IMO Industries Inc.

IMO Industries Incorporated is involved in the design and manufacture of power transmission equipment, rotary pumps, and morse controls. Following decades of prosperity, at the end of the 1990s, the company faced significant financial and operational restructuring as the result of asbestos exposure lawsuits. In 1997, the company was purchased by II Acquisition Corporation, whose management soon afterward implemented a program to reduce costs.

Imo Delaval Incorporated (or as it was renamed, IMO Industries Incorporated) began life in the 1890s when a Swedish inventor produced a single-stage geared turbine in an attempt to power large versions of automated cream separators. In 1896 in the first commercial use of a steam turbine for electric power in the country, the New York Edison Company both imported and installed two De Laval turbines and constructed the first electric generating stations in New York City.

In 1990, an announcement was made that the company would open a new plant in New Jersey that would employ many mechanics in producing engines for steam turbines. At the end of 1902, the company was already producing various products including gears, compressors, and pumps.

During the first World War, the company played a critical role in the production of power-generating equipment for the United States Navy. Then, in the 1920s, the company began to focus on power generation and marine sales. The company weathered various financial setbacks during the Great Depression.

In the 1930s, the company purchased a license to sell displacement pumps. Pump orders expanded greatly in 1939 as the U.S. Navy began to ramp up efforts for the second World War. Its research and development efforts continued through the 1950s.

Due to financial difficulties, in 1962 an investment group run by the Lehman Brothers became owners of the company, which had recently changed its name to De Laval Turbine Company. The Lehman Brothers were able to locate a purchaser for the company in TransAmerica Corporation, which was a large finance and insurance firm. TransAmerica then merged General Metals and all of its industrial holdings including the company into one manufacturing wing in 1964 called De Laval.

In 1971, the company moved its corporate offices to another New Jersey Location to accommodate growth. Starting in the 1970s, company growth involved global outreach to parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands among other locations.

The company was formed as a public company in 1986 after the TransAmerica Corporation acquired the De Laval Steam Turbine Company. Starting in the late 1980s, the company began to purchase various companies in industries related to IMO’s service and product line

The company’s earnings in the 1990s were disappointing. Also during the 1990s, company efforts were focused on increasing the company’s competitive advantage through marketing and manufacturing. In 1992, the company utilized a strategy to reduce its outstanding debt and sold its Delaval Turbine and TurboCare wing in addition to other parts of the company.

In the years, IMO Industries has been named as a potentially responsible party in hazardous waste dumpage by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Also in the years since, lawsuits against the company involving asbestos exposure were filed by approximately 7,000 people. Unable to face these worsening financial challenges, the company was purchased by II acquisition in 1997. New management was brought to the company the same year.

Following its acquisition, the company is still routinely named in both mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lawsuits. The company acquired insurance worth over $1 billion to cover these costs. One lawsuit brought by the company pursuing better coverage showed that the company spent $72 million on the litigation of asbestos exposure lawsuits between 1986 to 2014. The company still faces asbestos litigation. Unlike other companies that have created asbestos compensation trusts, IMO continues to pay for these lawsuits directly and through insurance.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos manufactured by IMO Industries or another company, you should not hesitate to speak with an experienced attorney. Contact the Throneberry Law Group today to schedule a free case evaluation.