GFRC was originally developed in Russia in the 1940s but did not come into widespread use until the 1970s. It is used to make large, lightweight panels that are often used as building facades for commercial and residential structures. While GFRC provides tensile strength, it does not replace reinforced concrete for load-bearing structures. GFRC contains alkali-resistant glass fibers bound in a polymer and concrete matrix that transfers loads between fibers.