National Hardwood Magazine - March 2012

Howard Miller Company:

Howard Miller Company: An Instrument Of Quality Craftsmanship BY CLARE ADRIAN Zeeland, Mich.—As time ticks on, the Howard Miller Company, based here continues to expand its universe beyond clock making. Already a force to be reckoned with for a wealth of types and styles of clocks, including award winning designs as early as 1933, the company’s manufacturing capacity now includes grandfather, wall, and mantel clocks, curio cabinets, custom TV consoles, case goods for healthcare and hospitality, wine, bar, and game furnishings, as well as complete furnishings for the living room, dining room, and bedroom. All through the time it has taken to build the company, the constant remains heirloom quality products. “Our floor clocks are well known for their heirloom quality and furniture design,” said Mike Wallace, Vice President of Manufacturing and Operations Support. “They are passed down through the generations and we make our other products to do the same.” The Main Street facility also shelters the 375,000 square feet of lumber inventory in the ideal species the company has chosen to build product. Ash, Poplar, and Maple in 10/4, 8/4, 6/4 and 4/4 thicknesses are used as species that are harvested from sustainable forests. These are easy to machine, cost effective and readily available, according to Wallace. As the rough lumber, dried to a moisture content of 6% to 8%, makes its way through the production process of floor clocks, many rounds of hand sanding and hand finishing transform it into a finished time piece built to last. Furthermore, over a gross of fasteners, dowels, and glue blocks have gone into each. Founder Howard Miller demanded excellence in craftsmanship of himself and all associated with his product, and his name has become synonymous with quality clock craftsmanship worldwide. The company is a global supplier, purchasing 2 million board feet of lumber annually to manufacture product delivered by common carrier to its vast market of dealers, furniture stores, clock shops, consumers, assisted and senior living facilities, and hotels. The 2010 expansion into the demanding healthcare sector was timely, occurring during the recessionary downslide. “The approach with Hekman senior and assisted living is to offer a warm furniture collection rather than an industrial line of products,” said Wallace. To build the business to what it is today, the company sounded the chimes periodically over the years and the best of the best responded. Nearly 100 years old, the Kieninger Clock Factory, founded in 1912 in the Black Forest by Joseph Kieninger and the oldest existing manufacturer of mechanical clock movements for grandfather, wall, and mantel clocks in the world, became part of the Howard Miller Family of Companies in 1993. Manufacture of the company’s technically advanced, high quality mechanical movements and clocks continues at a 45,000-square-foot facility now located in Aldingen, a village just outside of the Black Forest. Another Howard Miller company, Ridgeway, dates back to The Gravely Furniture Company in 1926, which started producing grandfather clocks exclusively in 1960. This makes Ridgeway the oldest continuously produced grandfather clock brand in the United States. Howard Miller is also parent company of Hekman Furniture. Purchased in 1983, Hekman is a leading brand name in fine wood case goods and upholstered furnishings. Hekman’s upholstered chairs are manufactured in High Point, N.C. Alexis Manufac-turing, a facility located in Coopers-ville, Mich. is dedicated to the manufacture of whitewood chairs for Hekman and other furniture brands. A Traverse City, Mich.-based site, Quality Time Components, handles the making of clock components and accessories. The facility alongside the Zeeland, Mich. home office began humbly with the purchase of an open-air lumber shed in 1941, enclosed to expand the manufacturing capabilities. Business stopped during WWII to manufacture anti-aircraft gun sight covers and other products. To support continued growth once man- 16 Hardwoods...A Renewable Resource

Howard Miller’s facility shelters the 375,000 square feet of lumber inventory in the ideal species the company has chosen to build product. As needed, Ash, Poplar, and Maple in 10/4, 8/4, 6/4 and 4/4 thicknesses are used as species that are harvested from sustainable forests. The company's manufacturing capacity now includes grandfather, wall, and mantel clocks, curio cabinets, custom TV consoles, case goods for healthcare and hospitality, wine, bar, and game furnishings, as well as complete furnishings for the living room, dining room, and bedroom. As the rough lumber, dried to a moisture content of 6% to 8%, makes its way through the production process of floor clocks, many rounds of hand sanding and hand finishing transform it into a finished time piece built to last. The time-tested Howard Miller product lines are exhibited at trade shows organized by High Point Furniture Market, Las Vegas Furniture Market, and various assisted and senior living markets throughout the U.S. ufacturing started up again, a new 12,000-square-foot manufacturing facility was built in 1948. In 1965, a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility on Main Street in Zeeland, replaced the original building and corporate headquarters. In total, nine manufacturing facilities worldwide supplement the manufacture of Howard Miller products. Just across the street from the Zeeland facility is a vestige of the company’s origins, visible to current President and CEO, Howard “Buzz” Miller, who is the grandson of his namesake and the company founder. A publicly held manufacturing company of office furniture, the nearby Herman Miller Inc. also holds the name of the founding Miller’s father. Herman Miller, furniture builder and entrepreneur, nurtured his son Howard’s interest in a focus on clock making with the best in training in the Black Forest region of Germany. A foundation in excellence was passed along the Miller line, from founder Howard to his sons, Jack and Phillip, and now to Buzz and is the steady hand that has persisted through the generations. Added to the early chiming wall and mantel clocks were the trend-setting avant garde designs of Please turn to page 39 The company is a global supplier, purchasing 2 million board feet of lumber annually to manufacture product delivered by common carrier to its vast market of dealers, furniture stores, clock shops, consumers, assisted and senior living facilities, and hotels. MARCH/2012 17