Texas Chillers
Dan Miles had an idea and found a home for it in Bridgeport.
When Dan Miles’ entrepreneurial itch first surfaced, rather than jump in feet first he dipped his toe in Wise County waters.
He had set up a “test project,” as the mechanical engineer calls it, in Bridgeport, the town of 6,500, give or take, with a rich history in agriculture, coal mining, and, relevant to our story, oil.
“I needed somewhere to start that was close enough for me to get to and work there and get this thing started, but far enough that nobody at [his then full-time employer] would figure it out,” Miles explains. “So, I found this oil field service company that had a yard, in Bridgeport, and they also had a crane company at the time which was another service that I needed.
“So, I reached out to these guys. I told them what I was trying to do and asked if they had any space and if I could rent in their yard.”
And he asked if he could hire out their cranes and guys to load and move stuff and do “yard-type” stuff.
From there, and with an arrangement in hand and sufficient cover from any prying eyes, Miles began his test project, which he undertook with his father-in-law, selling re-manufactured air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, cooling towers, and pumps, along with his technical know-how and support.
The yearlong test project was a success, doing about $1 million in sales.
Today, Texas Chillers is a livelihood with seven employees.
The initial investment was a $20,000 loan, which he repaid in six months.
The company, officially in business since 2019, is flourishing in the same spot in Bridgeport. The company has also purchased additional property there. Last year, the company did more than $5.5 million, Miles says.
Gittings
Dan and Michelle Miles with there children, Charlotte, better known, as "Charlie," and sons Jackson and Danny.
Miles is a graduate of Trinity Valley and TCU, where he met his wife Michelle, who earned a degree in education and went on to graduate school, fulfilling requirements for a master’s in counseling.
“I never could have done it without my wife,” says Miles, who lives in Fort Worth with his family. “No way.
“The biggest challenge, and I hate cliches, but sometimes they're right … I tell people who are wanting to start their own business, your biggest challenge is you. Especially who are currently employed and doing well, or well enough for them. You're gonna be apprehensive, you're gonna be scared of the unknown. You’re gonna be worried about taking a risk. Your biggest challenge is you. [In reality] everything can be worked out. If you don't have the answer, somebody does. Go call that person.”
The journey to Texas Chillers began with Miles’ graduation from TCU in 2009 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He jokes that he has a personality typical of engineers.
“I’m one of those guys who nerds out on stuff,” Miles kids. “Sometimes a slightly awkward personality that I try to suppress.”
To translate: Like many engineers, he has a curiosity and love of understanding how things work, which leads to thinking deeply and critically.
Right out of school he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Texas Army National Guard. He served primarily part-time, with occasional full-time stints. His “civilian” job was inside sales — a sales engineer — for an equipment rep, where he worked for a few years before getting on in outside sales with Carrier.
He became one of the company’s top salesmen, he says.
“I loved it there, I had a great time, made a lot of good friends,” Miles says.
But “things change.” The fun-loving entrepreneurial culture in the sales force was transformed, he says, into something not that by what some might call “corporatism” and all the varying negative connotations “corporate world” carries for some people.
“And I had always wanted to do my own thing,” he says.
So, he set about laying the groundwork for Texas Chillers.
His father-in-law funded the test project with $20,000. They bought a few pieces, flipped them, and just kept flipping them.
“We took nothing out of the test for a year. Took nothing out of it at all,” Miles says. “And his initial capital input, I insisted, was returned to him within six months, and we just used our own profits that we generated the rest of the way.”
Bridgeport has been more than agreeable with its affordability and accessibility to labor, much of which has come from the oil field, Miles says. Plus, any potential relocation becomes less viable when considering the 10,000-pound machines needing to be moved.
“I have a great team of people and I don't do it all,” he says. “I’ve got great employees. I really do.”
