Manufacturer Background

Rockwell Automation, Inc. is the corporate successor to Allen-Bradley Company, one of the principal U.S. manufacturers of motor starters, contactors, circuit breakers, motor controls, and electrical-distribution equipment. Rockwell Automation is named as a defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos litigation including the Duke v. CBS Corporation et al. case (Cause No. 1822-CC00339, City of St. Louis MO) regarding asbestos-bearing components in Allen-Bradley product lines. Per publicly filed allegations, Allen-Bradley motor starters, contactors, and circuit breakers manufactured during the 1950s-1980s asbestos era allegedly incorporated asbestos-filled phenolic arc chutes, asbestos cement board components, asbestos-rope arc-extinguishing components, phenolic-asbestos barrier insulators, Bakelite-type laminate, and asbestos gaskets — components handled by U.S. workers at Allen-Bradley manufacturing plants, at end-user industrial facilities, and during industrial substation and motor-control-center service.

Documented Asbestos-Bearing Products

  • Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley asbestos-filled phenolic arc chutes in motor starters and contactors
  • Allen-Bradley phenolic-molded contactor and breaker housings
  • Allen-Bradley phenolic-laminate barrier insulators in switchgear
  • Asbestos cement board and asbestos rope arc-extinguishing components
  • Asbestos gaskets at electrical-equipment flanges and bushing penetrations
  • Bakelite-type phenolic laminate insulating components

How Workers Were Exposed

Per publicly filed allegations in U.S. asbestos litigation, workers were allegedly exposed to Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley asbestos-bearing components during:

  • Original manufacturing and assembly at Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley plants
  • Industrial installation of Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley components into transformer, pump, valve, electrical-distribution, and process-equipment assemblies
  • Field service, maintenance, and rebuild — including in-service component replacement and overhaul at utility substations, transformer service centers, refineries, power plants, paper mills, and broader industrial facilities
  • Dismantling and decommissioning — removing aged asbestos-bearing components from field equipment
  • Machining, drilling, sawing, and grinding — finishing operations on cured asbestos-bearing components

Workforce Trade Hub

Component Supplier Crosswalk

Workers exposed to Rockwell Automation / Allen-Bradley components at any U.S. transformer plant, service center, utility substation, industrial facility, pump or valve installation, or downstream end-user site may have legal rights if they have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

All consultations are free. No fee unless a financial recovery is made on your behalf.


This information reflects exposure pathways and product documentation drawn from publicly filed asbestos litigation, federal regulatory records, and industry archives. It does not constitute a finding of fact or liability with respect to any specific manufacturer, supplier, or facility operator.