Employee ownership transition underway at Miller Engineering

A Springfield engineering firm is advancing its employee ownership plan as it celebrates two decades in business.

Travis Miller, president and founder of Miller Engineering LLC, said employees have purchased roughly 25% of the company since the plan went live in December 2023. The firm marked its 20th anniversary in 2024, but Miller said the transition to employee ownership hasn’t been publicized until now.

He projects employees will own half of the company by January 2026, with a full transition in about three years. Prior to the plan’s enactment, Miller was the sole owner.

Miller said employee ownership was an attractive proposition as he considered the future for the engineering firm he founded in 2004. Upon fully selling the firm to employees, he envisions staying on in an advisory role.

“Over the years I’ve had a number of mentors. I’ve seen some of those people do a really good job coming up with an end game, and I’ve also seen it be completely disastrous,” he said. “I wanted to take the approach of including all of the employees in the entire process."

Miller said the firm invested roughly $20,000 on the employee ownership plan that involved restructuring as an LLC from a professional corporation. He noted the initiative is not a formal employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, saying that structure wasn’t the best fit for the company.

Upon full realization of the employee ownership transition plan, Miller said the firm would "be managed by board."

"One of the questions that had to be answered is, 'Are we going to have to find a Travis Miller replacement or not that would act as the president and leader of the group?'" Miller said. "Our group works together so well that it's simply not necessary. They know how to do what we do, they know how to price projects, they know how to interact with clients. We've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years training everyone, sort of disseminating my knowledge."

Miller Engineering, which has 20 employees, provides structural engineering, forensic engineering, building enclosure and fenestration testing services. Declining to disclose revenues, company officials say the firm has seen 233% growth in the past decade. The company relocated in 2021 to its new headquarters at 3831 S. Timbercreek Ave., just in front of its former office in a multitenant building, according to past reporting.