Evolving from a Lifestyle Business to Dynamic, Growth-Oriented Company
It took a decade of persistence for Josh and Jenny Miller to finally buy custom metal fabrication company, Threadline Products in 2017– setting them on a path to grow the lifestyle-oriented business into a dynamic powerhouse.
For years, Josh had set his sights on purchasing Threadline Products, which has proudly served the construction industry since 1984. He bided his time contacting the previous owner every year, waiting for her to be ready to sell.
“My background is in construction supplies. The first time I met Threadline’s owner, I asked about her exit strategy. She wasn’t ready to sell, so I waited and asked her at least once a year for the next 10 years until she was ready,” Josh reflects. “So the first key step on our journey was persistence.”
Strategic decision-making and calculated risks have followed. For Threadline Products, the path has required not only operational shifts but a profound change in perspective — one that embraces challenges and leverages opportunities.
“I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, so I’m fairly comfortable with it,” Josh said. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t lose sleep over it. I guess I’m the risk taker.”
Jenny Miller brings more than 20 years of experience in business development and product marketing, beginning her career at a leading North Carolina advertising agency before progressing into leadership marketing roles at Fortune 500 companies like Lowe’s and Coca-Cola.
Jenny assumed the role of president for Threadline Products, focusing her work on building culture and driving organic growth, while Josh oversees operations, sales and manages the firm’s M&A pipeline from his role of vice president.
Vision and Ambition: Igniting Growth
Growth-oriented enterprises require an allocation of resources that differs significantly from a lifestyle business. As the company expands, investments must be made in various areas, including technology, human resources, marketing, and infrastructure.
“We’ve got some very big goals for the business in our fortieth anniversary year and beyond,” Jenny said. “We just opened a new facility in Charlotte that doubles our manufacturing space and triples our overall footprint. The new space unifies the merger with Atlantic Bolt (another Charlotte-based fastener-maker acquired in 2022) into a single space that will create efficiency and innovation.”
While some things change, other things need to remain the same – like the commitment to customer satisfaction.
“We talk about it all the time that all our decisions are customer-centered,” Josh said. “If it speeds up our process to serve our customers, we’re able to do more for our customers. Our biggest customers are growing. We need to grow with them – both in capacity and speed.”
Cultural Transformation: Unity and Purpose
Perhaps one of the most transformative aspects of this journey is the reshaping of company culture. This cultural shift emphasizes unity and alignment, where every team member understands their contribution to the collective vision.
A cohesive culture becomes the backbone of a growth-oriented enterprise, fostering collaboration, innovation, and shared purpose. For Threadline, that culture centers around four values that center on timeless qualities like teamwork, humility, continuous improvement, and being solutions-oriented for customers, partners, and each other as employees.
“We have created four core values for our team to understand and embrace,” Jenny said. “Now, with everybody under the same roof, we will be able to live out those core values every day and watch the effect multiply.”
But, no matter how big Threadline grows, the goal is to keep the best parts of a family business – close communication with customers, personalized service, and a responsibility to our employees.
“Our employees work hard,” Jenny said. “We have Christmas events or go bowling as a team. We’ve thrown axes or hosted golfing events with our customers. We like to do that, have a little bit of fun.”