Nordberg Manufacturing Company and Asbestos-Containing Products

Company History

Nordberg Manufacturing Company was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based industrial manufacturer with a long history of producing heavy machinery for the mining, construction, and industrial processing sectors. The company built a reputation over several decades for engineering large-scale equipment including rock crushers, diesel engines, mining hoists, and a range of industrial pumps and related machinery. Nordberg’s customer base spanned some of the most demanding industrial environments in the United States, including hard-rock mining operations, quarrying sites, ore processing plants, and large-scale construction projects.

During the mid-twentieth century, Nordberg’s equipment was commonly found on jobsites where heat management, vibration control, and fluid handling were critical operational concerns. Like many American industrial manufacturers of the era, Nordberg sourced and incorporated materials that were standard in the industry at the time — including asbestos-containing components in gaskets, insulation, and sealing materials used in pump and mechanical systems.

Nordberg continued manufacturing industrial equipment through much of the twentieth century before eventually being absorbed through a series of corporate acquisitions. The company’s operational history as an independent manufacturer effectively wound down as the industrial equipment sector underwent significant consolidation beginning in the latter decades of the 1900s. According to available records, Nordberg’s use of asbestos-containing materials in its equipment is believed to have continued through approximately the early 1980s, consistent with broader industry transitions away from asbestos following increased regulatory scrutiny and the implementation of federal exposure standards.

Asbestos-Containing Products

According to asbestos litigation records, Nordberg’s pump-related equipment was among the product categories identified in exposure claims brought by workers who alleged contact with asbestos-containing materials during the course of their employment.

Industrial pumps of the type manufactured by Nordberg and in use throughout the mid-twentieth century routinely incorporated asbestos in several functional components. Court filings document allegations that the following types of components — associated with Nordberg pump equipment — contained or were used in conjunction with asbestos-containing materials:

  • Pump packing and shaft seals: Braided asbestos packing was widely used in industrial pump assemblies to prevent fluid leakage around rotating shafts. Plaintiffs alleged that this packing material, when installed, adjusted, or removed, released asbestos fibers into the breathing zones of workers.
  • Gaskets and flange gaskets: Compressed asbestos sheet gaskets were standard components in pump assemblies, used to create fluid-tight seals at pipe connections and pump housings. According to asbestos litigation records, workers who cut, trimmed, or replaced these gaskets were potentially exposed to airborne asbestos dust.
  • Insulation blankets and block insulation: Where pump systems were integrated into high-temperature processing environments, asbestos insulation materials were frequently applied to adjacent piping and equipment housings. Court filings document allegations that workers performing maintenance on or near such insulated systems encountered asbestos-containing materials.
  • Thermal insulation on pump casings: In applications involving heated fluids or steam, pump casings were sometimes wrapped with asbestos-containing insulation to reduce heat loss and protect workers from burn hazards — materials that could deteriorate and become friable over time.

It should be noted that some asbestos-containing components associated with Nordberg equipment were manufactured and supplied by third-party materials vendors rather than by Nordberg itself. Plaintiffs alleged, however, that the equipment as delivered or as maintained in service regularly brought workers into contact with asbestos-containing materials, whether original to the unit or installed during maintenance and repair operations.

Occupational Exposure

Workers who operated, maintained, or repaired Nordberg pump equipment during the period spanning roughly the 1940s through the early 1980s may have experienced occupational asbestos exposure. The industries in which Nordberg equipment was most heavily deployed — mining, mineral processing, heavy construction, and industrial manufacturing — are among those with well-documented histories of elevated asbestos exposure among the workforce.

Court filings document allegations from a range of trades and occupational categories in connection with Nordberg equipment:

  • Pump mechanics and millwrights who regularly disassembled, repacked, and reassembled industrial pump units as part of routine maintenance
  • Pipefitters and steamfitters who worked at the connections between pump systems and process piping, handling gaskets and packing materials
  • Insulators who applied and removed thermal insulation on and around pump systems in industrial facilities
  • Mine workers and ore plant operators who worked in proximity to Nordberg crushing, hoisting, and pumping equipment in underground and surface mining environments
  • Industrial maintenance workers employed at processing facilities, power plants, and manufacturing operations where Nordberg equipment was in service

Plaintiffs alleged that exposure occurred not only during active maintenance tasks but also as a result of the general deterioration of asbestos-containing materials over time in industrial environments. As pump packing and gaskets aged and degraded, or as insulation materials were disturbed through vibration and routine operational stress, asbestos fibers could be released into the surrounding air without any deliberate maintenance activity taking place.

According to asbestos litigation records, the dusty conditions common in many of the environments where Nordberg equipment operated — including mine headframes, concentrator buildings, and heavy industrial plants — may have compounded overall asbestos fiber concentrations, making individual source attribution difficult in some cases.

Asbestos-related diseases associated with occupational exposure of this type include mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, and pleural disease. These conditions are typically characterized by long latency periods, often spanning twenty to fifty years between initial exposure and clinical diagnosis.

Nordberg does not have an established asbestos bankruptcy trust fund. As of the time of publication, Nordberg Manufacturing Company has not undergone the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process that results in the creation of an asbestos personal injury trust — the mechanism through which many former asbestos product manufacturers now compensate claimants.

Litigation involving Nordberg has been pursued through the civil court system. According to asbestos litigation records, claims have been filed against Nordberg in connection with asbestos exposure alleged to have occurred through use of the company’s pump equipment and related industrial machinery. Plaintiffs alleged that the company knew or should have known of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing components in its products and failed to adequately warn workers of those risks.

Because no trust fund exists for Nordberg, individuals seeking compensation for asbestos-related illness connected to this equipment must pursue claims through direct litigation rather than through a trust claims process. The viability, timing, and procedural requirements of such claims vary based on jurisdiction, the specific circumstances of exposure, diagnosis, and other legal factors. An attorney experienced in asbestos litigation can assess whether a claim involving Nordberg equipment may be viable alongside claims against other manufacturers or suppliers whose asbestos-containing products were present at the same jobsite.

It is also worth noting that in many industrial exposure scenarios, multiple manufacturers’ products were present simultaneously. Workers who encountered Nordberg equipment may have also been exposed to asbestos-containing products from insulation manufacturers, gasket suppliers, and other equipment makers — some of whom do have active trust funds. A thorough occupational history review is often necessary to identify the full scope of potential exposure sources and corresponding legal options.

Workers who were employed in mining, mineral processing, heavy construction, or industrial plant operations and who worked on or near Nordberg pump equipment between the 1940s and early 1980s may have grounds to pursue an asbestos-related legal claim if they have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related condition.

Because Nordberg does not have an asbestos trust fund, claims would proceed through civil litigation rather than an administrative trust claims process. However, many individuals with Nordberg exposure histories also have concurrent exposure histories involving manufacturers that do maintain active trust funds, potentially allowing for recovery from multiple sources.

If you or a family member has a diagnosis connected to industrial asbestos exposure and a work history involving Nordberg equipment, consulting with an attorney who specializes in asbestos personal injury claims is an important first step. These attorneys can evaluate the full occupational exposure record, identify all potentially responsible parties — including those with trust funds — and advise on the options available under applicable law.