Johns Manville
A Berkshire Hathaway company producing insulation, roofing systems, and engineered materials for construction, industrial, and transportation applications.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Johns Manville is an American manufacturer of insulation, roofing systems, and engineered materials headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Its corporate origins reach back to 1858, when Henry Ward Johns established the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company in New York. A second predecessor, the Manville Covering Company, was incorporated in Wisconsin in 1886. The two businesses combined in 1901, creating H.W. Johns-Manville Company, which later became Johns-Manville Incorporated and then Johns-Manville Corporation. For much of the twentieth century, the company was one of the world's largest producers of asbestos-containing construction and industrial products. Its historical portfolio included pipe insulation, roofing materials, shingles, asbestos-cement pipe, gaskets, and other products. Johns-Manville expanded rapidly through manufacturing investment, international operations, technical research, and acquisitions, becoming a major supplier to construction, infrastructure, industrial, transportation, and defense-related markets. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange from 1928, joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1930, and remained in the index until 1982. The company was also included in the Fortune 500 for every year from 1955 through 1996. The company's twentieth-century growth was eventually overshadowed by asbestos-related health claims. Employees and other claimants alleged injuries including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Litigation intensified during the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, and the company faced unprecedented potential liability. In 1982, it voluntarily sought protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The filing was among the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history at the time. A restructuring created the Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust to compensate asbestos claimants, while the reorganized operating company emerged in 1988. After emerging from bankruptcy, the business operated as Manville Corporation and restored the Johns Manville name in 1997, without the historical hyphen. Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in 2001, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. In its modern form, Johns Manville focuses on asbestos-free products, including fiberglass and other building insulation, mechanical insulation, commercial roofing and roof insulation, fibers, nonwoven materials, filtration media, and engineered products. Its customers and end markets include residential and commercial construction, HVAC, air handling, industrial equipment, waterproofing, flooring, interiors, automotive and transportation, aerospace, appliances, and wind energy. The company operates manufacturing and distribution activities in North America and Europe and presents energy efficiency, durability, fire performance, moisture management, and resource efficiency as important product themes.
History
Johns Manville traces its history to two manufacturers of construction and industrial materials. Henry Ward Johns founded the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company in New York in 1858. The company developed patented products for insulation, roofing, and related applications and built a recognizable commercial presence through sustained newspaper advertising. In 1886, Charles Brayton Manville incorporated the Manville Covering Company in Wisconsin. The two businesses merged in 1901 as the H.W. Johns-Manville Company. The merged company expanded during the industrial growth of the early twentieth century. It consolidated manufacturing capacity, developed asbestos products, and added facilities serving the United States, Canada, and Europe. The corporate name changed to Johns-Manville Incorporated in 1920 and Johns-Manville Corporation in 1926. The company became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1928 and entered the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1930. By that period it manufactured a very broad range of asbestos-containing products, including insulation, roofing, shingles, cement pipe, gaskets, and industrial components. During the 1930s and 1940s, Johns-Manville continued to invest in factories, research, credit services, and military- and infrastructure-related production. It operated or supplied plants in multiple regions and managed operations at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant during World War II. Postwar expansion included new insulation, pipe, research, and engineered-material facilities. The acquisition of Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Fibers in 1958 strengthened the company's position in glass fiber and broadened its technical capabilities. The health consequences of asbestos exposure became the defining crisis in the company's later history. Claims concerning occupational lung disease appeared by the late 1920s, and subsequent litigation alleged that the company had failed to adequately inform workers about evidence connecting asbestos exposure with serious disease. During the 1960s through the 1980s, claims involving asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma increased sharply. In 1982, Johns-Manville voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 protection. The case lasted more than five years and produced a restructuring in which the Manville Trust received most of the equity associated with the reorganized enterprise and assumed responsibility for administering many asbestos personal-injury claims. The operating company emerged in 1988 as Manville Corporation. It restored the Johns Manville name in 1997, removing the hyphen used in the historic corporate name. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company in 2001. Since then, Johns Manville has concentrated on asbestos-free insulation, commercial roofing, mechanical insulation, engineered fibers, nonwovens, filtration, and related products. Its contemporary markets span building construction, HVAC, industrial equipment, transportation, aerospace, appliances, flooring, waterproofing, interiors, and wind energy. The company remains a major specialist materials manufacturer with operations in North America and Europe.
- 2001
Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway
[1]Johns Manville became a wholly owned Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.
- 1997
Johns Manville name restored
[1]The company changed its name back to Johns Manville, without the historical hyphen.
- 1988
Emergence from bankruptcy
[1]The reorganized business emerged as Manville Corporation, alongside the Manville Trust structure.
- 1982
Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing
[1]The company entered Chapter 11 protection in response to asbestos-related liabilities.
- 1958
Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Fibers acquired
[1]The acquisition expanded Johns-Manville's glass-fiber manufacturing and research capabilities.
- 1930
Added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average
[1]The company joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average and remained in the index until 1982.
- 1928
New York Stock Exchange listing
[1]Johns-Manville Corporation became listed on the NYSE.
- 1901
Predecessor companies merge
[1]The H.W. Johns and Manville businesses combined to form H.W. Johns-Manville Company.
- 1886
Manville Covering Company incorporated
[1]Charles Brayton Manville incorporated a second predecessor in Wisconsin.
- 1858
H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company founded
[1]Henry Ward Johns established the predecessor business in New York City.
Products and positioning
Performance-oriented manufacturer of insulation, roofing, and engineered materials for professional construction and industrial markets
Insulation
Building insulation
Johns Manville produces insulation for residential and commercial buildings, including fiberglass-based products designed to reduce heat transfer and support energy-efficiency, acoustic, and fire-performance objectives. Products are used in walls, attics, ceilings, floors, and other building assemblies.
Insulation
Mechanical insulation
Mechanical insulation products are designed for pipes, ducts, HVAC systems, vessels, and industrial equipment. They help manage temperature, condensation, energy loss, and personnel protection in commercial, institutional, and industrial installations.
Roofing
Commercial roofing systems
The commercial roofing portfolio includes roofing membranes, insulation, accessories, and system components used in low-slope commercial and industrial roofs. The systems address waterproofing, durability, thermal performance, and installation requirements.
Engineered materials
Engineered fibers and nonwovens
Johns Manville supplies fibers, nonwoven materials, and related engineered products for filtration, transportation, appliances, flooring, interiors, aerospace, wind energy, and other industrial applications. Performance characteristics can include strength, filtration efficiency, thermal resistance, and dimensional stability.
Controversies
1982
Asbestos liability and Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Johns-Manville faced extensive litigation over injuries allegedly associated with historical asbestos exposure, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. The resulting liability contributed to the company's voluntary Chapter 11 filing and the later creation of the Manville Trust.
Brand decisions
2001
Berkshire Hathaway acquisitionM&ABackground
Johns Manville was operating as a diversified manufacturer of insulation and engineered materials after its post-bankruptcy restructuring.
Action taken
Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company and made it a wholly owned subsidiary.
Aftermath
Johns Manville continued operating as a specialist building and industrial materials company within the Berkshire Hathaway group.
1997
Return to the Johns Manville nameStrategyBackground
Following its emergence from bankruptcy as Manville Corporation, the company revised its corporate identity.
Action taken
The business adopted the Johns Manville name again, dropping the historical hyphen.
Aftermath
The restored name became the identity of the post-bankruptcy manufacturer and remains in use.
1982
Voluntary Chapter 11 filingOtherBackground
Asbestos-related personal-injury claims created liabilities that threatened the company's ability to continue operating through conventional settlement and litigation processes.
Action taken
The company sought protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and pursued a court-supervised restructuring.
Aftermath
The reorganization created the Manville Trust for asbestos claimants, and the operating company emerged in 1988 as Manville Corporation.
Recent events
- 2020
Bob Wamboldt becomes chief executive[1]
Leadership change
Bob Wamboldt succeeded Mary Rhinehart as chief executive during a transition in the company's senior leadership.
- 2012
Johns Manville names Mary Rhinehart president and chief executive[1]
Leadership change
Mary Rhinehart was appointed president and CEO; she later also assumed the chair role.
- 2001
Berkshire Hathaway acquires Johns Manville[1]
M&A
Berkshire Hathaway acquired Johns Manville, converting the manufacturer into a wholly owned Berkshire subsidiary.
Sources2 sources
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