Business owners whose products are made in the U.S. showcased their talents to White House officials and guests.
With an industrial sized, bright yellow magnet in tow, NFIB member City Machine Technologies of Youngstown, Ohio, showed off its U.S.-made product July 23 at the White House.
In what Michael Kovach, president and general manager of CMT, called “a celebration of America’s ingenuity and the American worker, America’s trade show,” President Donald Trump and the White House hosted the second annual Made in America Product Showcase that day. Business owners from across the country were invited to exhibit their products made proudly in the United States.
“It’s just the American thing to do,” said Claudia Kovach, CMT’s corporate secretary and vice president, about why the company manufactures its products in the U.S. “It’s Coke, apple pies, going to the county fair and buying things that are made in America.”
CMT is an industrial and manufacturing company specializing in lifting magnets, electric machinery, industrial machining, and other related services.
Thanks to NFIB’s resources and advocacy, CMT, an NFIB member since 1991, has brought concerns for small business issues to legislators openly throughout the years.
Michael said he met former President George W. Bush in 2003 because of NFIB and was able to help push for the tax cuts that were implemented by Bush’s administration around that time.
Surrounded by other U.S.-based business owners, Michael and his son Chip Kovach, CMT vice president of engineering, spoke with Trump about their company and products. Vice President Mike Pence also stopped by the exhibit and signed the Kovachs’ banner.
NFIB’s Small Business Optimism index reported its sixth highest reading in June and CMT shares this bright outlook wholeheartedly.
“People are very excited about things manufactured in America, made in America,” Claudia said. “It’s always nice to be appreciated for that skilled trades route where you roll up your sleeves … and that’s what I think NFIB and American manufacturing is about.”
Photo credit: Associated Press
