During his two decade career in exercise, the one thing stood out the most to Wayne resident, Don Powers, was how hard it was to find somebody who could properly fix broken fitness equipment , writes Diane Mastrull for Philly.com.

In a field populated by do-it-all mom-and-pop businesses, West Chester University graduate Powers saw an opportunity in the fitness sector that, despite his lack of experience, he could not miss.  So fourteen years ago he started Fitness Machine Technicians.

“I didn’t know anything about fixing equipment,” said Powers. “I just threw the tool bag on my shoulder and hit the pavement and went to health clubs and different companies.”

Today, FMT is headquartered in Malvern with eight full-time employees and a range of institutional and corporate clients as well as numerous sporting clubs, residential complexes and individual owners of fitness equipment.

One of the franchises has been purchased by Kennett Square’s Andrew Lawrie for neighboring Berks and Lancaster counties.

“The appeal to me was Don and his board of advisers wanted someone who was entrepreneurial and could help them take it to the next level,” said Lawrie. He also pointed out that the business is largely recession-proof, as people still exercise and invest in repairs, rather than new purchases.

Read more about FMT at Philly.com here.