Johns Manville history

By 1868, he had moved operations out of the basement and was on his way to success with the award of his first patent for an asbestos product – the foundation for Johns Manville’s business for the next 100 years.

Henry Ward Johns started experimenting with asbestos in 1879, at age 21.

Likewise, in 1885, the Manville Covering Company was founded in Wisconsin by C. B. Manville.

Over the next 40 years, until his death in 1898 of dust phthisis pneumonitis, believed to be asbestosis, Johns discovered a number of the applications of asbestos, which became known as the mineral of a thousand uses.

In 1901, H.W. Johns and Manville merged to create H.W. Johns-Manville (JM), a corporation engaged primarily in the mining, manufacturing, and supply of asbestos fibers and products to industry and the government.

In 1924, he became chairman; H.E. Manville was elected president and T.F. Manville, Jr. joined the board of directors.

In 1926, the company was renamed Johns-Manville Corporation.

In 1927, doctors identified lung damage from asbestos as a disease.

In 1929, 11 workers sued Johns Manville for asbestos exposure.

In 1930, H.E. Manville was named chairman of the executive committee and L.H. Brown became president.

British studies concurrent with Lanza's encouraged Parliament to pass legislation to protect asbestos workers in 1931.

In 1932, a maintenance worker in a federal hospital filed an asbestosis claim that resulted in the first disability award.

Vandiver Brown, who served as Manville's vice-president, corporate secretary, and chief attorney, wrote Lanza to request changes in his report. Based on his findings, in late 1933 Lanza recommended that JM perform dust counts at its plants.

Beginning in 1936, JM and nine other asbestos companies funded a study of the effects of asbestos on animals.

James Cavett worked as a boilermaker for 40 years beginning in 1939.

The year 1940 was significant as the first year in which the name Manville did not appear in the list of company officers.

In 1943, Samac Laboratory in New York confirmed the link between asbestos and cancer.

In 1944, workers from the Asbestos and Magnesia Materials Company, a subcontractor at the Consolidated Steel Shipyard in Orange, Texas, installed Johns Manville insulation.

The government mandated that asbestos products be used to insulate Navy vessels in 1945, and the company produced many of these items.

Gardner died in 1946 before formally reporting his findings.

In 1947, JM signed the first in a series of policies with the Travelers Insurance Company, the company's insurers for the next 30 years.

In 1948, L.H. Brown became chairman of the board, while R.W. Lea was named president.

In 1949, the Canadian branch of the corporation was involved in the Asbestos Strike at its mines in Asbestos, Canada.

In 1951, John A. McKinney joined the company as a patent lawyer; he was to become president 25 years later.

By 1952, the staff included Fred L. Pundsack, Chester E. Shepperly, Monroe Harris, and Chester J. Sulewski, all of whom, along with McKinney, figured prominently in the bankruptcy court protection program some 30 years later.

In 1958, JM acquired L-O-F Glass Fibers Company, which then became known as the Manville Sales Corporation.

In 1963, Doctor I.J. Selikoff of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York reported to the American Medical Association the findings of his study of the effects of asbestos on workers.

In 1964, for the first time, JM agreed to place warning labels on its products.

Goodwin began counseling JM in June 1968.

By 1969, Burnett, now 62, and the board of directors were looking for solutions to two problems: JM's slow growth over the preceding ten years and the lack of an heir apparent to succeed the president when he retired.

1973: The company and its co-defendants are found guilty of contributory negligence in asbestos-related litigation.

In 1974, JM's international division, with 22 plants and four mines in 12 countries and sales offices worldwide, generated 32 percent of corporate net profit on 14 percent of gross sales.

On September 1, 1976, Goodwin, Francis May, and other aides flew in and were met by John A. McKinney, a senior vice-president and the company's top legal officer by this time.

In May 1977, McKinney was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer.

Manville and certain of its subsidiaries file (individually) for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

In January 1979, JM completed its acquisition of Olinkraft Inc., a $447 million forest-products company, for about $600 million.

As of December 31, 1981, Manville was a defendant or co-defendant in approximately 9,300 asbestos suits brought by 12,800 individuals.

In 1982, five juries awarded more than $3 million to Johns Manville plaintiffs.

Concurrently, Manville left the asbestos business, selling its last plant in 1985.

Leon Silverman, court-appointed attorney for unknown future asbestos claimants, helped orchestrate the final reorganization plan, filed on February 14, 1986.

Profits doubled in 1987 to a record $164 million.

Johns Manville created a $2.5 billion trust in 1988 to compensate people exposed to their asbestos products.

In September 1990, Manville agreed to add up to $520 million to the asbestos fund during the next seven years.

During 1991, the firm adopted a holding company structure with two main business units.

Manville Sales Corporation--renamed Schuller International Group Inc. in 1992--oversaw its fiberglass operations and Manville Forest Products operated the company's forest products business.

In 1993, Schuller entered into an agreement with Owens Corning Fiberglass in which Schuller acquired its commercial and industrial roofing business, while selling its residential roofing business to Owens Corning.

In late 1994, Schuller completes an initial public offering of $400 million senior notes.

The settlement was approved by the District Court in New York in January 1995 and the Trust began paying claims under the new settlement plan in February, 1995.

1996: The company changes its name to Schuller Co.

Schuller announces that the Board voted unanimously to ask the shareholder to approve changing the company's name back to Johns Manville Corporation at annual meeting, May 2, 1997.

As JM pushed forward with its growth plans, the Trust announced in 1999 that it wanted to sell its shares in order to fund the $250 million it was paying in claims each year.

In June 2000, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. agreed to acquire JM for $2.4 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired Johns Manville in 2001, and today, the company produces insulation and construction products without asbestos.

At the end of 2002, the book says, about 250,000 asbestos claims were pending in state and federal courts.

In another court decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order in 2004 for Travelers Insurance to pay $500 million to settle more than 600,000 claims against Johns Manville.

Assisting mesothelioma patients and their loved ones since 2006.

JM announces MultiStar® 264 Roving for Sheet Molding Composites reinforcements comply with Regulation (EC) No 10/2011 (plastics regulation) and is suitable for use in materials and articles intended to be used in contact with food.

Insulate America names JM “2015 Supplier of the Year” for third year in a row; and David Weekley Homes recognizes JM as one of just 15 companies nationwide as a 2015 “Partner of Choice.”

The JM plant in McPherson, Kan., is honored with a 2017 Pollution Prevention (P2) award at the annual Kansas Environmental Conference sponsored by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

JM is also recognized for Excellence in Community Service by the Communitas Awards for its first Global Community Day in 2018.

In 2020, Bob Wamboldt became President and CEO. Mary Rhinehart remained at Chairman.

In February 2021, the trust’s payment percentage was increased to 5.1%, which is relatively common compared to other asbestos trust funds.