Many B&W products utilized potentially harmful asbestos products to function. B&W was not involved in the manufacture of asbestos insulation or any other asbestos product, but it did use products made by other companies in its equipment. When the military wrote mil-specs for certain equipment, asbestos was often a requirement because of its reliability as an insulating product. The “ miracle mineral” was a common and favored fireproofing material. Boilers require heat insulation: asbestos offered a cheap solution, but it was hazardous.Īsbestos comes into play because it was one of the most – if not the most – popular types of insulation available at the time. The furnace, tubes, and surrounding pipes needed to be able to withstand extremely high temperatures. The water tubes carry water from a large drum into smaller tubes inside a furnace, which is externally heated to cause the water in the tubes to boil, generating steam that would typically flow into a turbine or other steam equipment to power the vessel. in both height and width, and some early marine boilers were as big as 20 ft. Industrial marine boilers are very large, often over 10 ft. Arguably, the sole purpose of sending the ships on such a voyage was to showcase the new American Navy ships to the world.īy the mid-1940s, B&W boilers were used on nearly all Navy ships as the company began manufacturing them specifically to military specifications (also called mil-specs). The fleet was made up of 16 brand new battleships, and each one was powered by a Babcock & Wilcox boiler. President Theodore Roosevelt, who was in office from 1901-1909, oversaw the voyage of the “ Great White Fleet” around the globe from December 1907 to February 1909. Asbestos, Babcock & Wilcox, and the Great White Fleet and British navies were purchasing coal-fired water-tube marine boilers for their vessels. In fact, it was around 1894 when B&W created its marine department and shortly after, the U.S. military.īut the company’s relationship with the Navy dates back further than WWII. into WWII in 1941, B&W changed all of its production to fit the needs of the U.S. After the attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the U.S. In the early 1900s, the company’s boilers were installed for a variety of electrical and utility uses around the country they were even used in the first subways in NYC. From New York subways to the WWII front line Its equipment was used to power some of the first electricity generating stations in the world, including Brush Electric Light Company in Philadelphia, PA, and Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street station in New York City. By the 1880s, it had established itself as a leading, trusted name in boiler manufacture. It also manufactured other types of high-temperature or steam generating equipment, like generators and furnaces.ī&W would continue to flourish as time went on. The company made more than just boilers, though. These boilers are primarily used for high temperature steam/power generation, like what’s used to power some large ships and vessels. Babcock & Wilcox were awarded another patent for improvements on the boiler design. The steam revolution required boilers, and Babcock & Wilcox met the need.īy 1867, Babcock, Wilcox, & Company was established in Providence, Rhode Island and Messrs. Stillman and Wilcox were awarded a patent for their water tube steam boiler in 1859. The company was built upon the work of men named Stephen Wilcox, O.M. How can a company that never manufactured an asbestos product in its history be so closely associated with the substance? A famed boiler manufacturer, Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) is a company whose origin dates back 150 years. NARCO (North American Refractories Co.)Īs one of the earliest manufacturers connected to asbestos products, they played a part in exposing many people to harmful asbestos fibers, and the company has paid over a billion in compensation.

Badcock and wilcox boiler ppt file