a
reference to the GAF
Corporation, an
American company that manufactures building
materials. GAF was established in 1929 as
American I.G. Chemical
Corp. and produced a variety of
different products, including solvents, lacquers, pharmaceuticals, photographic products,
synthetic silk and other fabrics and an
array of chemicals. (I.G. is an abbreviation for the
German word interessengemeinschaft meaning a
group of several
independent companies who get together in
order to
care for or forward a common
interest.) In 1939 it merged with another
company,
General Aniline Works, and changed its name to
General Aniline & Film
Corp (aniline is a substance used to make plastics, dyes,
drugs, explosives, and photographic and
rubber chemicals). By 1968 it had adopted the name GAF and was
producing a wide
range of
items including roofing
materials and other related products. By the end of the 1990s, however, it had moved solely into the building
field and had become the largest manufacturer of residential and commercial roofing products in the US.