The headquarters of Howard Miller Company at 860 E. Main Ave. The company announced last week it will cease manufacturing production by the end of the year and sell off the rest of its inventory in early 2026. At one point, the company was the largest clock manufacturer in the United States and the largest manufacturer of grandfather clocks in the world.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
At one point in history, no company in the world produced more grandfather clocks than Zeeland’s own Howard Miller Company.
However, a combination of changing market trends and rising costs – some of which, company officials say, are linked to tariffs that were implemented earlier this year – have led to the company announcing that it will soon go out of business.
Howard Miller, a third-generation family-owned business known for its handcrafted clocks and high-end home furnishings, announced last Thursday that it plans to end production at its manufacturing plants in Zeeland and Traverse City, as well as two plants in North Carolina, in the fourth quarter of this year. The company will remain open into 2026 to sell its remaining inventory of quality finished goods.
Howard Miller leaders shared the news with employees, distributors and customers on July 9, one day before the official announcement. Employees will receive a severance package as well as support with job placement, company officials said in a press release.
The company currently employs 195 people, including 135 at its 372,000-square-foot Zeeland plant at 860 E. Main Ave. At one point in the early 1990s, Howard Miller employed about 1,000 employees companywide, according to a Zeeland Record story in 1993.
“We are incredibly disappointed to have reached this point in our journey,” said Howard J. “Buzz” Miller, president and chief executive officer, whose grandfather, Howard C. Miller, founded the company in 1926. “For nearly a century, we have manufactured clocks, custom cabinets and other furniture designed to enhance the lives of our customers at home. We’ve been blessed with an incredible workforce of skilled craftspeople and professionals who enabled our company to grow and prosper for decades.”
Buzz Miller said that in recent years, “a convergence of market influences beyond our control” – including tariffs on parts for clocks being shipped into the U.S. from overseas – brought the company to its current position.
“Furniture sales are closely linked to the health of the housing market, which is struggling,” he said. “Our hopes for a market recovery early in the year were quickly dashed as tariffs rattled the supply chain, sparked recession fears and pushed mortgage rates higher. The furniture industry continues to shed jobs and announce plant closings.
“This has been compounded by inflation and rising interest rates. Our business has been directly impacted by tariffs that have increased the cost of essential components unavailable domestically and driven specialty suppliers out of business, making it unsustainable for us to continue our operations.”
Mayor Kevin Klynstra met with Buzz Miller the morning of July 9, shortly before Miller broke the news of the pending closing to employees, distributors and customers, City Manager Tim Klunder wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record.
“It is a sad day for Zeeland,” Klunder wrote. “The Howard Miller Company has been an iconic company in Zeeland for nearly 100 years. They have been a tremendous corporate citizen and their legacy will continue to live on in Zeeland through the downtown clock towers and the Howard Miller Library/Community Center. But, at the moment we sympathize with the company around how difficult a decision thus must have been and the impact that it has on the employees of the company.”
“It came as a shock to me,” Klynstra said after last Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. “I had no idea that it was coming.”
Buzz Miller said the company has been working with an investment banker to market itself but has been unable to find a buyer. Howard Miller would still entertain offers from an interested buyer.
Howard C. Miller, son of office furniture manufacturing legend Herman Miller, launched the company in 1926. At the time, the company was known as the Herman Miller Clock Company. In the beginning, the company crafted fine chiming wall and mantel clocks out of the former Wolverine Furniture plant on Washington Avenue, according to Zeeland Historical Society Director Katelyn VerMerris.
In 1938, what was then the Herman Miller Clock Company went bankrupt. Howard Miller took $5,000 out of his personal bank account to buy what was left of the company.
Two years later, Howard rented a portion of the Lowry-Sligh factory and clock resumption resumed. In 1941, Howard and his wife Martha filed articles of incorporation formally naming the company the Howard Miller Clock Company, with the factory at 112 W. Washington Ave., according to the Zeeland Historical Society website.
During World War II, the Howard Miller company produced anti-aircraft covers for planes being built by Ford Motor Co. Designer George Nelson designed futuristic clocks during the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, the company turned its attention to grandfather clocks, which would become the staple of its product line. Later, the company manufactured table-top and alarm clocks, curio cabinets and entertainment centers, according to the Zeeland Historical Society website.
In 1983, Howard Miller purchased Hekman Furniture Co., which will also be closing as part of the shutdown. The company in 1993 built a 30,000-square-foot addition to its Zeeland plant, a move that at the time expanded its production, staging, shipping and receiving capabilities, according to a story in the Zeeland Record at that time.
Howard Miller has earned many design awards and was twice selected as an international award winner by the American Institute of Interior Designs. Several of its products have been selected by Fortune Magazine as among the top 100 industrial design products in the world. Its clocks are displayed in museums nationwide.
Jennifer Owens, president of the regional economic development organization Lakeshore Advantage, said that she was “saddened” by the news of the company closing.
“Howard Miller has been a fixture in the Zeeland community and played an important role for the local economy since 1926,” Owens said. “The Miller family has left a remarkable impact on our community through their extraordinary philanthropic efforts such as Howard Miller Library in Zeeland and the Jack Miller Auditorium at Hope College.”
Owens said that the region continues to have a high demand for employees with manufacturing experience. She encouraged Howard Miller employees to connect with West Michigan Works (jobs.westmiworks.org) to help in their employment search.
“We will work with the company and the city of Zeeland to help support repurposing of their headquarters and manufacturing site,” Owens added.
The Howard Miller Company was a significant contributor to the city of Zeeland’s tax base. The company this year paid $168,036 between its winter and summer 2025 taxes.
Of that amount, the Zeeland Public Schools received $81,040, while the city received $33,498. Ottawa County received $16,150 and the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District received $19,001, Klunder said.
The Howard Miller Foundation will continue to fulfill its philanthropic mission and its longstanding commitment to nonprofits along the Lakeshore. The foundation, which was founded in 1976, supports organizations involved with arts and culture, education, health, mental health, human services, and Christianity, according to the Candid foundation directory (fconline.foundationcenter.org).
In its most recent IRS filing, the Howard Miller Foundation in 2023 awarded $963,500 in grants and had assets of about $16.67 million, according to the website instrumentl.com, which tracks financial records of private foundations.
In his statement, Buzz Miller expressed gratitude to Howard Miller’s employees, distributors and customers that have supported the company for so long.
“We will complete orders currently in process with the intent of winding down manufacturing operations and then remaining open and available into next year as the finished goods of clocks and furniture are sold through the company’s various distribution channels,” Miller said
Zeeland Record
At one point in history, no company in the world produced more grandfather clocks than Zeeland’s own Howard Miller Company.
However, a combination of changing market trends and rising costs – some of which, company officials say, are linked to tariffs that were implemented earlier this year – have led to the company announcing that it will soon go out of business.
Howard Miller, a third-generation family-owned business known for its handcrafted clocks and high-end home furnishings, announced last Thursday that it plans to end production at its manufacturing plants in Zeeland and Traverse City, as well as two plants in North Carolina, in the fourth quarter of this year. The company will remain open into 2026 to sell its remaining inventory of quality finished goods.
Howard Miller leaders shared the news with employees, distributors and customers on July 9, one day before the official announcement. Employees will receive a severance package as well as support with job placement, company officials said in a press release.
The company currently employs 195 people, including 135 at its 372,000-square-foot Zeeland plant at 860 E. Main Ave. At one point in the early 1990s, Howard Miller employed about 1,000 employees companywide, according to a Zeeland Record story in 1993.
“We are incredibly disappointed to have reached this point in our journey,” said Howard J. “Buzz” Miller, president and chief executive officer, whose grandfather, Howard C. Miller, founded the company in 1926. “For nearly a century, we have manufactured clocks, custom cabinets and other furniture designed to enhance the lives of our customers at home. We’ve been blessed with an incredible workforce of skilled craftspeople and professionals who enabled our company to grow and prosper for decades.”
Buzz Miller said that in recent years, “a convergence of market influences beyond our control” – including tariffs on parts for clocks being shipped into the U.S. from overseas – brought the company to its current position.
“Furniture sales are closely linked to the health of the housing market, which is struggling,” he said. “Our hopes for a market recovery early in the year were quickly dashed as tariffs rattled the supply chain, sparked recession fears and pushed mortgage rates higher. The furniture industry continues to shed jobs and announce plant closings.
“This has been compounded by inflation and rising interest rates. Our business has been directly impacted by tariffs that have increased the cost of essential components unavailable domestically and driven specialty suppliers out of business, making it unsustainable for us to continue our operations.”
Mayor Kevin Klynstra met with Buzz Miller the morning of July 9, shortly before Miller broke the news of the pending closing to employees, distributors and customers, City Manager Tim Klunder wrote in an email to the Zeeland Record.
“It is a sad day for Zeeland,” Klunder wrote. “The Howard Miller Company has been an iconic company in Zeeland for nearly 100 years. They have been a tremendous corporate citizen and their legacy will continue to live on in Zeeland through the downtown clock towers and the Howard Miller Library/Community Center. But, at the moment we sympathize with the company around how difficult a decision thus must have been and the impact that it has on the employees of the company.”
“It came as a shock to me,” Klynstra said after last Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting. “I had no idea that it was coming.”
Buzz Miller said the company has been working with an investment banker to market itself but has been unable to find a buyer. Howard Miller would still entertain offers from an interested buyer.
Howard C. Miller, son of office furniture manufacturing legend Herman Miller, launched the company in 1926. At the time, the company was known as the Herman Miller Clock Company. In the beginning, the company crafted fine chiming wall and mantel clocks out of the former Wolverine Furniture plant on Washington Avenue, according to Zeeland Historical Society Director Katelyn VerMerris.
In 1938, what was then the Herman Miller Clock Company went bankrupt. Howard Miller took $5,000 out of his personal bank account to buy what was left of the company.
Two years later, Howard rented a portion of the Lowry-Sligh factory and clock resumption resumed. In 1941, Howard and his wife Martha filed articles of incorporation formally naming the company the Howard Miller Clock Company, with the factory at 112 W. Washington Ave., according to the Zeeland Historical Society website.
During World War II, the Howard Miller company produced anti-aircraft covers for planes being built by Ford Motor Co. Designer George Nelson designed futuristic clocks during the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, the company turned its attention to grandfather clocks, which would become the staple of its product line. Later, the company manufactured table-top and alarm clocks, curio cabinets and entertainment centers, according to the Zeeland Historical Society website.
In 1983, Howard Miller purchased Hekman Furniture Co., which will also be closing as part of the shutdown. The company in 1993 built a 30,000-square-foot addition to its Zeeland plant, a move that at the time expanded its production, staging, shipping and receiving capabilities, according to a story in the Zeeland Record at that time.
Howard Miller has earned many design awards and was twice selected as an international award winner by the American Institute of Interior Designs. Several of its products have been selected by Fortune Magazine as among the top 100 industrial design products in the world. Its clocks are displayed in museums nationwide.
Jennifer Owens, president of the regional economic development organization Lakeshore Advantage, said that she was “saddened” by the news of the company closing.
“Howard Miller has been a fixture in the Zeeland community and played an important role for the local economy since 1926,” Owens said. “The Miller family has left a remarkable impact on our community through their extraordinary philanthropic efforts such as Howard Miller Library in Zeeland and the Jack Miller Auditorium at Hope College.”
Owens said that the region continues to have a high demand for employees with manufacturing experience. She encouraged Howard Miller employees to connect with West Michigan Works (jobs.westmiworks.org) to help in their employment search.
“We will work with the company and the city of Zeeland to help support repurposing of their headquarters and manufacturing site,” Owens added.
The Howard Miller Company was a significant contributor to the city of Zeeland’s tax base. The company this year paid $168,036 between its winter and summer 2025 taxes.
Of that amount, the Zeeland Public Schools received $81,040, while the city received $33,498. Ottawa County received $16,150 and the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District received $19,001, Klunder said.
The Howard Miller Foundation will continue to fulfill its philanthropic mission and its longstanding commitment to nonprofits along the Lakeshore. The foundation, which was founded in 1976, supports organizations involved with arts and culture, education, health, mental health, human services, and Christianity, according to the Candid foundation directory (fconline.foundationcenter.org).
In its most recent IRS filing, the Howard Miller Foundation in 2023 awarded $963,500 in grants and had assets of about $16.67 million, according to the website instrumentl.com, which tracks financial records of private foundations.
In his statement, Buzz Miller expressed gratitude to Howard Miller’s employees, distributors and customers that have supported the company for so long.
“We will complete orders currently in process with the intent of winding down manufacturing operations and then remaining open and available into next year as the finished goods of clocks and furniture are sold through the company’s various distribution channels,” Miller said
This photo depicts grandfather clocks being moved out of the shipping department at Howard Miller Company during the 1970s.
Photo courtesy Zeeland Historical Society
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