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European development & manufacturing company Est. 1991

Engineering Trust. Building Machines.

From the first welding positioners to the world's first electric skid-steer loader — original engineering ideas turned into working products. Designed, prototyped and built under one roof, exported to 25+ countries.

Explore our engineering Engineering stories
35 years on the market
100+ own products developed
25+ export countries
Mechanical design · Prototyping · Production

EU flagMade in the EU.

01

Machine Development

Development of machines and special-purpose equipment — from mechanical design and 3D CAD to validated technical documentation.

02

Prototyping & Testing

Functional prototypes, test rigs and demonstration units, verified in our pre-production workflow before they reach the field.

03

In-house Production

CNC and laser cutting, plasma, certified welding and hydraulics assembly under one roof — backed by a proven partner network for everything else.

Who we are

Three decades of original
machine engineering.

A family-owned development-and-manufacturing company from the heart of Europe — now in its second generation.

KOVACO was founded in 1991 by mechanical engineer Juraj Kovačič. Two divisions — welding positioners and attachments — a lean team of 85, and 4,900 m² of in-house production: laser and plasma cutting, CNC machining, welding and hydraulics assembly, all under an ISO 9001 quality system. What ties it together: original engineering ideas turned into working products, under one roof.

Reliability — our machines hold up, from the first weld to years in the field. Built once, built properly.

Precision — tight tolerances from CNC to final assembly. Measured, validated, documented.

Innovation — from the first side shift backhoe for tractor in Central Europe to the world's first electric skid-steer loader. We build what didn't exist.

SGS ISO 9001 system certification mark
ISO 9001 Certified quality system — SGS
KOVACO production facility in Veľká Lehota from above
Fig. 01 — Production hall Veľká Lehota · Slovakia · Since 1991
IDČ-KOVAČIČ workshop, 1991 — welder at a positioner 1991 — IDČ-KOVAČIČ
85 a lean team
4,900m² of production
600+ tonnes of steel a year
Our history
1991

Founded as IDČ-KOVAČIČ

First welding positioners, launched by founder Juraj Kovačič in Veľká Lehota, Slovakia.

1994

Side shift backhoe for tractor — first in Central Europe

The attachments program grows alongside our own machine development.

1999

Rebranded to KOVACO

2006

First programmable positioner

Axis control opens the way to automated and robotic welding.

2007

Second generation joins

2016

World's first electric skid-steer loader

A fully electric skid steer, developed in-house end to end.

2021

30th anniversary of founding

2026

Landscaping Bucket

Newest attachment release — three operations in a single pass.

1991

Founded as IDČ-KOVAČIČ

First welding positioners, launched by founder Juraj Kovačič in Veľká Lehota, Slovakia.

1994

Side shift backhoe for tractor — first in Central Europe

The attachments program grows alongside our own machine development.

1999

Rebranded to KOVACO

2006

First programmable positioner

Axis control opens the way to automated and robotic welding.

2007

Second generation joins

2016

World's first electric skid-steer loader

A fully electric skid steer, developed in-house end to end.

2021

30th anniversary of founding

2026

Landscaping Bucket

Newest attachment release — three operations in a single pass.

Our process

From concept to working product.

Our approach

We solve problems, not just draw parts.

Many of our projects begin with a problem, not a drawing. We understand the technical challenge, develop a workable concept, and turn it into a reliable, manufacturable product — with the trade-offs made explicit. The same pre-production workflow we used for our own machines, applied to your project.

Five steps, one accountable partner.
KOVACO engineer working on a 3D CAD assembly in Autodesk Inventor
Mechanical design — 3D CAD
01

Concept

We analyse your idea, requirements and constraints.

 02

Mechanical design & 3D CAD

Full mechanical design of machines and special-purpose equipment — load-bearing structures, kinematics and drives designed as one coherent system, every part drawn for real production.

 03

Calculations & validation

Structural and performance calculations before anything is built — validated before production release.

 04

Prototype & testing

Functional prototype built in our in-house workshop; test rigs, field trials and iteration until it performs.

 05

Production & documentation

Manufacturing with complete, controlled, production-ready technical documentation for manufacturing and certification.
Prototyping

A prototype is not just a model. It is a technical learning tool.

It lets a concept be tested, measured and improved before full production. We build functional prototypes, test rigs and pre-production units in-house.

Discuss your prototype
01

Functional prototypes

Working machines, not mock-ups — built to be run, loaded and measured.

02

Test rigs & measurement

Dedicated rigs that prove a concept with data before tooling is ordered.

03

Pre-production units

Small validation series that de-risk the step into full manufacturing.

Facilities & technology

Built under our own roof.

Laser and plasma cutting, CNC machining, certified welding, hydraulics assembly and a dedicated prototype workshop — extended by a trusted partner network.

2,500+ attachments shipped per year
50+ positioners shipped per year
KOVACO — cnc machining
CNC machining
KOVACO — laser cutting
Laser cutting
KOVACO — prototype workshop
Prototype workshop
KOVACO — welding
Welding
KOVACO — assembly & partner network
Assembly & partner network
Industries we support

Industrial manufacturing/ Energy & infrastructure/ Logistics & handling/ Robotics & automation/ Agriculture & food processing/ Construction technology/ Research & development

Engineering stories

From a question to a working machine.

The machines and attachments we designed, prototyped and built under one roof — told as they happened: the problem, the engineering, the result.
45+ attachment types
200+ attachment models
16+ positioner series — standard & robotic
30+ robotic projects delivered
Elise 900
Project — Electric skid-steer loader

Elise 900.

How KOVACO designed the world's first fully electric skid-steer loader — from a blank sheet in 2016 to a machine the industry caught up with years later.

Read the engineering story
MiniZ 400
Project — Electric mini track loader

MiniZ 400.

A fully electric, remotely operated mini loader just 790 mm wide — real loader power that fits through a standard interior door.

Read the engineering story
PP 100
Project — Welding positioner

PP 100.

Doubling a positioner range's payload to 10,000 kg — inside a 25 mm plate limit and a compact pantograph footprint.

Read the engineering story
Landscaping Bucket
Project — Attachment

Landscaping Bucket.

From a dealer's phone call to a working attachment demonstrated at a trade fair — in three weeks.

Read the engineering story
All engineering stories
Quality, confidentiality & IP

Your project data stays yours.

Discreet handling of project data is part of how we work — not an add-on.

NDA-friendly cooperation

We routinely work under non-disclosure agreements and handle sensitive development projects discreetly.

Controlled documentation

Versioned, access-controlled technical documentation throughout development and production.

ISO 9001 quality system

Certified quality management across engineering, prototyping and manufacturing processes.

Project outputs and documentation belong to the client. We treat technical know-how and commercially sensitive information as confidential by default.

SGS ISO 9001 system certification mark
Partner with KOVACO

You define the challenge. We engineer the solution.

Bring us a finished specification or a concept sketch. We handle mechanical design, prototyping and production — and stay accountable from the first concept to the delivered machine.

Get a quote Work with us
KOVACO — assembly detail in production

/Development & production under one roof

/ISO 9001 certified quality system

/NDA-friendly cooperation, discreet data handling

Regional contacts

Talk to us in your region.

India & South Asia
Rajiv Gupta

Rajiv Gupta

Senior Advisor — India and South Asia

Rajiv Gupta has spent four decades building corporate and government relationships across global markets. He established the Indian operations of a NASDAQ-listed telecom multinational and has since advised international companies entering India — navigating regulation, building market intelligence, and connecting them with credible local partners. He works through direct, one-to-one relationships rather than broad networks, and is valued for insight rather than information.

[email protected]
Your region Europe & rest of world
Vratko Slaný

Vratko Slaný

Head of New Product Development

Vratko Slaný has spent eighteen years in mechanical engineering, from the drawing board to the shop floor — ten of them at a machining company building planetary gearboxes for concrete mixers shipped to China, where he designed, ran the technology and production, and programmed the CNC mills, lathes and gear-cutting machines. He later founded his own design and machining company. At KOVACO he leads the development of positioners and other new projects, and the technical dialogue with suppliers and customers abroad.

[email protected] +421 950 592 068
Contact

Tell us about your project.

Whether you have a finished specification or just a concept sketch — fill in the form and we will come back to you.
OperationVeľká Lehota 210, 966 41, Slovak Republic
E-mail[email protected]
Phone+421 45/672 65 55
HoursMon – Fri: 7am – 3pm
What happens next
01

Reply within 48 hours. Your inquiry is read by an engineer, not a sales script.

02

A short technical call. We clarify the requirements and constraints together.

03

Proposal. Scope, feasibility and the path from concept to prototype.

Vratko Slaný

Vratko SlanýHead of New Product Development — personally reviews every inquiry.

Vratko Slaný
Vratko Slaný Head of New Product Development

An engineer replies within 48 hours.