for its survival, including composting, recycling and waste-to-energy plants.
Foster Wheeler and asbestos
Due to Foster Wheeler’s heavy use of asbestos in its boilers and other products, the company has had its share of legal issues. In 1996 the company recorded an asbestos charge of $24 million before taxes which was meant to pay the estimated amount of litigation not covered by insurance. Foster Wheeler has paid out asbestos claims from this fund as recently as 2008, when a San Francisco jury awarded over $2 million to a family of a former Navy boiler tender who passed away from
mesothelioma.
Occupations at risk for
asbestos exposure and mesothelioma from working at Foster Wheeler or with their products include boilermakers and boiler-repair workers. If you or anyone you know worked with Foster Wheeler boilers, you may be at risk of developing mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases. But you do have rights under
asbestos law. Contact a
mesothelioma attorney today for a free case consultation.