RIBBON CUTTING … Wauseon Chamber of Commerce members, as well as the owners and employees of M. E. Miller Tire celebrate a ribbon cutting for the company and its changing ownership.
By: Jacob Kessler
M.E. Miller Tire, located at 17386 OH-2 just west of Wauseon, has made a change in ownership.
Longtime owner Ed Miller has passed on ownership to Pat, Dana and Zach Riley of Riley Tractor Parts Inc.
Ed is the son of the late Mahlon E Miller who founded the location in 1970.
Before running the tire shop, Mahlon owned and operated M.E. Miller & Son Trucking from 1958 to 1969.
The company consisted of eight semis that would haul cattle from the Chicago stockyards to New York and then return with steel.
Due to needing tires, he proceeded to order them in large quantities. This brought others to start asking for tires as well, which led to him selling car and truck tires.
In 1969 the Chicago stockyards moved to Peoria, Illinois. This change would no longer suit the company due to the schedule they had been operating with.
That is when the company switched focus and decided to sell tires full-time. They also added farm tires to their inventory in 1970, and still today carry any size farm tire.
They also started promoting antique tractor tires in 1989, which has made M.E. Miller the go to seller in the country for those looking to pick up an antique tractor tire.
In 1985, Mahlon passed the presidency of his company on to his son Ed. Together with his sister Bev, the two continued to manage the business as a brother and sister team.
In 2020, Bev lost her battle with cancer and is greatly missed.
Following the change of ownership, the company will continue to provide the same level of excellent service it has for the past 52 years.
Ed Miller will stay on as management for the next couple of years before looking to retire. “People ask me if I am ready to retire and I always say sure, bring your car over and I will re-tire it for you,” said Ed Miller.
As for looking back at the past 52 years, Ed had this to say. “It has been a pleasure working in the tire business and serving the community for almost 53 years now.”
“The support we get from the community is what has helped to keep us going all these years.”
The new owners are also looking forward to continuing the good work performed at M.E. Miller Tire.
“We look forward to continuing the tradition of serving the community that was set by Mahlon Miller and continued by Bev and Ed,” said Zach Riley.
This coming January will also be the companies 53rd year of service in the community.
Jacob can be reached at jacob@thevillagereporter.com