Rutherford B. Hayes was president and Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the phonograph the year two Akron-area businessmen, J. Martin Beck and Edward G. Kubler, founded APV Engineered Coatings under the name Akron Varnish Works. From a small manufacturing site in the heart of downtown Akron, the company produced a small line of wood varnishes and black enamels for a variety of goods.