Opinion ID: 548350
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Products of John Crane, Inc.

Text: 57 Pipefitter Anthony Panfile testified that between 1948 and sometime in the 1960's, he used Crane gaskets and packing on high pressure all-temperature steamlines, vessels, pumps and valves on a plant-wide basis. Fibers would come off a lot of the gaskets when scratched off the flanges. Panfile knew that Plaintiff Beidler repacked valves with Crane packing. 58 Edward J. Brunke, a maintenance foreman at the tire plant, recalled seeing Crane asbestos packing and gaskets from 1957 to 1959 and 1961 to 1964. Pipefitter Harry L. Morgan identified John Crane gaskets and packing, particularly sheet packing, as having been used in the curing area in 1964. Plaintiff Beidler was present. These products were also used in the curing and building areas in 1969 and 1970 and again in the middle 1970's and were used in performing central maintenance in the late 1970's. The sheet packing was used with Plaintiff Beidler in 1969. 59 Pipefitter Carl Janiszewski testified that he had used John Crane spool form graphite impregnated asbestos packing from 1969 to 1980 on a variety of pumps and valves in the tire and chemical plants. A box of John Crane packing indicated that it contained asbestos. He was unable to connect John Crane packing to any of the plaintiffs. 60 Frank Fomado, a maintenance supervisor, testified that John Crane asbestos sheet packing was used to make gaskets in the chemical plant and that he had seen Plaintiff Beidler working with gaskets at that location. 61 John Crane, Inc.'s Response 6 --In addressing the testimony of the product identification witnesses, John Crane, Inc. notes that it is the corporate successor to Crane Packing Company and John Crane-Houdaille, Inc. These companies did sell some packing and gasket materials containing encapsulated asbestos which did not emit respirable fibers. John Crane, Inc. further notes that its products never contained only the identifying word Crane as Crane was the name of a competing corporation which also sold gaskets and packing materials containing asbestos. 62 No plaintiff, other than Beidler, offered evidence relating to exposure to gaskets or packing or mentioned observing dust or airborne debris emanating from gasket or packing products. The purchasing agent for the Firestone plant testified that Firestone purchased no asbestos-containing materials manufactured by the Crane Packing Co. (the name of John Crane, Inc.'s corporate predecessor during the time of Firestone's Pottstown operations). Gasket materials were purchased from several other companies. 63 The testimony of Mr. Janiszewski and Mr. Morgan with regard to John Crane packing did not establish that asbestos-containing packings resulted in emission of airborne dust or debris. Morgan did not know whether the packings which he used contained asbestos. Witnesses Panfile, Brunke and Formado testified to seeing Crane gaskets. Panfile and Brunke did not know whether these Crane materials contained asbestos and Formado conceded that he had been aware that Crane and John Crane, Inc. were separate manufacturers of packings and could not say whose products he had seen at Firestone. Furthermore, none of the plaintiffs involved in John Crane Inc.'s summary judgment motion worked in the chemical plant where Formado had seen Crane products. 64 No product identification witness placed any of the plaintiffs, other than Beidler, in the vicinity of the gaskets. 65