Historical insulation research
Kaylo Historical Records and Archives
Court opinions, testimony, company records and archival photographs.
Court opinions and testimony
The Illinois Supreme Court’s McClure opinion provides a chronological account of Kaylo manufacturing, distribution and asbestos content. Maryland appellate proceedings describe block insulation work. Historic testimony records plant locations, packaging and product descriptions.
Original corporate archives
The University of Toledo’s Canaday Center holds an Owens Corning records collection. Its finding aid identifies Kaylo photographs and materials, including dated product and installation images. The finding aid is a route to historical images rather than a claim that every listed item is digitally available.
Read the documents
Maryland Court of Appeals, Owens-Illinois v. Armstrong (1992)
Illinois appellate record, Kaylo manufacturing and distribution stipulation
University of Toledo, Owens Corning corporate archives finding aid
ToxicDocs, Kaylo division testimony and manufacturing records
Use the documents to investigate
Remembering the insulation color, shape, a shipping carton, a coworker, a boiler room or the decade can be a useful starting point. H&S can help investigate the history behind those memories.
Continue exploring
Kaylo Historical Insulation Library
The Kaylo name, makers, ownership changes, historical product forms and original records.
Explore history →Kaylo Pipe Covering History
Recognize half-round insulation sections, fitting work, hot piping and maintenance.
Explore history →Kaylo Block Insulation History
Rigid insulation blocks, cutting, fitting and high-temperature equipment.
Explore history →Kaylo Ownership and Manufacturing Timeline
Trace Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning, manufacturing locations and dates.
Explore history →Kaylo Insulation: Trades and Workplaces
How insulators, pipefitters, mechanics, laborers and shipyard workers encountered insulation work.
Explore history →Start with what you remember
You do not need to know the product manufacturer before asking for help investigating a work or family exposure history.
Explore Kaylo packaging, workplaces and manufacturing
Kaylo Cartons, Labels and Product Identification
Historical carton markings, product identity and warning-label chronology.
Explore history →Kaylo in Shipyards, Boiler Rooms and Industrial Insulation Work
A documented look at shipboard pipe covering, boilers, turbines and insulation tasks.
Explore history →Kaylo Manufacturing: Berlin, New Jersey and the 1958 Transition
How manufacturing, distribution and ownership changed over the Kaylo years.
Explore history →Original historical documents
Read the Kaylo records at ToxicDocs
These source documents connect the product history to the actual historical record.
1948 · Owens-Illinois / laboratory correspondence
Saranac Laboratory report on Kaylo dust
1948 correspondence reports animal inhalation findings and changes to earlier conclusions.
1952 · Owens-Illinois internal correspondence
Internal review of Kaylo dust and lung injury
An internal report discusses manufacturing and field experience and Saranac research.
1953 · Owens-Illinois / Owens-Corning agreement, reproduced in discovery
Kaylo sales and distribution agreement
Historical agreement identifies the parties and distribution arrangements beginning in 1953.
1960 · Owens-Illinois historical sales literature
Industrial Kaylo sales literature
Product literature describes Kaylo pipe insulation, calcium silicate, asbestos reinforcement and high-temperature uses.
1966 · Owens-Corning internal memorandum
Kaylo research and carton-warning memo
Internal correspondence discusses possible caution statements for Kaylo cartons.
1987 · Court testimony reproducing Owens-Illinois discovery responses
Kaylo manufacturing and plant testimony
Testimony identifies Berlin and Sayreville plant periods, product composition and the 1958 sale.
1991 · Owens-Corning litigation discovery
Owens-Corning interrogatory responses
Responses discuss the historical Kaylo product, rebranding under Hy-Lo and Armstrong LK, and development of asbestos-free Kaylo.
1996 · Owens-Illinois litigation discovery
Owens-Illinois interrogatory answers
Corporate responses address the April 1958 transfer and custody of historical records.
1998 · Litigation exhibit index
Kaylo warning photograph exhibit index
Index lists a photograph of a Kaylo warning dated January 19, 1967; the index is not the photograph itself.
1998 · Historical deposition testimony
Insulation warehouse recollections
A warehouse manager recalls Kaylo alongside other insulation brands, inventory cards and shipping delays.
Additional historical court records
Explore original court opinions and documentary leads on the Saranac research, Kaylo manufacturing and distribution, the 1958 business transfer, and carton labeling. Read the Kaylo court-records research →