Asbestos Exposure at PCMC Green Bay

Why You Need an Asbestos Attorney Wisconsin After Working at PCMC

Paper Converting Machine Company — widely known as PCMC — operated for decades as one of Green Bay, Wisconsin’s largest industrial employers. If you or someone you love worked at PCMC and has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, consulting a mesothelioma lawyer Wisconsin is not optional — it is the single most important step you can take to protect your family’s financial future.

Workers at PCMC may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials throughout the facility’s manufacturing operations from the 1930s through the 1980s. An asbestos attorney Wisconsin who handles occupational disease claims can investigate your work history, identify responsible manufacturers, and pursue claims against multiple defendants simultaneously — including manufacturers of asbestos-containing products, the facility itself, and active asbestos trust funds, which can be pursued at the same time as a civil lawsuit.

⚠️ CRITICAL WISCONSIN FILING DEADLINE

Wisconsin law gives mesothelioma and asbestos disease victims exactly three years from the date of diagnosis to file a civil lawsuit. This deadline is established under Wis. Stat. § 893.54 and is strictly enforced. Miss it, and you permanently lose your right to recover compensation — regardless of how strong your case is. Call a mesothelioma lawyer Wisconsin today. Do not assume you have more time.

Asbestos bankruptcy trust fund claims can be filed simultaneously with civil lawsuits in Wisconsin, and most trusts do not impose a strict filing deadline. But trust assets are actively depleting as thousands of victims file claims every year. Every day you delay is a day closer to reduced recoveries.

What Was PCMC? Industrial History and Operations

Founding and Growth

PCMC was founded in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1919, growing from a small machine shop into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paper converting and packaging machinery. The company produced:

Tissue and toweling machinery
Bag and pouch converting equipment
Label printing machinery
Flexible packaging systems
Associated auxiliary equipment

This equipment was distributed globally and installed in paper mills, printing facilities, and packaging plants throughout North America and internationally.

Facility Infrastructure and Asbestos Exposure Wisconsin

For most of the twentieth century, PCMC operated a large-scale manufacturing campus in Green Bay, employing hundreds of skilled tradespeople across multiple shifts and production areas. The facility ran steam lines, boilers, furnaces, machine presses, metal fabrication shops, and precision manufacturing operations — the exact industrial profile associated with widespread asbestos-containing materials use during the mid-twentieth century.

PCMC was later acquired by Barry-Wehmiller Companies, and the facility has changed substantially over the decades. But buildings and infrastructure constructed during the peak asbestos-use era — roughly the 1930s through the mid-1970s — reportedly contained asbestos-containing materials that created ongoing exposure risks during renovation, repair, maintenance, and bystander contact long after initial installation.

Across Wisconsin’s industrial corridor, large manufacturing facilities including Allen-Bradley in Milwaukee, Allis-Chalmers in West Allis, Falk Corporation in Milwaukee, and A.O. Smith in Milwaukee reportedly used asbestos-containing materials extensively during the same era — a pattern that defined mid-century industrial manufacturing from Green Bay to Milwaukee County.

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Allegedly Used at PCMC

Asbestos-containing materials appeared in virtually every American industrial manufacturing facility throughout the twentieth century because of specific functional properties:

Thermal insulation — required for steam pipes, boilers, furnaces, and heated machinery
Fire resistance — mandated under early industrial safety codes and insurance standards
Durability and tensile strength — useful in gaskets, packing materials, and machine components
Electrical insulation — applied in switchgear, electrical panels, and wiring systems
Sound dampening — used in large machinery enclosures and mechanical systems
Low cost — asbestos-containing products were substantially cheaper than non-asbestos alternatives

At a facility like PCMC — which operated large industrial boilers, steam heating systems, metal fabrication equipment, and precision machine tools — use of asbestos-containing materials across multiple building systems and equipment components was reportedly standard practice from the 1930s onward.

This pattern was consistent with industrial practice throughout northeastern Wisconsin’s manufacturing economy, where paper mills, metal fabricators, and heavy equipment manufacturers all reportedly relied on the same categories of asbestos-containing insulation, gasket, and fireproofing products during this period.

OSHA began implementing asbestos exposure standards in the 1970s. The EPA began regulating asbestos removal under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) in the 1980s. Only after those regulatory frameworks took hold did use of these materials slow and abatement begin — meaning workers at PCMC during the intervening decades may have worked without adequate warning or protection.

Timeline: Alleged Asbestos-Containing Materials Use at PCMC

Pre-1940s Through 1950s

Construction and expansion of PCMC’s manufacturing facilities may have incorporated asbestos-containing building materials into the facility’s core infrastructure, including:

Pipe insulation and boiler lagging reportedly manufactured by Johns-Manville Corporation
Floor tiles and ceiling tiles produced by Armstrong World Industries
Spray-applied fireproofing on structural steel
Thermal insulation around furnaces and heat exchangers from Owens-Illinois

The same Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois product lines allegedly used at PCMC during this period were reportedly distributed throughout Wisconsin’s industrial sector, appearing at facilities including Allis-Chalmers in West Allis and Falk Corporation in Milwaukee during the same era.

1950s Through 1960s

As PCMC expanded manufacturing capacity, heating, ventilation, and mechanical systems may have been maintained and upgraded using asbestos-containing insulation products. Workers performing routine maintenance — replacing gaskets manufactured by Garlock Sealing Technologies, repairing steam lines, servicing boilers — may have disturbed asbestos-containing materials regularly during this period.

During this era, skilled tradespeople from Green Bay-area union locals — including members of Boilermakers Local 107, IBEW Local 494, Asbestos Workers Local 19, and Pipefitters Local 601 — may have worked at PCMC on installation, maintenance, and construction projects. Trade union members frequently moved between multiple industrial job sites throughout their careers, potentially accumulating asbestos exposure across several Wisconsin facilities — a fact that is legally significant when building a mesothelioma case.

Late 1960s Through Mid-1970s

Growing scientific and regulatory awareness of asbestos hazards did not immediately change workplace practices at most industrial facilities. Workers at PCMC during this era may have continued encountering asbestos-containing materials without adequate warning or respiratory protection — even as manufacturers of those products already knew the risks.

Mid-1970s Through 1980s

Following OSHA’s initial asbestos regulations, facilities like PCMC began transitioning away from asbestos-containing materials in new construction and maintenance work. But existing asbestos-containing materials installed in prior decades remained in place, creating ongoing exposure risks during maintenance, repair, and renovation — often without proper identification or abatement protocols.

1980s Through 2000s

EPA regulations governing asbestos abatement under the NESHAP program required identifying and properly removing asbestos-containing materials before demolition or renovation. PCMC may have generated NESHAP notifications and abatement records documenting the presence and scope of asbestos-containing materials in the facility’s infrastructure (per NESHAP abatement records where available).

Asbestos-Containing Products Allegedly Present at PCMC

Thermal Pipe Insulation and Pipe Lagging

Steam-heated industrial facilities like PCMC relied on asbestos-containing pipe insulation — commonly called pipe lagging — to insulate steam lines, condensate return lines, hot water pipes, and other thermal systems throughout the building. This insulation was typically manufactured in pre-formed sections fitted around pipes, wrapped with canvas, and secured with wire.

Major suppliers of asbestos-containing insulation to Wisconsin industrial facilities:

Johns-Manville Corporation — one of the largest producers of asbestos-containing insulation products in the United States. Their pipe covering, block insulation, and cement products were widely distributed to Wisconsin industrial facilities and may have been present at PCMC. The same Johns-Manville product lines were reportedly used at Allen-Bradley, Allis-Chalmers, and Falk Corporation during the same decades.
Owens-Illinois (later Owens Corning) — major manufacturer of asbestos-containing thermal insulation products distributed nationally during the mid-twentieth century
Eagle-Picher — producer of asbestos-containing thermal insulation materials supplied to industrial facilities throughout the Midwest

Workers at risk: Members of Asbestos Workers Local 19 — the Heat and Frost Insulators local serving the Green Bay and northeastern Wisconsin region — along with independent contractor insulators, pipefitters affiliated with Pipefitters Local 601, and maintenance mechanics who may have cut, fitted, or removed pipe lagging at PCMC may have been exposed to asbestos fiber releases during that work.

Block Insulation

Asbestos-containing block insulation was used extensively around boilers, furnaces, heat exchangers, and other high-temperature equipment at facilities like PCMC. This rigid material required cutting and fitting to match specific equipment geometry — work that reportedly generated substantial quantities of respirable asbestos dust.

Johns-Manville Corporation was a leading manufacturer of asbestos-containing block insulation during this period, with products distributed widely throughout Wisconsin’s industrial sector, including reportedly to Green Bay-area manufacturing facilities. Workers who cut, shaped, or worked in proximity to this material at PCMC may have been exposed to asbestos fibers without their knowledge or adequate protection.

Boiler Insulation and Refractory Materials

PCMC’s industrial boiler systems — which generated steam for heating and manufacturing processes — may have been insulated with asbestos-containing materials applied to boiler shells, doors, and associated piping, including:

Asbestos-containing refractory cements
Boiler lagging products from Johns-Manville and Owens-Illinois
Asbestos-containing insulating board materials

Workers at risk: Members of Boilermakers Local 107 — whose jurisdiction included industrial boiler work in the Green Bay area — who built, maintained, and repaired these systems, along with members of Asbestos Workers Local 19 who may have been called to PCMC for maintenance outages to apply or remove boiler insulation, may have faced particularly high asbestos exposure levels during boiler work. Boilermakers Local 107 members frequently worked across multiple Wisconsin industrial facilities throughout their careers, and cumulative asbestos exposure from multiple job sites is legally relevant to any mesothelioma claim.

Gaskets and Packing Materials

Industrial machinery and piping systems at PCMC may have relied extensively on asbestos-containing gaskets and mechanical packing materials to seal flanged connections, valve stems, and pump shafts. These materials were manufactured from compressed asbestos fiber and could release asbestos dust when compressed, cut to size, or removed during maintenance.

Major manufacturers of asbestos-containing gaskets and packing supplied to Wisconsin industrial facilities:

Garlock Sealing Technologies — major manufacturer of asbestos-containing gasket and seal products distributed to industrial facilities throughout the United States, including reportedly throughout Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector
Flexitallic — producer of asbestos-containing spiral-wound and sheet gasket products
Crane Co. — manufacturer of asbestos-containing valves, fittings, and gasket materials

Workers at risk: Members of Pipefitters Local 601 and millwrights who may have routinely replaced gaskets and valve packing at PCMC may have been regularly exposed to asbestos fiber releases across their careers. Pipefitters Local 601 members frequently worked at multiple industrial facilities across northeastern Wisconsin — including paper mills, power plants, and manufacturing facilities — and cumulative exposure across job sites is legally significant when pursuing mesothelioma claims.

Floor Tiles and Ceiling Tiles

Asbestos-containing vinyl floor tiles and acoustic ceiling tiles were commonly installed in industrial facilities during the mid-twentieth century. Armstrong World Industries was a major producer of both product types and may have supplied materials to PCMC. Asbestos-containing floor and ceiling tiles

PCMC Green Bay