Product and Premises Description

White Motor Corporation (founded 1900 in Cleveland Ohio by Thomas H. White and his sons as an outgrowth of the White Sewing Machine Company; entered automobile manufacturing 1900, transitioned to trucks 1918) was through the 20th century one of the principal U.S. heavy-duty truck manufacturers. White’s product lines included White heavy trucks, White-Freightliner (during Freightliner’s 1951-1977 distribution partnership with White), and — through acquisition — Autocar (1953), Reo (1957), Diamond T (1958), and White Farm Equipment (Oliver, Cockshutt, Minneapolis-Moline, 1960-1963). White filed Chapter 11 in 1980; the truck business was acquired by Volvo in 1981 (Volvo White Truck Corporation, later Volvo Trucks North America), and the farm-equipment business by AGCO.

Product-vector pathways Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation:

  • Asbestos brake linings on White heavy-truck brake shoes supplied by Bendix, Raybestos, Abex, and other OEM friction manufacturers
  • Asbestos clutch facings on White heavy-truck driveline components
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing on White diesel and gasoline truck engines
  • Asbestos exhaust manifold gaskets, heat shields, and exhaust insulation on White truck exhaust systems
  • Asbestos brake linings and clutch facings on Oliver, Cockshutt, and Minneapolis-Moline farm tractors

Premises-vector pathways at White manufacturing plants:

  • Cleveland OH — historic White East 79th Street plant and later East 152nd Street plant
  • New River Valley VA (Dublin/Radford) — White truck assembly (later Volvo Trucks)
  • Kelly Springfield OH — Reo Motor Truck plant (Lansing MI)
  • Chicago IL — Diamond T assembly
  • Exton PA / Ardmore PA — Autocar heavy truck assembly

At each site Plaintiffs alleged extensive asbestos pipe covering on plant steam and process piping, asbestos refractory in heat-treat furnaces and paint-bake ovens, asbestos block insulation on plant boilers, asbestos gaskets and packing at process equipment, and asbestos electrical insulation on plant motor and switchgear systems.

White Motor Corporation (and its successors in liability, including Volvo Trucks North America and AGCO) has been named as a Manufacturer Defendant and Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • UAW Local members at White Cleveland OH, New River Valley VA, and successor plants
  • Truck mechanics servicing White heavy-truck brake linings, clutches, engines, and exhaust systems
  • Brake mechanics working White heavy-truck brake systems
  • Farm equipment workers at Oliver, Cockshutt, and Minneapolis-Moline plants under White Farm Equipment
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on White construction and turnaround crews
  • Construction-trade workforces on White capital projects

If You Worked With White Trucks or at a White Plant

If you worked with White heavy-truck brake linings, clutches, engines, or exhaust systems during the asbestos era — or worked at a White Motor Corporation manufacturing plant — 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