APC Announces Retirement of Harrington

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) has announced the retirement of Joseph F. Harrington after 25 years with Advanced Polymer Coatings. 

In 1994 he was approached by Don Keehan, Chairman of Advanced Polymer Coatings, to further develop the Marine Coatings industry with APC’s MarineLINE high-performance coating. Today MarineLINE is the industry leader in high performance coatings for the chemical tanker industry.

APC President David Keehan says, “Joe Harrington has had a remarkable track record of 59 years in the coatings industry.  We thank Joe for his excellent service to APC and our MarineLINE customers.”

Mr. Harrington’s first position in the coatings business was from 1960-1967, working for International Paint Company in New York, N.Y. as a Sales and Technical Representative. He secured the first tanker in the industry that was fully coated with epoxy for Keystone/Shell at Bethlehem Steel in Maryland.  He later introduced epoxy shop primers to Bethlehem Steel and General Dynamics and landed other new customer accounts, thereby earning the nickname of “Epoxy Joe” in the Marine Coating Industry.

From 1967-1970 he worked for Mobil Chemical in New York and Tokyo, Japan, as Far East Marine and Industrial Manager, where he organized and directed the coating of twelve 212,000 DWT tanker newbuildings for Mobil Oil, plus additional tankers, and other projects.

From  1970-1983 he served as Vice President for Farboil Paint Company, a division of Beatrice Foods where he was engaged in various marketing and sales projects.

Next followed a 10 year career from 1983-1993 as Vice President and General Manager for the Ameron Protective Coatings Division in California, where he greatly increased worldwide sales and secured the coating contract for the building of ten super container ships for U.S. Lines in Korea. He also developed manufacturing and license agreements around the world.

During his tenure at APC, he helped acquire various government and classification approvals and secured new clients for large tank lining applications. He also established agents in the Far East, Southeast Asia, Greece and Cypress, Italy, and Turkey, and further recruited and assisted new agents and key employees. He also introduced MarineLINE into the barge and towboat business on the East Coast of the US, and also helped to develop the ISO tank container lining business.

APC is a leader in the development of high performance coatings used in the transport and chemical production industries, protecting assets against corrosion.