Goulds Pumps Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Claims

By David Meldofsky, California-licensed attorney · Founder, Lawsuit Informer

Last updated: October 6, 2026

Goulds Pumps, Inc. made asbestos-containing gaskets and packing a routine part of its industrial pumps for most of the twentieth century. Unlike most asbestos defendants, Goulds never filed for bankruptcy and never created an asbestos trust fund. A Goulds claim is an ordinary lawsuit. Resolved claims are paid by InTelCo Management LLC, which now holds the old asbestos liabilities and the insurance that covers them. Delticus has owned InTelCo since July 2021.

Goulds Pumps is one of the oldest pump makers in the United States. Its industrial pumps ran for decades in power plants, refineries, paper mills, chemical plants, ships, and city water systems. For much of the twentieth century, many of those pumps were built or maintained with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Workers who repaired and rebuilt those pumps, and later developed mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, have sued Goulds Pumps for decades. Those cases continue today.

Company Background

Goulds Pumps was founded in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 and produced its first all-metal pump in 1849. Over the next century it became one of the country's leading makers of industrial centrifugal pumps. ITT bought the company in 1997, and Goulds still operates today as an ITT brand. In 2011, ITT spun off its water technology business into Xylem Inc.

In 2016, ITT reorganized. It moved the old asbestos liabilities of ITT LLC and Goulds Pumps LLC, along with the insurance that covers them, into a separate company called InTelCo Management LLC. On July 1, 2021, ITT sold InTelCo to Delticus, a company that buys old liabilities and is backed by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus. ITT added $398 million in cash at closing. The pump business remains an ITT brand, but the old companies that answer for asbestos claims now belong to Delticus.

That corporate history matters in litigation. A worker exposed in 1975 was working around equipment from a company whose ownership and liability structure has changed several times since. Identifying the correct present-day defendant for a decades-old exposure is a routine but important part of how these claims are built.

The Goulds Pumps Plant in Seneca Falls, New York

Most Goulds claims come from people who worked around Goulds equipment somewhere else. A separate group worked at Goulds, inside the Seneca Falls, New York foundry and manufacturing complex where the pumps were cast, machined, and assembled. Production workers there describe a different kind of exposure than maintenance workers in the field. They handled raw materials and worked in the foundry. They also cut and fitted gasket and packing material while building pumps, rather than while taking them apart.

The difference changes what has to be proved. A maintenance worker generally has to identify the equipment he serviced and connect it to a manufacturer. A plant worker's exposure happened on the employer's own premises, which changes both the evidence available and, in most states, the interaction with workers' compensation. Family members of Seneca Falls plant workers have also sued over fibers carried home on work clothes. Our guide to secondhand asbestos exposure covers those claims.

How Asbestos Exposure Happened Around Goulds Pumps

The pumps themselves were metal. The asbestos was in the components that sealed them. Industrial pumps that moved hot or corrosive fluids needed heat-resistant gaskets where the two halves of the casing met. They also needed rope-like packing around the spinning shaft. For decades, those parts commonly contained asbestos, whether they came with the pump or were installed during later maintenance.

Exposure allegations in these cases usually focus on maintenance and repair rather than normal operation. Old gaskets baked onto flanges had to be scraped, chiseled, or wire-brushed off. Worn shaft packing had to be dug out of the stuffing box with picks and hooks. New gaskets were sometimes cut from asbestos sheet material. Each of those steps could release fibers into the worker's breathing zone, and the work was repeated across hundreds of pumps over a career.

For the broader picture of this exposure pathway, see asbestos exposure from industrial valves, pumps, and gaskets.

Jobs and Sites Often Involved

• Millwrights and industrial machinery mechanics who rebuilt pumps in place
• Machinists and pump repair shop workers
• Pipefitters and steamfitters working on connected piping systems
• Boiler operators and powerhouse workers in plants that ran banks of pumps
• Navy machinist's mates and shipyard workers, since Goulds pumps served aboard vessels
• Paper mill, chemical plant, refinery, and power plant maintenance crews

Related job pages include asbestos exposure in millwright and machinist work and asbestos exposure among pipefitters and steamfitters. See also asbestos exposure in power plants and refineries and asbestos exposure in shipyards and naval service.

Goulds Pumps in Asbestos Litigation

Goulds Pumps has been a regular defendant in asbestos litigation since around the time of the ITT acquisition, and it remains an active one. Unlike many asbestos defendants, Goulds has never declared bankruptcy or established an asbestos trust fund. Claims over its equipment proceed as ordinary lawsuits. InTelCo, which holds the old Goulds liabilities and insurance, pays resolved cases through settlements and, now and then, trial verdicts.

Reported cases illustrate the pattern. In one South Carolina case, a paper mill worker developed mesothelioma. He had worked at the mill from the 1950s to 2000 as a laborer, boiler operator, and evaporator operator. His claim was first dismissed, and an appeals court revived it in 2015. In another case, a millwright developed mesothelioma after years of work with gaskets and packing. His family took their wrongful death case to trial, and a jury assigned Goulds a share of the blame before the case was resolved.

A recurring issue in pump cases is who answers for asbestos parts another company made. Pump makers have argued they should not be liable for gaskets and packing supplied by others. Courts in several places have disagreed. In Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries, a 2019 maritime case involving Navy pump and blower equipment, the U.S. Supreme Court held that an equipment maker can have a duty to warn. That duty applies when its product needs asbestos parts to work as intended.

The lead defendant in DeVries was the corporate successor to Buffalo Pumps, another maker that shows up in the same work histories as Goulds. How the issue plays out depends on the state and the facts. That uncertainty is one reason exposure details and product identification matter so much in these claims.

A Goulds lawsuit can run alongside other claims. Most workers were exposed to many products over a career. Claims against bankrupt makers often go through asbestos trust funds while a lawsuit proceeds against companies still in business, like Goulds. Coordinating the two tracks is standard practice in asbestos cases.

Other Equipment Manufacturers Named Alongside Goulds

Goulds rarely appears alone on a complaint. The same maintenance work that put men around Goulds pumps usually involved valves, other pump brands, and gaskets from other companies. Asbestos claims typically name every source of exposure that can be identified. Other frequently named equipment manufacturers with dedicated guides include Crane Co. valves and Cranite gaskets, Warren Pumps, Buffalo Pumps, and Foster Wheeler boilers.

Illnesses Discussed in These Cases

• Mesothelioma
• Asbestos-related lung cancer
• Asbestosis
• Other asbestos-related conditions examined in litigation

Asbestos diseases have long latency periods, often 10 to 50 years between exposure and diagnosis, which is why claims today frequently involve work performed decades ago. See how asbestos exposure is proven decades later and asbestos claim deadlines after symptoms appear.

Records That Help Support a Goulds Pumps Claim

Goulds claims go through the courts rather than a trust, so the evidence carries the case. Work history, union records, and Social Security earnings statements all play a role. So do ship or plant records placing specific equipment at a site, co-worker testimony, and medical records tied to the diagnosis. Our guide to asbestos records that help support a claim walks through this in detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Goulds Pumps asbestos trust fund?

No. Goulds Pumps has never filed for bankruptcy or established a trust fund. Claims are pursued through the court system, which generally means working with counsel experienced in asbestos litigation rather than filing a trust claim form.

Can I still bring a claim if the exposure happened decades ago?

Often yes. Filing deadlines for asbestos claims generally run from the date of diagnosis rather than the date of exposure, though the rules vary by state. See asbestos claim deadlines after symptoms appear.

What if I worked around Goulds pumps but also other equipment?

That is typical. Most asbestos claims name multiple defendants because workers were exposed to many products over a career. Identifying each source of exposure, including pumps, valves, insulation, and gaskets from different manufacturers, is part of how these cases are normally built.

Who actually pays a successful Goulds Pumps claim?

Since July 1, 2021, the companies that answer for Goulds asbestos claims, ITT LLC and Goulds Pumps LLC, have sat inside InTelCo Management LLC. ITT sold InTelCo to Delticus, a company backed by Warburg Pincus. InTelCo administers and pays claims using the funding ITT contributed at closing and decades of legacy insurance coverage. For people bringing claims, the process looks the same: an ordinary lawsuit. Naming the right company is part of a lawyer's work.

Why is Goulds Pumps named in mesothelioma lawsuits?

For decades, many Goulds pumps were built or serviced with asbestos-containing gaskets and packing. Workers who repaired, rebuilt, or maintained those pumps allege that scraping, cutting, and wire-brushing those components released asbestos fibers they later connect to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

Who owns Goulds Pumps now, and is it still in business?

Yes. The operating pump business is still active and still sold under the Goulds Pumps name, as an ITT brand following ITT's 1997 acquisition. The old asbestos liabilities took a different path. They were moved into InTelCo Management LLC in 2016. ITT sold InTelCo to Delticus, backed by Warburg Pincus, on July 1, 2021. A claim today is brought against the legacy entities, not against the pump business you can buy from today.

Do I need to remember the exact pump models I worked on?

No. Product identification is normally reconstructed from site and purchase records, maintenance logs, equipment histories, and co-worker testimony rather than a claimant's memory of model numbers. Establishing which manufacturers' equipment was present at a site is a routine part of how these claims are built.

Can family members bring a claim after a loved one has died?

Often yes. Wrongful death claims can be brought by the estate or surviving family, and deadlines for those claims generally run from the date of death rather than diagnosis. The rules vary by state. See asbestos claim deadlines after symptoms appear.

Related Asbestos Guides

About the Author

David Meldofsky is a California-licensed attorney and the founder of Lawsuit Informer, an educational platform focused on helping people understand lawsuits, consumer safety issues, and legal rights related to defective products and toxic exposures.

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Last Updated: October 6, 2026

Educational information only. Not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed.