That is actually a question that has been on many minds as of late. So...... what is actually happening at Miller's Inc? Miller's underwent a change of ownership approximately 3 years ago. After 35 years at the helm of his Namesake Business, Jim Miller wanted to retire and move on with the next steps in his life. While I am sure Jim wouldn't want me to share the details with you, I am sure he would like to shout out to everyone who supported him over the years and say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IT WAS QUITE A RIDE!! He still currently lives in Arizona with his wife and plays golf quite a bit. In addition to being an afficianodo with old Mercedes Benz he was also involved in orchids and continues that affection today. Those who are interested in more details can contact him directly.
As the new owner, I've been working hard to bring the operation up to speed with newer technology in addtion to modernizing processes so they can be more efficient (Jim did a great job it's just time for updates!!). You may have already noticed a new look and feel to our website, which was in need of a facelift after all these years. Over the course of the next several months we are going to update our internal systems to a modern platform that integrates shipping, card processing and inventory with our website a little better. In todays day and age many small business markets now have "Marketplaces" that assist them in selling product to different generational age groups and different folks that shop in different places. This helps many businesses suceed with sales when the times get slow and also helps businesses diversify into other places, extending growth into other areas of the industry. In fact, you may have already seen some of these changes occuring.
Many of you may or may not know that Miller's used to manufacture many of its own parts, bringing them to the forefront so many folks could restore their older Classic Mercedes Benz. The new owner of Millers would like to continue that tradition and start reproducing these types of items again. The first order has gone in and has been recieved into our warehouse, and will soon be followed by other new orders and parts.
At a later date, once we get through the tech upgrades, Millers will move into small scale R&D in order to bring new items back to those folks who have been looking for that one small part that is no longer made anymore. Hopefully, we will be able to hit a little bit on those and help some folks out. In addition to that we have also been working with some of the local enthusiasts to market and sell some of their parts as well. This will help free up some of their time in order to allow them to produce addtional needed items.
I would like to pass along that Millers is still owned by an automotive afficienado. Much like past owners, we have been restoring cars for the past 45 years and would like to continue to pass along that enthusiasm to each person we come in contact with. We would like to also run the business as if we were customers of it as well and to treat each customer as we would like to be treated. While it wont be possible in all cases Im sure, however it is a goal that we strive for daily.
One key note I would like to say is, by now some of our cars are 50+ yrs old, and many of us have been working on them since our early teens or maybe even early 20's - many times during when our families and kids were growing up. My hope is that you involved them enough so that they will involve their kids and so on. This industry needs participation now more than ever in order to survive the next generation of restoration experts.
We look forward to continuing to provide you with quality parts and accessories for many more years to come.
Thank You!