Celotex

The company was founded in 1920 in Chicago, Illinois as a subsidiary of Philip Carey Corporation, to manufacture its namesake product Celotex insulation board, often called simply Celotex. Celotex is a fiberboard made from bagasse (sugar cane waste after extraction of the juice), first produced in a factory in Marrero, Louisiana, outside of New Orleans.{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Agathine H. |title=Celotex |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27909147/celotex-1935/ |access-date=June 9, 2021 |agency=Tensas Gazette |date=4 Jan 1935}}

In 1932, Celotex Corporation was spun off as an independent company.

In 1961, Jim Walter Corporation, a homebuilding company, acquired Celotex, moving the headquarters to Tampa, Florida in 1965.{{Cite web |title=ftc_volume_decision_90_july_-_december_1977pages_669-769.pdf |url=https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/commission_decision_volumes/volume-90/ftc_volume_decision_90_july_-_december_1977pages_669-769.pdf}}

A $1.2 billion settlement trust was established in 1998 to settle claims arising from asbestos-containing products manufactured by both Celotex and Philip Carey. The claims were filed by workers, former employees, family members and others who developed serious health conditions like mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-25 |title=Celotex - A Century of Deaths - 3 Quarks Daily |url=https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2025/02/celotex-a-century-of-deaths.html#more-273994 |access-date=2025-04-09 |language=en-US}} The litigation revealed that Carey and Celotex had long known about the asbestos-exposure risks but failed to warn workers and the public. Celotex emerged from Chapter 11 in 1996.

The wallboard business was sold to BPB plc, its roofing products business to CertainTeed in 2000, its fiberboard products division along with the Celotex brand to Knight Industries LLC in 2001, and its rigid foam insulation division to the Dow Chemical Company in 2001.{{cite journal |title=Dow acquiring Celotex's rigid foam insulation business |journal=Building Design+Construction |date=August 7, 2001 |url=https://www.bdcnetwork.com/dow-acquiring-celotexs-rigid-foam-insulation-business |access-date=June 9, 2021}}

Celotex moved again, to Saint Petersburg, Florida, in 2001.

In 2012, Saint-Gobain acquired the British manufacturing interests of Celotex.{{cite web |title=Compagnie St-Gobain (COD) |url=https://www.investegate.co.uk/compagnie-st-gobain/rns/acquisition/201206080759009706E/ |website=investegate.co.uk |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609214013/https://www.investegate.co.uk/compagnie-st-gobain/rns/acquisition/201206080759009706E/ |url-status=dead }}

In 2017, a disastrous fire at the Grenfell Tower, London was blamed on exterior cladding manufactured by Celotex-Saint-Gobain.{{Cite news |date=2020-01-27 |title=Inquiry into London's deadly Grenfell fire begins asking who was to blame |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-fire-grenfell-idUSKBN1ZQ1BX |access-date=2022-07-12}} Investigations revealed that Celotex had been aware of the fire risks associated with their products and actively covered up its findings.

As of 2020, the brand name Celotex was owned by Saint-Gobain, which manufactures products under the Celotex brand. This includes products such as insulation boards and insulated plasterboards.{{Cite news |date=2020-10-02 |title=Buy Celotex Online |language=en |url=https://www.tradeinsulations.co.uk/insulation/brands/celotex/ |access-date=2022-10-02}}

• Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
• Cemesto
• Homasote

{{Reflist}}

• [https://archive.org/details/CelotexCompany Brochure: "Celotex Insulating Lumber"] (1923)

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Category:1920 establishments in Illinois

Category:Building materials companies

Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Chicago

Category:Defunct manufacturing companies of the United States

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