GAF Materials Corporation

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GAF Materials Corporation is a company based in Wayne, New Jersey that has roots dating back to the late 19th Century. The GAF acroynym stands for General Aniline & Film. The company has historically been primarily focused on manufacturing of roofing materials. However, it now manufactures other building materials from decorative fireplaces to air duct piping. At one time GAF was also active in manufacturing photographic film as well as cameras and projectors (both still and motion picture). Breifly in the 1990s, it was the official film of Disneyland.^[1] Most of its plants and operations are in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States.

[edit] History

Founded in 1886, GAF Materials Corporation has grown to be one of North America's largest building products manufacturers, with annual sales approaching $2 billion. The earlier history is somewhat more complex (see American IG). The principal shareholder in GAF Materials Corp. on Jan. 8 2001 became the 27th company in the United States to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code from liabilities relating to asbestos-exposure lawsuits. However, GAFMC officials tout the company as the largest roofing supplier in North America, and insist that the bankruptcy of G-1 Holdings, its principal shareholder, differs significantly from those of other high-profile building products suppliers such as Owens Corning and Armstrong World Industries, which are also under siege from asbestos-related lawsuits. GAFMC, which G-l Holdings excluded from its filing, claims it currently has no asbestos liability as the result of a corporate restructuring six years ago that separated the two companies.

GAF has advocated on behalf of its agenda in Congress including financing the lobby group Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, an organization that has worked primarily to pass the asbestos legislation.^[2]