Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Speaker Touts High-Tech Industry, Small-Town Business
Couple Sought Slower Pace Of Life
LINCOLN — The guest speaker for the 17th annual Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce banquet said she figured some people thought they would be coming to the dinner to learn about emergency medical services.
EMS, Inc., does not have anything to do with the emergency medical services industry but instead is a high-tech, family-owned company that provides electronic and electrical mechanical work for its many customers.
“We get that a lot, people wanting to sell us ambulances and medical equipment,” said Marilyn Miles, who owns EMS, Inc., along with her husband and son.
EMS stands for Electronic Manufacturing Solutions and Miles told those at the chamber banquet how she and her husband made their way from Dallas to eventually open their own company in the small community of Dutch Mills.
Heather Keenen, chamber president, introduced Miles as the speaker by sharing how her employees describe her. EMS employees say the company is a positive place to work, Keenen said.
“They describe Marilyn as a force of nature, a role model and a cheerleader,” Keenen said.
Miles and her husband, Dennis Miles Sr., married 35 years ago and he then decided to go back to school to earn an associate’s degree
in electronics. A great choice for him, she said, because he is “happiest when he is fixing things.”
After he graduated, he worked for Southwest Airlines and she was working in sales and then district sales for Panasonic in Dallas. Ten years later, they decided to seek a slower pace of life and relocated to this area of the country.
As they both changed jobs and gained more experience in the electronics world, they decided to move to Lincoln in 1999, where they bought a 70-acre farm and began raising sheep.
They still have some of their original sheep but are no longer in the breeding business. Having the livestock on site, Miles said, provides a nice balance between high tech electronics and “barn therapy.”
In 2006, the opportunity opened for them to start their own business, working out of their home on the weekends. Within several months, they had so much work, Miles said, that their son, Dennis Miles Jr., joined the company. Today, the family-owned company also includes a brother and two nephews.
EMS celebrated its 10th anniversary last fall and has had three expansions over the years. The company now
They still have some of their original sheep but are no longer in the breeding business. Having the livestock on site, Miles said, provides a nice balance between high tech electronics and “barn therapy.”
has a total of 25,000 square feet and employs 52 people. EMS Inc., has invested about $1 million in high speed, high tech, high assembly equipment and builds products, makes repairs and can provide full, turnkey assemblies, Miles said.
The plant can take a project from an idea drawn on a napkin to fruition, she added.
The firm’s biggest need right now, Miles said, is more employees. One of its customers is Purkey’s of Springdale, which provides solutions for the commercial trucking industry. EMS is involved in a major project for this company and will need additional employees to take care of the work.
EMS will have full-time and part- time positions available and Miles encouraged those at the banquet to spread the word.
“If you know of anyone looking for a good job, send them our way,” she said. “This is the perfect opportunity to talk to the community about what we are doing in Dutch Mills and how we need your help.”
In addition to Purkey’s, Miles named other customers and products manufactured by EMS.
The company builds the electronic circuit board that goes in parking meters for Park- O- Meter of Russellville. EMS makes about 18,000 of these a year for the company. EMS also builds the control box for a competition-grade smoker and about 500 of these are being shipped quarterly to Australia. Another project is the control unit for professional exercise equipment used for rehabilitation.
The chamber’s banquet program also included an update on career courses by Principal Courtney Jones and an update on the construction of the new Harps Food Store in Lincoln by store manager R. C. Capper.