Document evqkN0obOzgjRgM5kdQw7dZnm

ROGER HOBBIE Page 82 Page 84 1 to supply them with this material I think through the end of 2 '87; is that correct? 3 A Sounds like it, yes. 4 Q Was that request submitted by International 5 different in any way from any request you got from any other 6 OEM customers? 7 A I'm going to say yes. 8 Q How did it differ? 9 A I don't think we had that request from any other 10 OEMs. 11 Q If you exclude International for the moment, do you 12 know when the last OEM customer would have purchased an 13 asbestos-containing brake lining on the axle or assembly 14 purchased from Eaton? 15 A No, I don't know that for sure. 16 Q Do you know when the last asbestos-containing brake 17 lining sold to anyone was by Eaton? 18 A No, 1 don't know that 19 Q Do you have any knowledge why International would 2 0 have made a request to stockpile or build up inventory of 21 brake material that contained asbestos versus any other OEM 22 manufacturer? 23 A No. I guess24 MR. QUICK: Don't guess. 25 A Okay, I'm not going to guess. I don't know. 1 became involved with the asbestos-free brake linings that 2 gradually other customers brought more and more of their 3 requests to the nonasbestos frame? 4 MR. BARTELS: Objection to the form. 5 MR. QUICK: Go ahead. You can answer. 6 A Yes. T would say that it was probably, just 7 thinking about it, application specific as to that evolution. 8 Q Maybe I can rephrase that a little bit I'm 9 actually not crazy enough to think that you are going to 10 remember the specific applications and customers this many 11 years later. But obviously, you saw those letters indicating 12 that both my client, Carlisle, and Abex had announced that 13 they were ending the production of the asbestos materials, in 14 the case of Carlisle by the end of 1986. 15 Are you with me so far? 16 A Yes. 17 Q Now, between the time that Mack first began using 18 the asbestos-free materials in the earlier part of the '80s 19 and when your company became aware that Carlisle and Abex were 2 0 ending the asbestos materials, had there been a gradual and 21 increasing transition of applications over to the nonasbestos 2 2 material or did Eaton, for example, in 1986 find itself in an 2 3 immense bind because the vast majority oftheir axles no 2 4 longer had any or didn't have any nonasbestos materials for 25 them? Page 83 Page 85 1 Q Is it possible that Eaton had received the same 2 requests from other OEM manufacturers to your knowledge? 3 A Not to my knowledge. 4 Q And do you have any knowledge why International 5 would have made such a request ofEaton? 6 A No. 7 MR. HAFNER: That's all I have. Thank you. 8 MR. QUICK: Anybody else? 9 BY MR. MAGUIRE: 10 Q This is Joe Maguire. I represent Carlisle in this. 11 Basically, ljust have a couple of questions. One ofthe 12 things you said was that your recollection was that Eaton 13 began working with the asbestos-ftee linings for trucks 14 sometime either in the late 1970s or early '80s. Do I 15 understand that correctly? 16 A Yes. 17 Q Just a minute ago, you explained as to Mr. Hafiier 18 that in your recollection that the first ofEaton's customers, 19 truck makers, to go with the nonasbestos materials for brake 2 0 linings was Mack and that you believed that was somewhere 21 early in 1980 or 1981; is that correct? 22 A That's correct 23 Q In your recol lection, d id you understand the 2 4 experience with Mack to be isolated or was it your 2 5 understanding is that as time progressed from when Mack first 1 MR. BARTELS: Object to the form. 2 A That was I would call it a process of working with 3 the lining suppliers hying to -- basically doing the testing, 4 both lab dynamometer testing and field testing and all of that 5 to come up with the materials that met the wide range of 6 applications that were in the customer base. So yeah, it was 7 an evolutionary thing that led up to that period of time. 8 And there were changes too in the requirements 9 I think along that period of time that caused it to be more 10 urgent, as it was. 11 Q Now, you did say that in this time frame of 1986 and 12 1987 based on the documents you have been asked about, there 13 apparently were applications for the off-highway type 14 vehicles, I think you called them, the high friction 15 applications where apparently asbestos-free formulations had 16 not gone through the entire approval process. Is my 17 understanding correct? 18 A Yes, I believe that is correct. 19 Q Now, in that same time frame, was it your 2 0 recollection that the majority ofon-highway or over-the-road 21 type applications had been transitioned to nonasbestos 22 materials? 23 A Yes, I would say that is correct. 2 4 MR. MAGUIRE: Sir, that is all of the 2 5 questions I have. Thank you very much. 22 (Pages 82 to 85) (800) MERRILL LEGAL SOLUTIONS 325-3376 www.MerrillCorp.com 5cfe6bcd-afe7-469e-b187-b081 ecda30a3