By Jordan Parker

Kelly-Moore Paints, a paint supply giant founded in the Bay Area 78 years ago, said Friday it will cease operations immediately, citing financial constraints stemming from asbestos settlements and other financial hardships.

According to its website, 61 out of its 157 stores are in the Bay Area.

For more than three decades, the paint company has grappled with thousands of asbestos litigation claims due to asbestos in cement and texture products, officials said. Although the practice was discontinued in 1981, the company has paid out about $600 million over the past 20 years and could face more than $170 million in future liabilities, according to Kelly-Moore officials.

The company was founded in San Carlos in 1946 by William Kelly and William Moore and rose to become the leading independent paint company in the U.S., according to its website…(more)

Could a paint shortage slow down construction even more? Or are there enough other manufacturers ready to pick up the slack by increasing production?