AKRON, OH -  In light of its continued growth, Applied Vision Corporation, provider of machine vision inspection systems for the container manufacturing industry, has promoted three staff members to new leadership roles. Jerry Shaffer has been named vice president of customer service, Brian Baird has been appointed director of product marketing and Paul Stephan has assumed the role of director of software engineering.

 Applied Vision has experienced strong worldwide growth since its inception in 1997. "The three newly promoted team members will help the company capitalize on our existing and new ventures, and provide a path for creating the next generation of leaders for our planned strategic growth," said Amir Novini, president and CEO of Applied Vision.  

Novini added, "Due to our highly specialized business and technology, specific on-the-job experience is important but hard to find. For that reason, and for creating a strong route for individual growth for our existing employees, we always start by looking from within the organization for filling new positions. Generally, the positions vacated by this growth process will be fulfilled by other employees moving up or by new hires." 

The three new positions and the team members are as follows:

• Jerry Shaffer, Vice President of Customer Service: Jerry joined Applied Vision in 2008 as director of applications engineering with more than 20 years of experience at Delphi/GM where he led machine vision application development teams. He possesses a strong background in engineering and quality control, including Six Sigma training, having obtained Black Belt Certification. During his time with Applied Vision, Shaffer has played an important role in fostering the positive relationships the company shares with its customers, both directly and through effective management of its project engineering team.
• Brian Baird, Director of Product Marketing: In his new position, Baird will coordinate and direct market-driven product development and product lifecycle management. In doing so, Baird will take into account customer feedback, the company's skill set and its mission. For the time being, he will fulfill the dual role of engineer and marketer. Brian has been with Applied Vision since 2001 and has held the senior software engineer position as well as the position of metal-container product development manager.
• Paul Stephan, Director of Software Engineering: Working hand-in-hand with the rest of the Applied Vision engineering and commercial teams, Stephan will oversee all software development and the software engineering team. His new role will utilize his extensive machine vision experience and his skill for directing, teaching and accomplishing complex software development tasks. Paul has been with the company since 2001 and has held the senior software engineer position as well as the position of glass-container product development manager.