Rexnord Corporation Milwaukee Plant Asbestos Exposure

If You Worked at Rexnord Milwaukee and Now Have Mesothelioma or Lung Cancer, You May Deserve Compensation

⚠️ CRITICAL WISCONSIN FILING DEADLINE WARNING

Wisconsin’s statute of limitations for mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer claims is three years from the date of diagnosis — not the date of exposure — under Wis. Stat. § 893.54. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, that three-year clock is already running. Missing this deadline permanently eliminates your right to compensation in Wisconsin civil court, no matter how strong your case.

Asbestos bankruptcy trust fund claims may not carry the same hard filing deadline — but trust fund assets are finite and are being depleted every day that claims are paid to other victims. Waiting does not preserve your options. It reduces them.

Wisconsin law allows you to pursue both a civil lawsuit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and asbestos trust fund claims simultaneously. An experienced Wisconsin asbestos attorney can file on both tracks at once — but only if you act before the court deadline expires.

Call a mesothelioma lawyer Wisconsin today. Every day you wait is a day closer to losing rights that cannot be recovered.

Generations of pipefitters, insulators, boilermakers, and maintenance workers kept the Rexnord Corporation Milwaukee Plant running. Decades later, many learned that the facility’s everyday materials may have contained asbestos fibers. If you or a family member may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials while working at this plant and has since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer, you may have a right to substantial financial compensation. Wisconsin law provides specific legal pathways — including the right to file simultaneously in Milwaukee County Circuit Court and against asbestos bankruptcy trust funds — that an experienced asbestos cancer lawyer Milwaukee can pursue on your behalf. Do not wait: Wisconsin’s three-year filing deadline under Wis. Stat. § 893.54 runs from the date of diagnosis, and it will not pause while you deliberate. Contact a Wisconsin asbestos attorney now.

What Was the Rexnord Corporation Milwaukee Plant?

History: From Falk Corporation to Rexnord Industrial Operations

The Milwaukee industrial complex associated with the Rexnord name has deep roots in Wisconsin manufacturing history:

Founded as Falk Corporation in 1892 on Milwaukee’s west side near Menomonee Valley — a corridor that made Milwaukee one of the great industrial cities of the Midwest
Major producer of geared drives, fluid couplings, and mechanical power equipment serving mining, steel, pulp and paper, and marine industries across the Great Lakes region
Acquired by Rexnord Incorporated in 1977 — an industrial conglomerate producing chain, conveyor components, and industrial machinery
Operated under various corporate ownership structures, including periods under Invensys
Employed thousands of Milwaukee workers until 2016–2017, when Rexnord relocated manufacturing jobs to Indiana — a relocation that drew national attention and political controversy

The Rexnord/Falk plant was part of a dense cluster of heavy industrial employers in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley and west side corridor. Nearby contemporaries included Allis-Chalmers in West Allis, A.O. Smith on Milwaukee’s north side, and Allen-Bradley in Milwaukee — meaning many workers moved between these facilities over the course of careers, and asbestos-containing materials from the same manufacturers and suppliers may have allegedly appeared across all of them.

For occupational asbestos exposure purposes, the critical window spans approximately the 1940s through the 1980s — the decades when asbestos-containing materials were most extensively used in American industrial facilities of this type.

What the Plant Manufactured and Where Workers Faced Exposure Risk

The Milwaukee facility encompassed multiple operational areas where asbestos-containing materials are alleged to have been present:

Gear manufacturing and assembly with heavy machine tools, lathes, milling machines, and grinding equipment
Chain manufacturing and sprocket production lines with high-heat industrial processes
Foundry and casting operations associated with Falk-era gear production
Boiler rooms and steam systems serving large manufacturing floor areas
Extensive pipe networks distributing steam, compressed air, and process fluids throughout the plant
Electrical substations and switchgear rooms
Maintenance shops where insulators, pipefitters, and boilermakers performed ongoing repair work
Construction and renovation areas spanning multiple decades

Each of these operational zones reportedly created conditions where asbestos-containing materials may have been present and workers of multiple trades may have been exposed.

Why Asbestos-Containing Materials Were Pervasive in Industrial Plants Like Rexnord Milwaukee

Thermal Insulation for Steam Systems

Large industrial plants like the Rexnord/Falk Milwaukee facility ran on high-pressure steam systems for heating, process applications, and equipment operation. Steam pipes, valves, flanges, and boiler systems operated at temperatures requiring reliable thermal insulation:

From the 1920s through the 1970s, asbestos-containing pipe insulation and block insulation were the industry standard throughout Wisconsin heavy manufacturing
Manufacturers including Johns-Manville, Owens-Illinois, and Owens-Corning produced these materials for their thermal resistance, fire protection, and low cost — and their products were distributed throughout the Milwaukee industrial market
Installation and repair of these systems may have exposed workers directly to asbestos fibers released during cutting, fitting, and application

The same categories of asbestos-containing insulation products that are alleged to have appeared at Rexnord/Falk are documented in litigation records from Allis-Chalmers in West Allis, Allen-Bradley in Milwaukee, and A.O. Smith on Milwaukee’s north side — reflecting the regional distribution networks that supplied Wisconsin industry throughout this era.

Fire Protection Requirements

Manufacturing facilities with flammable materials, electrical systems, and high-heat processes required fire-resistant construction:

Spray-applied fireproofing on structural steel beams and columns
Asbestos-containing fire doors and protective barriers
Furnace and boiler cement incorporating asbestos fibers
Construction practices that may have exposed workers to significant fiber concentrations

Equipment Gaskets and Mechanical Seals

Heavy industrial machinery — including the gear drives, pumps, compressors, and process equipment central to the Milwaukee plant — required reliable sealing at every connection point:

Gaskets, packing material, and seals reportedly manufactured with chrysotile or amosite asbestos fibers by Garlock Sealing Technologies and Johns-Manville
Workers disturbed these components routinely during maintenance and repair cycles
Cutting gaskets from bulk sheet stock released asbestos fibers directly into workers’ breathing zones

Building and Construction Materials

Plant buildings constructed or renovated between the 1940s and early 1970s may have incorporated asbestos-containing materials in:

Floor tiles and vinyl asbestos floor tile
Acoustic ceiling tiles
Roof felts and wall panels
Joint compound and cement board

Asbestos-Containing Products Allegedly Present at the Milwaukee Plant

Based on the types of operations conducted at this facility, the construction era, and product distribution patterns documented in Wisconsin litigation and historical records, multiple categories of asbestos-containing products are alleged to have been used at the Rexnord/Falk Milwaukee Plant.

Pipe Insulation and Block Insulation

Pipe covering and block insulation — used on steam lines, condensate returns, and process piping throughout the facility — was among the primary sources of asbestos fiber release in industrial settings. These products were distributed throughout the Wisconsin and Great Lakes industrial market by manufacturers including:

Johns-Manville pipe insulation products
Owens-Illinois (Kaylo brand) pipe and block insulation
Owens-Corning insulation products
Armstrong World Industries insulation materials
Combustion Engineering insulation products

Workers who cut, shaped, fit, and applied pipe insulation — and bystander workers in the same areas — may have been exposed to airborne asbestos fibers released during these activities.

Boiler Insulation and Refractory Materials

Industrial boilers at the Milwaukee plant are alleged to have been insulated with asbestos-containing materials, including:

Block insulation for boiler walls and casing systems
Asbestos-containing cement and refractory products
Blanket and mat insulation for high-temperature boiler components

Manufacturers whose products appear in boiler insulation documentation from Wisconsin industrial facilities of this period include Johns-Manville, Eagle-Picher, and Combustion Engineering.

Boiler repair and reblocking — performed by boilermakers and insulators — generated some of the highest airborne fiber concentrations documented in occupational hygiene research. Members of Boilermakers Local 107, which represented workers at Milwaukee-area heavy industrial facilities including operations in the Menomonee Valley corridor, reportedly performed this work at facilities of this type.

Insulating Cement and Finishing Cement

Pipe and equipment insulation systems were reportedly finished with asbestos-containing materials:

Insulating cement mixed with water and applied by hand over primary insulation
Finishing cement (hard-set cement) completing the system
Hand application and troweling generated direct, high-concentration dust exposure

Products from manufacturers including Johns-Manville and Pabco are documented in Wisconsin industrial facility records from this era.

Gaskets, Packing, and Mechanical Seals

Throughout the plant’s piping systems and machinery, asbestos-containing sealing materials are alleged to have been routinely used and disturbed:

Sheet gaskets cut to size at pipe flanges and valve connections
Compression packing at pump shafts and valve stems
Valve packing materials requiring routine replacement during maintenance

Products from Garlock Sealing Technologies, Johns-Manville, and Crane Co. were widely used in Wisconsin industrial facilities during this era. Cutting gaskets from bulk sheet stock — a routine maintenance task performed by members of Pipefitters Local 601 and other Milwaukee trades — released asbestos fibers directly into workers’ breathing zones.

Asbestos-Containing Floor Tiles and Ceiling Tiles

Office areas, break rooms, and portions of the plant floor may have contained building materials with asbestos fibers:

Vinyl asbestos floor tiles (VAT) in office and administrative areas
Asbestos-containing acoustic ceiling tiles in offices and some plant areas
Removal or disturbance of damaged tiles potentially releasing fibers into occupied spaces

Armstrong World Industries and Johns-Manville are among the manufacturers documented to have produced these products for the Wisconsin commercial and industrial market.

Thermal Insulation on Mechanical Equipment

Gear drives, couplings, and process equipment associated with heat-intensive operations may have been insulated with asbestos-containing materials:

Asbestos cloth and tape for wrapping and insulation
Asbestos blanket products for equipment protection
Asbestos string and braided products used in thermal management

Johns-Manville and Owens-Corning are among the manufacturers documented to have produced these products.

Spray-Applied Fireproofing

Structural steel in plant buildings constructed or renovated before approximately 1973 — when OSHA began imposing stricter asbestos controls — may have been protected with spray-applied fireproofing:

Spray-applied asbestos fireproofing applied to steel beams and columns is associated with some of the highest airborne fiber concentrations recorded in occupational hygiene research
W.R. Grace produced these materials, and its products are documented in similar Wisconsin industrial facilities from this period

Which Trades and Workers May Have Been Exposed?

High-Risk Occupations at the Rexnord/Falk Milwaukee Plant

Multiple occupational groups performed work at the Rexnord/Falk Milwaukee Plant that may have placed them in direct proximity to asbestos-containing materials. The trades below faced the greatest documented risk based on the nature of their work and the materials reportedly present at facilities of this type.

Many of these workers were members of Milwaukee-area union locals whose members moved regularly between the city’s major industrial employers — including Rexnord/Falk, Allis-

Rexnord Corporation Milwaukee Plant