About Us
Where it Started - “My Name Is Greg”
I went to a trade school to become a machinist in the 70's, upon graduating I worked in a few different machine shops gaining hands on experience. In the early 90's I decided it was the right time to start a machine shop of my very own and I was going to call it Mills Machine Works. Money was tight, as I had two children and a third on the way, so, I found some second hand equipment and had it dropped off into the basement of my home. I asked J.T., a good friend of mine and an even better machinist, to join me. My wife, Janet, went to school for accounting so she was more then capable to handle all the office work. I was risking it all but I knew I had to make it work. The three of us started with just a few customers: Aztex, Foster Miller and Monks Manufacturing to name a few. Now, 20 years later, we have 17,000 sq ft facility, a growing staff and my two oldest children now help Janet and I run the entire business, while J.T has since retired, he will always remain an important part to the growth of our company. It hasn't always been easy but it was the best thing I ever did for my family.
-Greg Mills, Vice President
”In loving memory”
July 11, 1960 - September 27, 2022
HOW IT’S GOING - SECOND GENERATION OWNERS & OPERATORS
My siblings and I grew up here. What more can I say? We were born to take over for our parents eventually. While we wish the circumstances were different, the three of us have the knowledge and know how to run this business successfully from day to day. John has been running machines, practically by himself, since he was nine years old. By the time he got to high school, there wasn’t much he didn’t know when entering the machine tech shop at Greater Lowell Technical High School. He spent most of his time there helping and teaching the other students in his shop. John continues to instill his knowledge and expertise to students through our co-op program with the technical high schools in the north shore area. At 29 years old, he has almost 20 years of hands-on experience and it shows in the accuracy of each part he produces. He worked along side our father through out many large projects and has had a hand in almost every project for the past 15 years.
Megan is quite the jack of all trades. She is fluid between the shop and the office. She handles day to day operations and has been known to hop on the machines when we need an extra set of hands. While I was on maternity leave, 5 years ago, she took on the finances and ran the office without skipping a beat. She is the only one of the three of us that has ever worked in and managed every department. Megan is the first set of hands on the stock material and the last set of hands on the finished products before they leave the building. She is also a graduate of Greater Lowell Technical High School, where during her high school years she studied cosmetology but went back for Adult Education Classes for CNC Machining. Megan is still actively involved in Career and Technical Education(CTE). She is a Member-At-Large of the SkillsUSA MA Alumni & Friends Association Executive Board, as well as Vice President for Greater Lowell Techs SkillsUSA Alumni Association. Megan enjoys giving her time to CTE students and helping them thrive in their chosen trade.
I, on the other hand, have worked mainly in the office along side our mother. I learned the ins and outs of maintaining the finances and corporate standings. I went off to college and majored in business and marketing. I then brought those skills back to the shop and applied them where ever I could. I was constantly challenging systems and striving for an automated approach to streamline all processes, which was mostly met with resistance so I adopted a “do now, apologize later” mentality. Eventually she learned to trust my ideas, so much so that she decided to retire early and take care of my son while I helped run the business. Since our father has passed I have been taking being “President” very seriously. I have become hands on and have been learning everything I can about the shop floor, from running machines to learning inspection, I have made it my mission to know everything I possibly can to improve on the business our Dad left behind. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us.
-Ashley Parent, President