The Brauer Supply Company has been providing heating stove and HVAC equipment and accessories, filtration products, fasteners, and operating since 1881. The Missouri-based company began adding asbestos insulation to its products in the 1950s and continued through the late 1970s, exposing many workers to the risk of malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. In the face of significant asbestos liabilities, the company sought bankruptcy protection and was required to set up an asbestos trust fund to compensate those sickened by the products it sold and distributed.
History of Brauer Supply Company and Asbestos Use
The Brauer Supply Company traces its history back to the year 1881 when August G. Brauer recognized that midwestern companies selling cast iron heating stoves were struggling to obtain repair parts; with no other option, they were forced to order parts from a variety of catalogues, pay shipping charges, and then wait for them to arrive before they could help their customers. Brauer had worked as a salesman and manager for one of those companies and then purchased it after the owner died.[1]
After purchasing his former employer’s company, Mr. Brauer expanded, and between that time and 1923, he incorporated in 1907 as A.G. Brauer Supply Company and purchased St. Louis Stove Repair Works. He also became the sales representative for The Charter Oak Stove and Range Company, Bridge and Beach Manufacturing Company, and Bucks Stove and Range Company. In light of the increasing popularity of warm air furnaces, Brauer began selling the parts for that equipment too, and in 1930, Brauer became the first distributor in the United States of the filters that hot-air furnaces needed, and which would become integral to air conditioning systems.[1]
In 1932, August G. Brauer died, and his son Oscar assumed control of the company. Brauer Supply became a national leader in the wholesale HVAC parts industry, distributing heating, air-conditioning, and hot-water equipment plus replacement parts for at least sixty different manufacturers’ heating stoves and water heaters and the fittings, pipes, and parts to make them work.[1]
By the mid-1950s, the company added the insulation division, which led to its future asbestos liabilities. The asbestos-containing insulation that the company added to many products in its line sickened numerous people who worked with the products. The company added fasteners to its product line in 1970 and became a major supplier of rivets, twist drills, self-drilling screws, and other specialty fasteners.[1] The company continued growing over the next decades, expanding its headquarters, warehouse, and distribution space and becoming a supplier of diverse industrial products.
How Did Brauer Supply Use Asbestos in Its Products?
Asbestos was a common component of many parts for HVAC systems, stoves, and other equipment requiring the ability to withstand high heat, flame, and friction. Brauer Supply Company’s inclusion of asbestos in its products exposed thousands of people to the risk of asbestos-related diseases. The asbestos-containing thermal insulation products were included in many products “manufactured, supplied, distributed, handled, fabricated, stored, sold, installed, maintained, repaired, or removed by Brauer or its predecessors.”[2]
Though Brauer was linked to numerous asbestos-containing thermal insulation products, the most significant occupational exposure, as defined by the Brauer Trust, occurred on work sites identified by the company as having received its asbestos-containing products before January 1, 1983. These sites were in the St. Louis area and included:[3]
- A.G. Brauer Supply Co.
- Aluminum Company of America
- Brauer Supply
- Ford Motor Company
- Geigher Pipe Supply Co.
- Granite City Steel
- Great Lakes Carbon Corp.
- Kennard Corporation
- Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co.
- McDonnell Aircraft Corp.
- Municipal Airport
- National Lead Co., Titanium Division
- Roxana Machine Works
- Shell Oil Company
- Shell Petroleum Corp.
- Standard Oil Company
- The Ohio Oil Company
- Union Electric Co.
- Venice Power Plant
Who Was Exposed to Asbestos Because of Brauer Supply Company?
Brauer Supply Company’s products were sold and distributed to companies that worked with thermal insulation and other similar products that contained asbestos. The workers most likely to have suffered occupational exposure to these products included:
- HVAC workers
- Plumbers
Others suffered occupational exposure based on the sites where the products were used those at risk also included:
The Bauer Asbestos Trust Fund
Brauer Supply sold and distributed asbestos-containing products through the 1970s. The company filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on August 22, 2005, saying it said it could no longer manage its asbestos liability. At that time, there were approximately 4,000 asbestos suits filed against the company, and though most had been resolved by that time, Brauer’s management feared that its insurance would not be sufficient to resolve all future asbestos claims, so it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The bankruptcy court approved the company’s amended plan of reorganization in 2006 and established a trust to resolve all present and future asbestos liability. The trust was initially funded with a $250,000 cash contribution from Brauer Supply and a $750,000 promissory note secured by 100% of the shares of the reorganized Brauer Supply, as well as insurance proceeds.
The trust recognizes four disease levels with established scheduled values, average values, and maximum values for each. They are:[2]
- Mesothelioma (Level IV) – $125,000/$145,000/$250,000
- Lung Cancer (Level III) – $30,000/$35,000/$70,000
- Other Cancer (Level II) – $18,000/$21,000/$40,000
- Other Asbestos Disease (Level I) – $2,000/$2,000/$2,000
The trust also allows claimants whose exposure to asbestos is determined to have been at least 75% attributable to asbestos in Brauer products to file an extraordinary claim that, if determined to be valid, may be entitled to an award of up to five times the applicable maximum value. Additionally, the trust fund makes allowances for exigent hardship claims and secondary exposure claims.[3]
How to Seek Compensation After Brauer Supply Company Asbestos Exposure
Brauer Supply Company continued selling asbestos-containing products through the 1970s, and the products remained in place for years after the company discontinued its sales and distribution. That means that many more people who were exposed to its asbestos-containing products may be diagnosed in the future.
If you were employed by Brauer Supply Company or worked in an industry where you were likely to have been exposed to an asbestos-containing product made, sold, or distributed by Brauer Supply, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you’ve suffered. The Brauer Trust Fund has established a highly specific procedure for submitting claims to the fund administrators requiring proof of your medical condition and exposure.
For assistance in submitting a claim to the company’s asbestos trust fund and identifying any other asbestos-containing products to which you may have been exposed, your best resource is an experienced asbestos attorney.
References
View All References
