Micro Machine Works Inc. owner Linn Yost. (Photo provided by Michelle Waters)

In January of 2023, Micro Machine Works Inc. announced plans to expand its business in Washington County.

With an investment of more than $650,000, supported by a $40,000 JobsOhio Inclusion Grant, the company purchased new equipment to increase its capabilities.

Micro Machine Works is a veteran-owned company founded in 1992 that produces custom parts for manufacturers. The company specializes in machining small and precise parts to very tight quality tolerances.

“Washington County is a great place to live and work,” owner Linn Yost said. “Micro Machine Works has been in business in Barlow, Ohio, for 30 years, and I can honestly say that we have never advertised for work. All of our marketing has been through word of mouth. We do work for other manufacturing companies across the United States.”

Micro Machine Works had more orders than it could fill and lacked the machinery capacity to meet growing demand. The investment in a new, large five-axis CNC, multi-spindle machining center allowed the company to machine parts for primarily aerospace and other very close tolerance Department of Defense work, creating six new jobs.

“The piece of machinery we purchased is super high-tech and of high quality. It allows us to do work that in the past, we’ve had to send out to companies in other states,” Yost said. “This will allow us to bring in at minimum a good $200,000 worth of work that we’ve farmed out to other states in the past.”

The JobsOhio Inclusion Grant exists to provide financial support for eligible projects in designated distressed communities and/or for businesses owned by underrepresented populations across the state.

“As a lifelong resident of the Barlow area, this project quite literally hit close to home for me,” said Jesse Roush, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority. “Micro Machine Works is a unique asset within Ohio’s manufacturing sector, and Linn Yost is among the most innovative workforce developers in the region. This project secured and created vitally important jobs within a community that rarely sees this type of investment.”