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June 9, 2002
By JOHN CHARLES ROBBINS
Staff writer
Like many youngsters looking to make a little pocket change, Philip Miller worked at an assortment of odd jobs in
the summer.
When he was 10, he mowed the grass and cared for the grounds at the Howard Miller Clock Co. in Zeeland.
It gave the boy some spending money, nurtured his growing work ethic, and helped pass the time on those long summer
days.
The only difference was that his family's name was on the company sign.
That was 48 years ago. Today he runs the company.
Philip D. Miller has taken the reins at the family-owned company, succeeding his older brother, Jack H. Miller. who
recently retired.
As new chairman and chief executive officer, Miller reminisced recently about his formative years, how he literally
grew up with the company.
When he was 14, he recalled, he took more difficult jobs within the company, working in the factory every night after
school and during the summers.
Miller, like other family members who've joined the ranks, eventually worked in all departments, including machining,
cabinet assembly, finishing, clock assembly and more.
After high school he attended Hope College and the University of Michigan, earning a master's degree in business administration
in 1966.
He said his father, company founder Howard C. Miller, always wanted him to make his career with the family business,
but didn't pressure him and made it clear that it was Philip's decision to make.
"Dad gave me an opportunity. He empowered me," he said.
It wasn't a hard decision for Miller to make.
"I didn't want to wait. I was anxious to get into the business as soon as I got out of school," said the
new CEO.
Outside of the family business, Miller, 58, has made long-term commitments to the Board of Deacons at Christ Memorial
Church, the advisory board to ODL Inc., and the Board of Trustees at Hope College.
"Those are the places where my heart is," said Miller. "They have all had an important impact on my
life and values."
Bethany Christian Services, one of the largest adoption agencies in the country, also holds a special place for Miller.
For the past 32 years he and his wife, Nancy, have coordinated the Christmas presents for 350 foster children and
orphans under the care of Bethany Christian Services in West Michigan.
Miller speaks of his company's accomplishments with genuine pride and of his employees with genuine admiration. Miller
said he believes a key to the company's success is the quality of the people in the Holland-Zeeland area.
"Their work ethic and values are without equal," he said.
Headquartered in Zeeland, and now celebrating its 75th anniversary, Howard Miller employs about 600 people in the
Holland-Zeeland area, and 1,700 worldwide. It is the world's largest manufacturer of grandfather clocks and one of the world's
most recognized brand names in collector's cabinets.
"The good Lord has been good to us," said Miller.
While other West Michigan corporations were forced to tighten belts and in some cases suffer hurtful gouges in their
workforce in the last two years, Howard Miller Co. kept ticking away, moving ahead with no setbacks.
"Fortunately, we have not had a layoff, and we're currently hiring and expanding," Miller said.
The changing of the guard at Howard Miller Co. resulted from last month's retirement of Jack Miller, 70.
As part of the change, Jack's son, Howard J. "Buzz" Miller, 40, was made president and chief operating officer
in the recent realignment of duties.
After earning his law degree in 1987, Buzz joined the company full-time, working in the purchasing department. Then
it was off to Germany for 12 months to study mechanical movement manufacturing.
For several years he worked his own sales territory in the Illinois and Missouri area.
He returned to home base in Zeeland in 1991 and spearheaded creation of the company's international sales department,
and he's done much of the company's legal work in mergers and acquisitions.
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June 9, 2002
Jack Miller Retire Sidebar
After nearly 50 years of leading the Howard Miller Co. to continued success and growth, Jack H. Miller, 70, retired
in May.
Miller joined the company in 1954 when it had only 35 employees and sales of $500,000.
The business has crafted nearly 15 million clocks in its history, in all shapes and sizes. It makes floor, mantle
and wall clocks of glass and wood, with German movements to accurately count the minutes. The company also makes collectible
cabinets.
It was Jack Miller's decision to enter the floor clock business in the late 1950s that has marked years of dramatic
expansion and growth, and has created one of the strongest consumer brand names in the industry.
Under Miller's leadership the company expanded beyond the clock business into furniture with the acquisition of Hekman
Furniture and Alexis Manufacturing in 1983.
In subsequent years the company umbrella expanded domestically with the addition of Woodmark Upholstery, High Point,
N.C., and Brookley Furniture Co., Mobile, Al.; and internationally with Kieninger Uhrenfabrik, Aldingen, Germany, and Newcastle
Furniture, Shanghai, China.
-- John Charles Robbins
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