Owens Corning, the largest US building materials maker, has filed for bankruptcy, succumbing to the growing weight of its multibillion-dollar asbestos liability. The 62-year-old company, best known for its Pink Panther Fiberglass insulation, said its had had been forced by a decline in the building materials business on top of its asbestos woes. The bankruptcy filing by Owens Corning and 17 of its units in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, listed assets of US$7bn and liabilities of US$5.7bn. Owens Corning's asbestos problems stem from a pipe insulation product, trade-named Kaylo, distributed from 1952 to 1972. The company says total revenues from the sale of the product were about US$135m, and to date it has paid out, or agreed to pay out, more than US$5bn in asbestos claims. The company says it has received more than 460,000 claims.
