Turner & Newall
Defunct British building-materials and industrial-components manufacturer whose asbestos business became the focus of extensive litigation.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Turner & Newall was a major British manufacturing group based in Manchester and one of the earliest companies in the United Kingdom to industrialise asbestos production. Its origins lay in Rochdale, where John, Robert and Samuel Turner established Turner Brothers in 1871 to make mechanical packing from cotton cloth. In 1879 the company began weaving asbestos cloth with powered machinery and adopted the name Turner Brothers Asbestos Company. This early move into asbestos helped create a large industrial business supplying insulation, construction materials and related products. Before the First World War, the company opened an asbestos-cement plant at Trafford Park. Its Trafford Tile sheets became a significant product for roofs and walls in industrial and agricultural buildings. In 1920 Turner Brothers combined with Washington Chemical Company, Newalls Insulation Company and J. W. Roberts, creating Turner & Newall. The enlarged company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and subsequently expanded through acquisitions in asbestos insulation and related manufacturing. Under the chairmanship of Sir Samuel Turner from 1929 to 1944, the group developed rapidly. It acquired Bells' United Asbestos Companies and other British asbestos businesses, while also operating manufacturing sites in locations including Leeds. The Armley plant in Leeds later became associated with serious asbestos exposure and pollution concerns. Turner & Newall also operated the Havelock asbestos mine in Bulembu, in the Kingdom of Eswatini, from 1939 until 2001. Accounts of the mine describe harsh working conditions and inadequate protection for employees, while later legal efforts by former workers faced significant obstacles. The group moved its head office from Rochdale to Manchester in 1949. After the Second World War it diversified beyond asbestos and insulation into automotive components, including gaskets. Its international operations also included southern Africa. In 1953 it acquired Porters Cement Industries, a producer of chrysotile-asbestos products based in Salisbury and Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia; the business was renamed Turnall Fibre Cement. Turnall later continued as an independent Zimbabwean company after separating from Turner & Newall. The company’s asbestos liabilities eventually became overwhelming. Federal-Mogul acquired Turner & Newall in 1998, but Federal-Mogul itself later entered financial difficulty and sought protection under Chapter 11 in the United States because of asbestos claims. Turner & Newall’s United Kingdom business entered administration in October 2001. The collapse left a pension-fund deficit estimated at approximately £400 million and a substantial legacy of occupational-disease and environmental claims. The company’s history is closely linked to the recognition of asbestos disease in Britain. The death of Nellie Kershaw, a former Turner & Newall worker, contributed to wider recognition of asbestosis as an occupational disease after a 1924 coroner’s report. The company’s former factories, products and mines subsequently became subjects of claims by workers, residents and other exposed people. Following Federal-Mogul’s restructuring, a T&N Subfund of the Federal-Mogul Asbestos Trust was established to process eligible claims for which Turner & Newall entities were legally responsible. A separate UK Asbestos Trust was also created for qualifying claims involving exposure in the United Kingdom and certain other countries.
History
Turner & Newall began in 1871 as Turner Brothers in Rochdale, Lancashire. John, Robert and Samuel Turner initially manufactured mechanical packing made from cotton cloth. In 1879 the business became the first in the United Kingdom to weave asbestos cloth using powered machinery. It subsequently changed its name to Turner Brothers Asbestos Company, establishing the asbestos trade as the central foundation of its growth. In the years before the First World War, the company expanded into asbestos cement and opened a plant at Trafford Park. Trafford Tile asbestos-cement sheets were used extensively in industrial and agricultural construction for roofing and wall applications. The company’s capabilities grew further in 1920, when it merged with Washington Chemical Company, Newalls Insulation Company and J. W. Roberts. The resulting group adopted the name Turner & Newall and became a London Stock Exchange-listed company. The business expanded through acquisitions during the interwar period. Sir Samuel Turner served as chairman from 1929 to 1944, a period of rapid development that included the purchase of Bells' United Asbestos Companies and other insulation businesses. Turner & Newall operated a plant in Armley, Leeds, a site later associated with widespread asbestos exposure and environmental controversy. The Armley facility closed in 1959. From 1939 to 2001, Turner & Newall operated an asbestos mine at Havelock in Bulembu, then in Swaziland and now Eswatini. Former miners later reported serious lung illness and inadequate protective equipment. The mine’s history became part of the broader criticism directed at the company’s employment practices and the limited regulatory protection available to workers in the region. Turner & Newall transferred its head office from Rochdale to Manchester in 1949. Following the Second World War, it diversified into automotive components, particularly gaskets, alongside its established asbestos, insulation and construction-materials operations. In 1953 it acquired Porters Cement Industries, which operated in Salisbury and Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia. The acquired business was renamed Turnall Fibre Cement and eventually continued independently in Zimbabwe. As medical and legal understanding of asbestos disease developed, the company’s historic operations became increasingly controversial. The 1924 coroner’s report concerning the death of Nellie Kershaw, who had worked for the company, helped advance recognition of asbestosis as an occupational illness. Turner & Newall directed its lawyers to defend asbestos claims forcefully, reflecting the company’s concern about the scale of potential liability. Federal-Mogul acquired Turner & Newall in 1998. Federal-Mogul subsequently encountered severe financial problems linked to asbestos claims and filed for Chapter 11 protection. Turner & Newall’s United Kingdom business entered administration in October 2001, ending the operating life of the historic group. The collapse was accompanied by a pension-fund deficit estimated at £400 million and left unresolved claims involving workers, consumers and communities exposed to asbestos. The post-collapse claims process was incorporated into Federal-Mogul’s restructuring. The T&N Subfund of the Federal-Mogul Asbestos Trust was established on 27 December 2007 to resolve valid claims for which Turner & Newall entities were legally responsible. Trust procedures were designed to handle present and future asbestos-related personal-injury and death claims, with a UK Asbestos Trust created for eligible claimants whose principal exposure occurred in the United Kingdom or certain other non-United States jurisdictions.
- 2007
T&N asbestos trust subfund established
[1]The Federal-Mogul asbestos restructuring creates a dedicated T&N Subfund for eligible claims.
- 2001
United Kingdom business enters administration
[1]Turner & Newall’s UK business enters administration, marking the end of the operating company.
- 1998
Acquired by Federal-Mogul
[1]Federal-Mogul acquires Turner & Newall as asbestos liabilities become an increasingly important financial risk.
- 1953
Porters Cement Industries acquired
[1]Turner & Newall purchases the Southern Rhodesian asbestos-cement producer and renames it Turnall Fibre Cement.
- 1949
Head office moved to Manchester
[1]The company relocates its head office from Rochdale to Manchester.
- 1920
Turner & Newall formed and listed
[1]Turner Brothers merges with Washington Chemical Company, Newalls Insulation Company and J. W. Roberts, forming Turner & Newall and becoming listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- 1879
Powered asbestos-cloth weaving introduced
[1]The company becomes the first business in the United Kingdom to weave asbestos cloth with powered machinery and adopts the Turner Brothers Asbestos Company name.
- 1871
Turner Brothers founded in Rochdale
[1]John, Robert and Samuel Turner establish a business manufacturing cotton-cloth-based mechanical packing.
Products and positioning
Large-scale industrial materials supplier serving construction, insulation and automotive manufacturing markets.
Industrial textile · 1879
Asbestos cloth
Turner Brothers pioneered powered weaving of asbestos cloth in the United Kingdom in 1879. The material formed part of the company’s early industrial portfolio and supported applications involving heat resistance, packing and insulation.
Asbestos-cement construction material
Trafford Tile
Trafford Tile was an asbestos-cement sheet product manufactured at the company’s Trafford Park plant. It was used for roofs and walls, particularly in industrial and agricultural buildings, and represented one of the company’s best-known construction-material lines.
Insulation material
Asbestos insulation
Through its own operations and acquisitions, Turner & Newall supplied asbestos insulation products for industrial uses. Insulation became one of the principal areas through which the group expanded its manufacturing presence and later incurred asbestos-related liabilities.
Automotive component
Automotive gaskets
After the Second World War, Turner & Newall diversified into automotive components, including gaskets. This business broadened the company beyond construction and insulation while retaining its focus on engineered industrial materials.
Construction material · 1953
Asbestos-cement sheets and pipes
The group produced asbestos-cement construction products through operations including Porters Cement Industries and its successor Turnall Fibre Cement. These products included sheets and pipes used in Southern African construction and infrastructure markets.
Controversies
1924
Nellie Kershaw and recognition of occupational asbestosis
The death of Nellie Kershaw, a former Turner & Newall worker, was examined in a coroner’s report that helped advance recognition of asbestosis as an occupational disease in Britain.
Armley asbestos exposure and pollution
The company’s former J. W. Roberts plant in Armley, Leeds, became associated with asbestos exposure affecting workers and nearby residents. The site and later compensation claims formed part of the company’s wider asbestos legacy.
Havelock mine working conditions
Former employees of the Havelock asbestos mine in Bulembu reported lung disease and a lack of adequate protective equipment. Legal efforts to pursue the company in Britain were unsuccessful.
Brand decisions
2001
UK administration and business closureOtherBackground
Asbestos litigation and related liabilities placed substantial pressure on the business and its parent group.
Action taken
The United Kingdom business entered administration in October 2001.
Aftermath
The operating company ceased trading, leaving a pension-fund deficit estimated at £400 million and a continuing claims process for asbestos victims.
Estimated pension fund deficit. approximately £400 million (At the time of the 2001 administration)
1998
Sale to Federal-MogulM&ABackground
Turner & Newall was acquired after decades of operating as a diversified industrial-materials group with substantial historic asbestos exposure.
Action taken
Federal-Mogul purchased Turner & Newall and assumed responsibility for entities and liabilities later addressed through its restructuring process.
Aftermath
Federal-Mogul later filed for Chapter 11 protection in connection with asbestos claims, while the Turner & Newall UK business entered administration in 2001.
Sources1 sources
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