Kovatch Castings Inc. becomes ESOP company
GREEN, OH — Kovatch Castings Inc. (KCI), located at 3743 Tabs Drive, has adopted an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Company CEO Doug Kovatch recently informed employees he is selling 100 percent of the business to the ESOP and will be staying on as the company's CEO.
Also, Tom Planz, who joined KCI in December 2014 as director of operations and has 38 years of experience in the investment casting industry, will take on the role of company president and continue to manage day-to-day operations.
According to KCI officials, an ESOP is a retirement benefit that enables employees to own the company where they work through a qualified retirement trust fund. There are approximately 7,000 ESOP-owned businesses in the U.S., employing millions of employee-owners. KCI officials noted that according to the National Center for Employee Ownership, ESOP-owned businesses tend to grow faster and create more new jobs than comparable conventionally owned firms.
"This [ESOP] accomplished two important goals for our company's future," said Kovatch. "First, we found a great way to reward our valued employees for all they have done to build the business over the years. And second, it establishes a sound strategy for ownership succession for Kovatch Castings."
"With this approach to ownership transition, we keep going without missing a beat," added Planz. "We'll maintain everything that's great about KCI and transition to new ownership smoothly."
As seen in Akron.com.