Miller Electric’s acquisition promises growth and workforce investment

Miller Electric’s acquisition promises growth and workforce investment (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Miller Electric wasn’t for sale when a global mechanical and electrical construction approached the local, family-run business with an acquisition proposal.

EMCOR Group, a company Miller Electric has looked up to for quite some time, came to the Jacksonville-based company with a proposal that would expand EMCOR’s footprint with Miller Electric’s Southeast success while providing Miller Electric with additional resources for workforce development and more expansive projects, CEO Henry Brown told the Business Journal.

The $865 million, cash deal officially closed Feb. 3, incorporating Miller Electric under the umbrella of EMCOR Group’s companies. The publicly traded company now owns Miller Electric, but Brown assured EMCOR is not looking to change its business that’s been headquartered in Jacksonville for 97 years. Brown and the rest of the Miller Electric leadership will remain in their current roles, continuing the company’s community values in Jacksonville.

“They acquired Miller Electric because they respect what we do,” Brown said. “They value the partnerships we have, the relationships we have, and they want to leave those alone and give us the opportunity to grow those, and I think if anything, it allows us to be a better partner for those existing relationships because we now have the resources of this great, Fortune 500 company behind us within the same local leadership that’s the same commitment that we have to these customers, the community and to our workforce.”

Although Miller Electric wasn’t looking to sell, the timing was right, Brown said. The company has grown to a point where it’s doing larger projects with larger clients, so with the financial resources of EMCOR behind it, the electrical company can take on more expansive, complex projects for its clients with confidence.

Those financial resources also extend to workforce development. The biggest challenge in the construction industry is the availability of labor resources, Brown said, which is a trend nationwide and across industries.

There’s a high demand for electrical work, including large data centers driven by AI, reshoring of manufacturing, semiconductor plants, EV plants, battery plants and more. Florida’s growing population also demands more construction of infrastructure, hospitals and sports and entertainment facilities.

“This demand has outstripped the supply of available labor,” Brown said. “Having EMCOR behind us, they’re going to help us invest in that even more to invest in attracting workforce and developing workforce in our industry to meet the future demands.”

Amid labor challenges, Miller Electric intends to grow its headcount and invest more into the business and Jacksonville.

Additional technology investment with EMCOR’s backing, like prefabrication shops and virtual design and construction, helps productivity and drives more throughput with the labor available. Brown said Miller Electric is working with EMCOR to best use those investments to do more with the resources they have while continuing to grow those resources.

About half of Miller Electric’s projects are data centers and hospitals, which require a skilled workforce to meet the demand for these facilities. To continue growing the future employee base, the company starts in middle school with teams promoting awareness of the opportunities in the electrical industry, partnering with city organizations and heavily recruiting high school graduates.

With EMCOR’s ownership, Miller Electric is hopeful for continued investment in its workforce and presence in shaping Jacksonville and other communities across the Southeast.

“I think this is going to give us the opportunity to do more, not less, and continue to grow and continue to be that great community partner that we have been for 100 years,” Brown said.