Business Spotlight: Ron Miller Hardware and Specialty Sales

Ron Miller Hardware and Specialty Sales is carving a niche in a locally competitive market. Owner Jay Miller took control of the business in April after his father, founder Ron Miller, passed away.

Ron Miller opened the company for business on June 1, 1988, at the age of 50.

"My dad had a background in construction and was a sort of shade-tree carpenter. He worked for another company similar to this one but was asked to resign. So he started his own company," said Jay Miller.

Miller's business specializes in custom commercial construction items such as "steel and wood doors, steel and wood frames, door hardware, keying, bathroom accessories (such as partitions), fire extinguishers and cabinets. It's all construction materials," said Miller. He said the company does 99 percent of its business in the commercial field.

The company also customizes thresholds to match architectural designs.

"The door frames that we sell are hollow 16-gauge steel. It's already molded, so we take the frames back to the shop and take the drawings off of the plans. We weld them until they are the same as the picture the architect has drawn," said Miller.

Miller cites one such job with which he was particularly pleased.

"We did a school job back in the summer with Kenmar Construction. It was on four Springfield schools Jarrett, Pipkin, Reed and Study. We had to do the exterior doors. They were really wide and tall with arched tops, and one doorframe held four different doors. We had to deliver them at 6 o'clock in the morning so we wouldn't be in any traffic because they were so big. It was a neat job because it was something we had never done before, and we always look forward to doing new things," said Miller.

Ron Miller Hardware and Specialty Sales has worked on a number of schools in the Springfield area, including Logan-Rogersville, Hollister and Waynesville. The company does business within a 150-mile radius of Springfield. According to Miller, the company faces an immense amount of competition.

"There are five businesses in Springfield that do what we do. There aren't even that many in Kansas City, which is obviously a much larger market," Miller said. " I honestly don't know why there are so many. One company is a branch from Kansas City. Another is the company my Dad helped found, and a few are branches of companies that were here a long time ago and folded."

In order to perpetuate his father's legacy in the midst of strong competition, Miller sought the help of a business consultant, International Profit Associates of Chicago. As Miller had to make a difficult transition from employee to boss when he inherited the company, he credits this as an important step in ensuring the company's future.

"(The consultant) looked at how I and my secretary and the guys in the shop handle things. It opened our eyes to a lot of different ways of doing business. It also highlighted a lot of problems we had with getting things shipped out on time. It's made the service end of our business much better and fueled a lot of thought on my part," said Miller.

Miller and his five employees have honed their practices and found a more effective strategy for the business.

"Every person here makes sure orders go out smoothly and on time. We don't want to be thought of as the cheapest; we want to be thought of as the ones that (contractors) can depend on when they need something fast," Miller said.

Miller's clients say they appreciate the effort.

"Their service is very good," said Paul Dock, president of Dock Brothers Construction Company.

"Their market is very much price-driven, and I've always found their prices to be very competitive. You can always find someone cheaper, but how well can they really service you? I get good prices and good service with them, which is a real plus," said Dock.

Morelock-Ross Builders Inc. co-owner Ken Ross agreed.

"They do a nice job. There are challenges in this business that come up from time to time and they are always willing to do what needs to be done in a timely fashion," Ross said.

Growing comfortable in his role as company leader, Miller looks forward to future growth. He hopes to add a line of high-end residential products in the near future.

Meanwhile, clients continue to appreciate the effort that Miller makes at company improvement.

"They're the finishing touch to the buildings that we build," Dock said.