Premises Description

Caterpillar Inc. (founded 1925 by merger of Holt Manufacturing and C.L. Best Tractor; headquartered Peoria IL through 2017 then Deerfield IL) was through the 20th century and remains today the dominant U.S. and global manufacturer of construction equipment, mining equipment, diesel engines, and natural-gas turbines. Caterpillar operated through the asbestos era an extensive network of U.S. plants concentrated in central Illinois including:

  • East Peoria Works (East Peoria IL) — flagship track-type tractor and engine plant
  • Peoria Mapleton Foundry (Mapleton IL) — engine block casting foundry
  • Mossville Engine Plant (Mossville IL) — large diesel engine production
  • Aurora Plant (Aurora IL) — hydraulic excavator plant
  • Decatur IL — large mining truck and equipment plant
  • Boonville Works (Boonville MO) — track-type tractor production (mid-Missouri operation, mentioned in OBLF Leonard-case context as adjacent to Calmar / Realex Lee’s Summit MO area)
  • York PA — engine and components
  • Joliet IL, Mapleton IL, East Peoria IL — additional Illinois operations
  • Pontiac IL — diesel engine plant

The Caterpillar Boonville MO works was through the asbestos era a major mid-Missouri industrial employer and is documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation as a workplace for trade workers and Caterpillar employees during the documented era.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Caterpillar Inc. — as premises owner of its U.S. plants and foundries — exposed its UAW workforce and contractor pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and trade workers to extensive asbestos through foundry refractory, pipe covering, fireproofing, paint-shop insulation, and process gaskets.

Caterpillar Inc. has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • UAW Local members at East Peoria, Mossville, Mapleton, Aurora, Decatur, Boonville, York, and Joliet
  • Refinery pipefitters and millwrights working Caterpillar capital projects
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Caterpillar construction and turnaround crews
  • Boilermakers (IBB Local members) building Caterpillar foundry equipment
  • Construction-trade workforces on Caterpillar EPC projects

If You Worked at a Caterpillar Plant

If you worked at a Caterpillar Inc. construction-equipment plant, engine plant, foundry, or test facility during the asbestos era — including at East Peoria, Mossville, Aurora, Decatur, Boonville MO, or any other Caterpillar U.S. facility — as an employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956