When it comes to Miller Bearings & Motion Systems Co., one might do well to paraphrase former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, "All bearings is local."

When it first opened in 1947, the Orlando, Fla.–based Miller was a bearing house. As time went on, the company expanded into the general power transmission market, starting a growth process that has yet to stop. During the last couple of years—lean times for many in the bearings industry—Miller not only avoided closings and layoffs, but opened additional locations, increasing its total to 17 sales and stocking locations in Florida.

Miller's president, Craig Faber, explains that a high percentage of the company's sales are from small- to medium-sized businesses.

"Compared to the Midwest markets in particular, we have here in Florida a lot of small- to medium-sized industry. We find that's a good niche for us," he explains. "The way we blanket the state gives us good coverage."

Keith Johnson, Miller's vice president of sales and marketing, describes a typical Miller Bearings' customer as "a culmination of small and local businesses, with a mixture of some national account businesses," he says. "But you don't have a Detroit business, for example; there's not the automotive or the steel. We have a few big ones, but our business model rolls toward the small- to medium-sized."

As Miller has evolved over the years from only selling bearings, so too has its approach to the "typical" customer. But it's not that a larger customer is something they steer clear from, Faber explains.

"Oh, we won't shy away from larger opportunities," he laughs, "but we also understand that in the day of national contracts and all, customers who might have a presence in Florida may also have a presence outside [the state] and can be tied in to national contracts. But we understand where our real niche is, and we continue to put a strong sales emphasis on the smaller and medium-sized opportunities."

One advantage Miller has derived from staying local is a "best of both worlds" situation with regard to inventories. At the company's 17 Florida locations, high inventories can be maintained with seemingly fewer concerns about overstocking than their competitors may experience.

"We can provide local product, so we do have heavy inventories locally, especially where the items turn at an acceptable rate," Faber says.

While no world is perfect, the situation Miller has placed itself in allows for a good amount of wiggle room, should they find themselves with ample amounts of suddenly slow-moving product.

"Of course, we try not to have 'dead' stock," Faber explains. "And while that creates management challenges for us, it can also create some sales opportunity in the markets we serve, because our product is right here and not sitting in a warehouse in Atlanta, say. So anything we have in a warehouse in Florida, we can move overnight to another location through our courier service."

To deal with those "management challenges," Faber credits Miller's corporate management team including Johnson, as well as Raymond Brocato, vice president of inventory and information technology management, and Dana Dougherty, director of finance. While Miller has evolved since its founding more than 50 years ago, its more recent changes have been a result of anticipating developments in the industry, as opposed to just reacting to them.

"About 10 years ago, we moved into more of an electrical arena, recognizing that there had been an advancement in technology related to more electrical applications," Faber explains. "We taught basic electricity courses to our entire sales group and then added some higher tech product lines as we expanded the motion control end of our business. That's been very successful for us."

Faber knows well that anyone in the general bearings industry cannot afford to stand still anymore. The balancing act between staying true to what has traditionally worked for a company has to be complemented by taking the pulse of the industry for technical developments.

Evolving technology means more and different products—which can mean more and more "things" to learn and teach employees. This is the philosophy behind the core of the company's training program—Miller University. Carlos Lopez is the director of corporate training for Miller.

In a nutshell, Miller U. "can take a person off the road," Lopez explains, "and in 90 days, they can be in a position to help us on the phones and on the counter."

A Miller freshman will have 30 days of classroom learning with "Professor" Lopez, where "we give them a solid base from where they can grow," he says.

That base includes immersion in relevant courses offered by different associations who deal with Miller and its clients— groups such as the Bearings Specialists Assn. and the Power Transmission Distributors Assn. (PTDA), among others. An intensive introduction to sprockets, motors, pulleys, gearboxes—virtually all the power transmission-related products Miller handles—is presented. Much of the material is somewhat repetitive, Lopez admits, but is effective as a learning tool.

"By the time they finish 30 days, they've got a solid base. But it's not for the weak of heart!" Lopez laughs.

Lopez estimates that a new hire—that is, a new Miller University student—will take "at least six months to a year" before they pay off completely. They can, however, contribute to Miller while their learning develops, during an observing-then-doing phase.

After 30 days, new people are assigned to one of the Miller branches, with the first two weeks spent in shipping and receiving. The first week, they observe or "shadow," as Lopez calls it, an experienced employee. For the second week, a role reversal takes place as the new hire does that particular job while the experienced shipper-receiver shadows them.

They are then sent to another location where they do inside sales, perhaps, with two more weeks of observing-then-doing. Then they are sent back for more time in shipping and receiving, and so on, for about 60 days.

It's a program that works, Lopez says proudly. Back in 1972, he went through a program very similar to this when he worked for Florida Bearings and its sister company, Antilles Bearings. The 90 days of intensive training he learned there is much the same approach he oversees now at Miller, he says.

"Basically, all I've done is spiff it up to the new technology, the DVDs, CDs, VCRs, and go on from there," he explains modestly.

The learning curve is not limited to new hires, either. Miller employees throughout the company are encouraged to continue learning. For example, Miller drivers are required to take home and complete the PTDA home study course. They have a year to do this, says Lopez, and the company compensates them for their time. It is not unusual for these employees to enjoy the learning challenge to the point that they will move on to inside sales, becoming students and alumni of the Miller University.

Lopez is always on the alert for new teaching methods and techniques. For example, he talks enthusiastically about a new DVD home study course from the PTDA, "Advanced Inside Sales," especially its "qualified value added. I'm going to be using that a lot," he says.

Some manufacturers are active participants, Lopez explains, and will come in for a day to make presentations. Greg Cober, manager of training at Warner Electric Co., is among those who are the "faculty" of Miller University. Warner Electric makes a variety of mechanical and electric power transmission equipment, with clutches and brakes being the predominant products.

"They take a very disciplined approach to how they educate and train their people," Cober says. "They take a long-range view and are very organized. They're very good at developing younger talent."

Cober also appreciates that Lopez, in particular, will chime in during Cober's presentation with a specific Miller application technique.

"Carlos will be there for the majority of the schooling and will tie it specifically into their experience as part of Miller Bearings," Cober explains. "He might say, 'you two, this is where this would work.' He's very good at making those connections."

From his perspective as an experienced corporate trainer himself, Cober holds Miller University in high regard.

"When they sign someone up," he explains, "there's an expectation that's communicated, either explicitly or it's understood, that if they come to the school, Miller expects they'll use that knowledge and go through the university process. They want them to be successful as people as well as salespeople. I think they recognize that that's good for their customers as well."

Back when other bearing companies were struggling, Miller stayed as lean as possible, but never at the expense of its training budget, Johnson recalls.

"We looked at expenditures and cut where we could. Where we didn't cut was training and market emphasis. That allowed us to pick up market share while some of the competition was closing and laying off," he says.

Few industries today are more prone to the pitfalls that can result when their products become commoditized than the general bearings industry. As vice president of sales and marketing, Johnson is aware of this, but refuses to accept it as a potential excuse for hard times.

"We all hate the word [commoditization], as it tends to take value away from what we do," Johnson says. "So we do try to stay away from that idea…. We want to look at new processes to help customers develop solutions rather than supply you a product. That is one way to take that 'commodity' out of the picture. Because if we just accept that and just drop prices to get the order, we'd be like those who had to close some doors."

Both Faber and Johnson use the same phrase—"solutions provider"—to characterize Miller Bearings, circa 2004.

"We're a solutions provider," Johnson says, "rather than a products supplier, which helps us distinguish ourselves from being tied in with a commodity supplier."

Faber concurs, emphasizing, "We want to be more than a product provider. We want to help with application needs and also look for opportunities to create some operating efficiencies that reduce costs."

"We don't lose focus on our core product, and our traditional product line relationships," Faber says. "But we recognize that we want to remain on the leading edge of every evolving technology."