Abex Corporation / American Brake Shoe: Asbestos Products and Trust Fund Information

Abex Corporation, originally founded in 1902 as American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company, was one of the United States’ leading manufacturers of friction materials for more than seven decades. Operating under various corporate names — including American Brake Shoe Company and, eventually, Abex Corporation — the company supplied brake shoes, brake linings, and industrial friction materials to the railroad, automotive, and heavy industrial sectors throughout the twentieth century. Chrysotile asbestos was a primary component of many of these friction products from the early manufacturing era through 1980, when Abex ceased incorporating asbestos into its product lines. Workers across multiple trades and industries who handled or worked near Abex friction products during that period may have sustained occupational asbestos exposure.

The Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust was established to compensate individuals who developed asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to Abex and American Brake Shoe products. That trust remains active and continues to evaluate and pay eligible claims.

Company History

American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company was incorporated in 1902, consolidating several smaller brake manufacturing operations into a single national supplier. From its earliest years, the company focused on cast iron and composite brake shoes designed to meet the demanding requirements of heavy railroad equipment, where reliable stopping power under extreme heat and load conditions was a fundamental engineering requirement.

Over the following decades, the company expanded aggressively into industrial friction materials and automotive brake components. By mid-century, American Brake Shoe had become one of the dominant friction material suppliers in the country, serving major railroads, automotive manufacturers, and heavy equipment operators. The company changed its name to Abex Corporation in the 1960s as part of a broader corporate reorganization and diversification effort that carried its friction material products into new industrial markets.

Abex continued manufacturing asbestos-containing brake and friction products until approximately 1980, when regulatory pressure and growing liability concerns drove the company — along with much of the friction materials industry — to transition to non-asbestos formulations. The company subsequently underwent further corporate restructuring, eventually becoming part of Pneumo Abex LLC, the corporate entity through which asbestos personal injury liabilities were ultimately resolved.

Asbestos-Containing Products

Abex Corporation and its predecessor, American Brake Shoe, manufactured several distinct product lines that contained chrysotile asbestos as a primary ingredient throughout much of the company’s operational history.

American Brake Shoe Locomotive Brake Shoes American Brake Shoe’s core product for the railroad industry was the composite locomotive brake shoe, engineered to withstand the friction and heat generated when stopping heavy freight and passenger trains. These brake shoes incorporated chrysotile asbestos fibers within a composite matrix specifically because of asbestos’s heat resistance, durability, and friction characteristics. Railroad carmen, locomotive engineers, roundhouse workers, and maintenance-of-way employees who installed, inspected, or replaced these brake shoes were regularly exposed to asbestos-containing dust, particularly during grinding and fitting operations.

Abex Industrial Friction Materials Abex supplied friction materials to a broad range of industrial applications, including cranes, hoists, presses, and heavy manufacturing machinery. These materials — in the form of brake blocks, clutch facings, and friction pads — contained asbestos content formulated to deliver consistent performance under high-temperature, high-load operating conditions. Millwrights, maintenance mechanics, and industrial equipment operators who worked with or around Abex friction materials faced repeated exposure during routine maintenance and parts replacement.

Abex Railroad and Automotive Brake Linings In addition to locomotive brake shoes, Abex produced brake linings for railroad rolling stock and for automotive and light truck applications. These linings were bonded or woven asbestos-fiber products designed for use in drum brake systems across multiple vehicle types. Automotive mechanics, railroad car shop workers, and fleet maintenance personnel who drilled, cut, ground, or installed these linings were exposed to airborne asbestos fibers, which can be released in quantity when friction materials are machined or when worn linings are removed from brake assemblies.

The documented asbestos content of these product lines is chrysotile, the most commonly used commercial asbestos fiber type in American friction materials manufacturing during this period.

Occupational Exposure

Asbestos exposure from Abex and American Brake Shoe products was not limited to the company’s own manufacturing employees. Because these products were distributed and installed across a wide range of industries and worksites, exposure occurred throughout the supply and maintenance chain.

Railroad Workers: Locomotive engineers, firemen, carmen, shop mechanics, and roundhouse workers at railroads throughout the United States regularly encountered American Brake Shoe locomotive brake shoes and Abex brake linings. Brake shoe replacement, grinding to fit, and inspection tasks generated asbestos-containing dust in enclosed shop environments where ventilation was often minimal.

Automotive and Fleet Mechanics: Mechanics who serviced vehicles equipped with Abex brake linings — particularly in fleet maintenance shops, independent repair facilities, and dealerships — faced repeated exposure when blowing out brake drums with compressed air, sanding linings, or performing routine brake jobs without respiratory protection.

Industrial Maintenance Workers: In manufacturing plants, steel mills, paper mills, and other heavy industrial settings, millwrights and maintenance mechanics who serviced machinery equipped with Abex friction materials were exposed during installation, adjustment, and replacement of brake blocks and clutch facings.

Bystander Exposure: Workers in close proximity to brake repair and friction material installation tasks — including laborers, helpers, and other tradespeople working in the same shop or on the same floor — may also have been exposed to asbestos dust released during those operations.

The diseases most commonly associated with occupational asbestos exposure include mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart), lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease. These conditions typically have latency periods of 20 to 50 years between first exposure and diagnosis, meaning that workers exposed to Abex products in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s may only be receiving diagnoses today.

The Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust

Abex Corporation’s asbestos liabilities were consolidated through Pneumo Abex LLC, and the Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust was established through bankruptcy proceedings to resolve personal injury claims arising from exposure to asbestos-containing products manufactured or sold by Abex Corporation and American Brake Shoe.

This is an active trust fund, meaning it continues to accept and process claims from individuals who developed asbestos-related diseases from exposure to Abex or American Brake Shoe friction products. The trust operates under a Trust Distribution Procedure (TDP) that governs which diseases qualify for compensation and how claim values are determined.

Qualifying Diseases

Claims to the Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust are evaluated against specific disease categories established in the TDP. Generally compensable conditions include:

  • Mesothelioma
  • Lung cancer (with documented asbestos exposure)
  • Asbestosis
  • Other asbestos-related pleural and pulmonary diseases

Each disease category carries its own evidentiary requirements regarding medical documentation and exposure history.

Documenting Your Exposure

To support a trust claim, claimants or their legal representatives typically need to provide evidence establishing:

  1. Product identification — Documentation or testimony placing Abex or American Brake Shoe products at specific worksites during the claimant’s employment history
  2. Occupational history — Employment records, union records, or affidavits establishing that the claimant worked at locations where Abex products were in use
  3. Medical diagnosis — Pathology reports, imaging studies, and physician statements confirming an asbestos-related disease diagnosis

Co-worker affidavits and site-specific records from railroads, manufacturing facilities, and automotive shops have historically been used to document exposure to Abex and American Brake Shoe products.

How to File a Claim

Claims to the Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust are typically filed through an attorney who specializes in asbestos litigation. The trust does not require claimants to go through active litigation to receive compensation — eligible claimants may submit claims directly to the trust through its established administrative process, provided they meet the disease and exposure criteria set forth in the TDP.

The trust has information available for claimants and their legal representatives, and most experienced asbestos attorneys can file claims simultaneously with multiple trusts if the claimant has documented exposure to products from more than one manufacturer.

If you or a family member worked on railroad equipment, in an automotive repair shop, or in a heavy industrial facility where American Brake Shoe or Abex friction products were in use before 1980, and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or a related condition, you may be eligible to file a claim with the Pneumo Abex LLC Asbestos Settlement Trust.

This trust was specifically created to compensate people harmed by asbestos in Abex and American Brake Shoe products. Compensation through the trust does not require filing a lawsuit, though many claimants pursue trust claims alongside litigation against other responsible parties. Claims can be filed on behalf of living patients or, in the case of someone who has already died from an asbestos-related disease, by surviving family members or estate representatives.

An attorney experienced in asbestos claims can evaluate your exposure history, identify all potentially responsible manufacturers, and manage the filing process with one or more trusts. Many asbestos attorneys work on contingency, meaning there is no cost to pursue a claim unless compensation is recovered.