Howard Miller Clock Company

From a furniture family's clock division in a small Michigan town to a well-known name in floor clocks, and a 2026 relaunch under new owners.

A clock company born in a furniture town

Zeeland, Michigan, was a clockmaking town well before Howard Miller existed. The Zeeland Historical Society traces local clockmaking to 1899, when John Spyker started a small grandfather clock business, and to the Colonial Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1906.

The company's own history says Howard C. Miller founded the business in Zeeland in 1926. He was the son of Herman Miller, the name behind the well-known office furniture maker.

The historical society tells the story a little differently. It says the Herman Miller furniture company bought the closed Wolverine Furniture factory in 1926 and started the Herman Miller Clock Company there. In 1940, it says, D.J. DePree handed the clock division to his brother-in-law, Howard Miller, and it was renamed the Howard Miller Clock Company. The society's own clock identification page dates the Herman Miller Clock Company to 1927 to 1938, so even local accounts differ by a year or two.

From modernist wall clocks to grandfather clocks

According to the company, its early products were chiming wall and mantel clocks meant to last for generations. In the 1940s it turned to more daring designs, and in the 1950s it sold futuristic clocks by the designer George Nelson.

The 1960s brought the biggest shift. The company says it moved into grandfather clocks in that decade and went on to become the world's largest grandfather clock brand, a claim that comes from the firm itself.

In the 1970s and 1980s it added wall, tabletop and alarm clocks, along with curio cabinets for displaying collectibles. The historical society notes that the original clock building burned in 1961 and that the company built a new plant at 860 East Main Street, which grew considerably over the years.

See also: a closer look at tall-case floor clocks on OnlineClock.app.

How to identify and date a Howard Miller clock

Start with the model and serial number. The Zeeland Historical Society says most Howard Miller clocks carry a foil label, on the back of the clock or inside the case, that lists both numbers. On a floor clock, open the door and look inside the case as well as on the back.

The society adds some useful clues. Howard Miller dials usually carry the company name or logo, and the model number on the label can be compared with old trade catalogs. Some older labels read Made in Germany, which refers to the movement rather than the case. Many grandfather clocks sold in the 1980s also carry a brass plaque with the buyer's name and purchase date.

Earlier clocks from the Herman Miller years may have dials reading Herman Miller Clock Co. Zeeland, MI or Clocks of Character. The society says many of their mechanical movements came from the Winterhalder family in Germany and are stamped Miller, Germany, while electric movements came from outside suppliers such as Hammond and Lanshire. Howard Miller's support article does not explain how to date a clock from its serial number.

Acquisitions, closure and relaunch

The firm grew by buying other makers. Its history lists the purchase of Hekman Furniture in 1983, the German clock movement maker Kieninger in 1993 and Woodmark Upholstery in 1994. Kieninger later went separate ways: the German business magazine Wirtschaft im Südwesten reported that it became insolvent in early 2020 and that new investors bought its shares and name, restarting it in Aldingen as Kuma GmbH in 2021. For most of its life Howard Miller was run by the founder's descendants, most recently his grandson Howard J. Miller, known as Buzz.

In July 2025 the company announced that it would wind down, citing a weak housing market and tariffs, and it stopped making clocks at its Zeeland plant. In May 2026, WGVU News reported that a group of West Michigan investors had acquired the business and would relaunch it.

According to that report, the revived company stays in Zeeland with staff focused on design, operations and marketing, concentrates on wall, mantel, tabletop and floor clocks, and expects new designs in late 2026. Former executives lead it, and members of the Miller family stay on as advisors. The report does not say where the new clocks will be made.

See also: tips for picking a wall clock that suits your room on OnlineClock.app.

Keep exploring

Sources

1. Howard Miller Company History (Howard Miller)
2. Clock Manufacturing in Zeeland (Zeeland Historical Society)
3. Tips to identify your Zeeland made clock (Zeeland Historical Society)
4. Howard Miller Clock Company revived by West Michigan investors following closure plans (WGVU News, May 2026)
5. Eine der letzten ihrer Art: Kieninger restart as Kuma GmbH (Wirtschaft im Südwesten, 2021)