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Treading Carefully
In the 33 years since it was founded, family-owned and operated Miller Tirecraft now has 13 locations throughout the Maritimes. The biggest challenge to realizing that growth? Convincing young people that tire installation and related maintenance could be an exciting career. Thanks to industry-leading HR practices that include handsome compensation packages and promotions from within, Miller Tirecraft continues to roll right along. It could even be said that they are picking up speed, having recently purchased the Tirecraft name for Atlantic Canada and strategic partnerships with other independent dealers.
Tell us more about what Miller Tirecraft – what service do you provide?
We have 13 locations across the Maritimes that provide tires, maintenance and repair solutions for cars, trucks and SUV’s, all the way up to 18-wheelers, industrial, farm and mining equipment.
Our mechanics offer the same warranty approved service as car dealers, generally at prices well below what you’d expect. Every service comes with a 20,000 km warranty good across over 150 Tirecraft and NAPA stores across Canada.
Who is the owner of the company?
The Miller family. It was founded in 1978 by Roy Miller and his son, Brian. It is currently led by Brian’s sons, and a team of trusted long time employees.
Do you know what motivated Roy and Brian Miller to set up Miller Tirecraft back in 1978?
The primary motivation for starting the business was the experience that Brian and Roy both had in the industry. Like many entrepreneurs, they saw that they could be better than what currently existed, and so they took a chance on proving it. Over thirty years later, we’re grateful that they made that leap.
What was the biggest obstacle in starting Miller Tirecraft and what have you done to overcome that obstacle?
Our biggest obstacle in starting and growing our business has been developing our workforce. Not many young kids consider tire installation and related technical work to be on their list of preferred careers.
We help to overcome this obstacle by promoting from within, giving our employees industry leading salaries and benefits, and supporting local students with bursaries who intend to follow this career path.
How many employees do you have now?
Currently there are 110 employees.
What you like most about operating your business in Atlantic Canada?
Business success in Atlantic Canada relies so much upon personal connections. Since we started, we’ve had a tendency to not just deal with individual customers, but rather entire families! This makes the task of providing good customer service all the more important. Customer loyalty runs so deep in our region that it can affect whole generations.
What has been your proudest moment as an entrepreneur?
I get my greatest feeling of achievement when I go through our customer response cards. There are always outliers, but consistently reading or hearing about positive experiences from customers and friends always makes me proud of our business.
What is Miller Tirecraft doing in the areas of sustainability, human resources and community outreach?
We have always been community minded and are active volunteers. Our management team as a group sits on numerous boards as well as helping to fundraise for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Canadian Liver Foundation, the Shriner’s Hospital for Sick Kids, and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. This is in addition to the innumerable amount of community events we sponsor across Atlantic Canada in each of our local communities.
Some of our larger fundraisers included the Brian Miller Memorial Golf Tournament which raised $10,000 in its first year for the Liver Foundation, as well as our “Pink Cap Promotion” where one can buy a set of pink valve caps for their car with every cent going to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. We recently shared this Atlantic Canadian grown promotion with the rest of Tirecraft and I’m proud to say that through our combined efforts we have now raised over $200,000 nationally.
Our retreading facility produces Michelin Retreads for medium truck tires. This plant alone helps divert over 40,000 tires per year from our landfills.
Why should your company be in the “Business of the Month Club”?
Of particular note is our recent growth. We’ve just added two locations in Saint John as well as an additional location on Main Street in Moncton.
We are also extremely proud that we have purchased ownership of the Tirecraft name for Atlantic Canada. Through our corporate stores and partnerships with other like-minded independent dealers, we’ve expanded our footprint to almost every major city in Atlantic Canada with 28 locations servicing the area.
