By Michael Throneberry, founder of Throneberry Law Group
Sundstrand was one of Rockford’s largest employers, building precision aerospace and hydraulic parts for decades. Its machine shops, foundries, and heat-treating lines used asbestos, and the workers who kept them running were exposed for years.
At Throneberry Law Group, we help Rockford families connect a mesothelioma diagnosis to a workplace like Sundstrand. Michael Throneberry founded the firm after losing his father-in-law to mesothelioma, and he brings an engineer’s eye to tracing exposure. We work with a statewide team of Illinois mesothelioma lawyers.
Sundstrand’s Rockford Operations
Sundstrand Corporation, including its Sundstrand Aviation operations, built aircraft components, hydraulics, and precision machinery in Rockford, work that continues today under later ownership. That kind of manufacturing ran on furnaces, heat-treating ovens, and heavy machinery, and asbestos was the standard insulation for all of it.
Asbestos lined the ovens and furnaces, insulated steam and power lines, and sealed the machinery on the shop floor. Grinding, cutting, and maintenance disturbed asbestos-containing materials and sent fibers into the air.
Who Was Exposed at Sundstrand
Asbestos reached across the plant, from the heat-treating lines to the maintenance shop. Those at highest risk included:
Machinists and grinders: who worked with asbestos-containing materials and near insulated equipment
Heat-treaters and foundry workers: who labored beside asbestos-lined ovens and furnaces
Pipefitters and insulators: who installed and tore out asbestos insulation on steam and power lines
Maintenance and cleanup crews: who serviced machinery and swept up asbestos dust
Fibers also traveled home on work clothes, reaching spouses and children who never entered the plant.
Asbestos Products Identified at Sundstrand
The bankruptcy trusts confirm the asbestos products used at Sundstrand’s Rockford plants. A.P. Green refractory brick and cement lined the heat-treating furnaces and ovens, and Keene Corporation thermal insulation covered the plant’s hot systems. A trust does not approve a site casually. Its approval is the company’s admission that its asbestos product was installed here, powerful evidence for a worker’s claim decades later.
Illnesses Linked to the Plant
Asbestos breathed in at Sundstrand can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. Federal health agencies note that signs may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure, so many former Sundstrand workers are only now connecting a diagnosis to the plant. Acting soon after a diagnosis matters.
Asbestos in a Precision Plant
Precision manufacturing still ran on heat and steam. Sundstrand’s heat-treating ovens hardened parts at high temperatures, its foundry and machine operations generated heat and friction, and asbestos insulated the ovens, the steam and power systems, and much of the equipment. Workers who cut, ground, and maintained that machinery, and the trades who repaired the insulation, released fibers into the air around them, often with no warning.
Reconstructing a Sundstrand Work History
We build these cases from the record and from memory. Employment and union records, Social Security earnings statements, and the recollections of coworkers help place a client in specific shops and near specific asbestos products. Rockford workers frequently moved between Sundstrand and other area plants, so a full history can reveal exposure, and responsible companies, that a single job would miss. We handle that reconstruction for every client, so you do not need to have it worked out before you call us.
What Rockford Families Should Do Now
If you or a family member worked at Sundstrand, note the years, the department, and the equipment you handled. A cough that will not go away, chest pain, or shortness of breath deserves a doctor’s attention, and the asbestos history belongs in that conversation. Finding disease early gives families more choices, and it costs nothing to have us review a possible claim.
Take-Home Exposure From Sundstrand
The plant’s asbestos traveled home with its workers. Fibers settled into clothing and hair and reached the family members who washed work clothes or simply lived in the same house. Illinois recognizes these take-home claims, so a spouse or child of a Sundstrand worker may have a case even without ever setting foot in the plant. We treat those household-exposure claims with the same care and the same investigation as a worker’s own.
Compensation for Sundstrand Workers and Families
A Sundstrand claim can recover medical costs, lost earnings, and compensation for the pain and disruption the disease causes a family. Most cases combine trust-fund claims with a lawsuit against companies that remain in business, and a family that has lost a worker to mesothelioma may also have a wrongful death claim. Because Rockford workers so often moved between plants, a full history can add claims that would otherwise be missed. There is no fee unless we recover for you.
Legal Options for Sundstrand Workers
A Sundstrand case generally targets the makers of the asbestos products used in the plant. Many of those companies set up bankruptcy trusts that still pay claims, and others can still be sued. Because Rockford workers often moved between plants, a full work history can open more than one claim.
Rockford Asbestos Attorneys at Throneberry Law Group
Sundstrand helped build Rockford, but the asbestos in its shops left many families facing mesothelioma. We pair detailed jobsite investigation with the personal commitment of an attorney who understands this loss firsthand.
Our cases run on a contingency fee, we travel to you, and we serve Spanish-speaking families. If you or a family member worked here, start a free, no-obligation case review through our online contact form.