APV Engineered Coatings adds to its staff of coating chemistry professionals with the hire of Lon Bauer as product development manager. Bauer will be responsible for developing new coatings for flexible films and textiles, including development work on the company’s VYNGUARD line of premium high-performance coatings.

Bauer’s background includes more than 25 years in the chemical industry with 20+ years being in the coatings industry. Over his career, he has developed chemistries for adhesives, graphic arts, functional coatings, paper coatings, inks, paints and flexible films. Prior to joining APV, Bauer was responsible for developing a formaldehyde-free upholstery coating, a water-based lidding coating, and a heat seal re-seal coating. He has received two patents for the development of heat seal polymers for coatings.

“Lon brings a tremendous amount of expertise to our technical team,” said John Russell, VP, technical director, APV Coatings. “We look forward to his contributions — especially as we extend VYNGUARD from its traditional use with non-woven, vinyl substrates into new specialty fabric and leather hide applications.”

Bauer, who holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cleveland State University, lives in Wadsworth, Ohio, where he enjoys camping, hiking, working on cars, and spending time with his two children.