YOUNGSTOWN – From age 6, Mike Kovach knew he wanted to run his own company when he grew up. After graduating from Youngstown State University with a degree in engineering, he worked at machine shops for Fortune 500 corporations.
At age 29, Kovach decided to make his dream a reality. He and his late wife, Joan, put a second lien on their house and emptied their savings to start City Machine Technologies Inc.
CMT opened Aug. 9, 1985, in an 8,500-square-foot building on Andrews Avenue with two employees. Today the company, which serves heavy industries, has three operations in Youngstown and employs more than 50.
These include Kovach’s eldest daughter, Claudia Kovach, who joined the company in 2006 after her mother died. Her brother, Chip Kovach, followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the company in 2015 as an engineer.
Mike Kovach remains deeply involved with the company, heading to the work floor every day. He makes himself personally accessible to his customers and stays abreast of operations in each division of CMT.
The family beliefs of CMT extend to the employees, of whom at least half have been with the company for 10 years.
Pictured: Mike Kovach, president and general manager of City Machine Technologies, his daughter Claudia, secretary, and son Chip, vice president of engineering, are pictured in a 2,500-horsepower stator that was rewound for a power plant.