A U.S. subsidiary of Ireland’s Trane Technologies PLC has filed for bankruptcy as a way to deal with roughly 100,000 asbestos lawsuits, fearing the personal-injury litigation could otherwise continue for decades, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Aldrich Pump LLC, which has its North American headquarters in Davidson, N.C., said that the chapter 11 strategy centers around creating a trust that would pay “legitimate” asbestos claims, including from people with mesothelioma. Murray Boiler LLC, an affiliated company, also filed for bankruptcy. The businesses are owned by publicly traded Trane, an Irish industrial manufacturing company, according to papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, N.C. Neither Trane, which makes climate-control products, nor other subsidiaries are part of Wednesday’s bankruptcy filing. Aldrich said that it didn’t use asbestos in its manufacturing process but made industrial equipment that, in some instances, had asbestos-containing parts. Most of the lawsuits filed against the company involve its pumps and compressors that used metal piping through which liquids or gases flow. A gasket, a sealing product, was inserted between the pipes to avoid leaks. Decades ago, certain gasket materials that were the industry standard at the time contained asbestos, Aldrich said. About 20 years ago, after the miners and sellers of raw asbestos themselves began seeking protection from creditors in bankruptcy court, the number of mesothelioma cases against Aldrich and Murray doubled, the company said. Currently, Aldrich and Murray face roughly 100,000 asbestos-related lawsuits nationwide, according to court papers. The vast majority were filed at least a decade ago.
