Pacor Incorporated (Bordentown)
In 1921, Pacor Incorporated was founded in Philadelphia, beginning as a smaller company and calling itself an insulation specialist. As the demand for insulation products increased, the company grew, producing a complete line of diversified services and products for industrial application. In 1975, more than 70 years after it opened its doors, the corporation moved to suburban New Jersey. Pacor, Inc. has sold its products to more than one hundred various markets, and includes the U.S. Military among its customers. Despite past asbestos problems, Pacor, Inc. has continued to grow and is a master fabricator for the Johns-Manville Company as well as a Fabricator/Partner for Aspen Aerogels.
Through nearly one hundred years in business, a variety of products were made by Pacor for various industries. The company produces insulation covers for heat exchangers, plastic extruders, diesel engines, pumps, turbines, and valves, all of which are removable. Also proficient in producing a variety of foam products, Pacor sells ceramic blankets, papers and fiberglass in its production lineup. The major industries served by Pacor, Inc., include power generation, lighting, partitions, commercial food equipment, gaskets, acoustical, appliances, rail car, HVAC, and even the U.S. military and other branches of the government.
However, for the greater part of the twentieth century, asbestos was commonly used in producing insulation material, and many of the products Pacor made included the toxic substance. For nearly 55 years, people who worked for this company used asbestos, resulting in the development of serious pulmonary diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. The company now uses substitutes for asbestos, but because mesothelioma can remain silently latent for up to 50 years, more and more cases continue to be diagnosed among former employees.
Besides Pacor’s employees, railroad workers, appliance repair persons, shipyard workers, power plant workers and insulators, as well as many others, were exposed to the dangerous asbestos material. Exposure was not limited to workers, however, as the deadly needle-like fibers released from handling asbestos cling to the clothing and even the skin and hair of those working with it. It is then carried into the home, and family members and loved ones are exposed. Exposure to asbestos can result in deadly tumors called mesothelioma forming in the lungs, heart or abdomen of workers, employees or their family members. Because of the long exposure and latency period, some cases are diagnosed long after the person is no longer working with asbestos.
