By Thomas A. Parmalee
Mike Miller may be retiring as chief operating officer of FT North America, but he’s feeling bullish about the future of the company and cremation.
“We’ve been ‘dealing with cremation’ in this industry for almost as long as the 40 years I’ve been in it,” he said. “The funeral homes that survive the future wave of cremation growth will be the ones that invested in cremation equipment. It’s a big investment, I certainly understand that, but so is giving away almost 30% of your revenue per case to someone else who had the foresight to invest in their own cremator.”
That realization is increasingly dawning on many funeral homes, which is one reason why Miller believes FT is poised to grow in coming years under the leadership of Dusin Edwards, who has been named as general manager of FT North America.
As for why he’s leaving now (his last day was Sept. 30, the day this article is being posted), Miller noted that while he’s been able to successfully lead FT’s North America operations from his home in San Diego, it became apparent that the time was ripe for someone to step into the role who was closer to the company’s manufacturing plant in Medina, Ohio – as well as someone who could bring a larger focus to manufacturing and plant efficiency.
“I have been able to work successfully from San Diego, but ultimately as the pipeline and delivery schedule grows, I knew having someone on site more routinely with a background in manufacturing would benefit the greater organization, Miller said. “Jan Masschelin, our CEO, and I discussed this during my review in February of this year. We picked the end of the third quarter, so that my successor would have the benefit of participating in the 2027 budget process, and we kept it a bit of a secret, so as not to throw off the sales team momentum in the second and third quarters.”
As Miller gears up for retirement, he shared some thoughts with FuneralVision.com about what he’ll remember most about working at FT and where he sees the company headed under new leadership.
When you joined FT North America nearly four years ago, what did you see as the company’s biggest opportunities and challenges?
When I was asked to join the FT organization almost four years ago, they were transitioning leadership. Patrick De Myer and Jeff Pickard had taken on new investors, which would allow them to transition into retirement. That left a pretty large vacancy over here in the U.S. as the two of them managed the operations here as well as Europe. Without that leadership, someone needed to address assimilation issues while identifying and preparing for the growth that would inevitably come with the new investment.
Looking back, what are you most proud of accomplishing during your tenure?
I think I am most proud of the team environment we fostered. We opened lines of communication between departments and routinely met as a leadership team to address issues together.
You mentioned that your primary objective was to “build and strengthen the brand.” What specifically did that involve, and how would you describe FT North America’s brand today compared with when you arrived?
For the years prior to my arrival, marketing in the U.S. primarily consisted of trade shows, which definitely have their place in the marketing plan, but there are so many potential customers to reach that have never attended a trade show. Even when I arrived in 2023, I was amazed that people would ask, “what does FT do?” My goal was for the majority of industry professionals to recognize the brand as the leading manufacturer of quality, safe and efficient cremation equipment. I think I am leaving with a pretty good sense that we moved the needle in the right direction.
Were there particular milestones, projects or accomplishments that stand out to you as defining moments during your four years?
I mentioned the improvements to team building and communication. In addition, we were able to expand and improve the office conditions at the Medina plant, introduced a Project Management office that is helping to move permits and projects through the system more efficiently, expanded the sales team, created and introduced PartnerPay, which allows operators to fund their crematory projects through FT, and designed and introduced the FT-XL, our newest affordable machine for smaller to mid-size crematory operations.
What makes you confident that FT North America is ready for its next chapter without you at the helm?
The team is ready and poised for success. I’ve been working with my successor, Dustin, for the last 30 days, and I am confident he will be able to take the team to the next level of success.
After nearly four years as COO, what will you miss most about FT North America?
I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but definitely the people. We worked hard, but we also had a lot of fun. I’ve made new friendships all over the world in this role and got a front-row seat to a group of employees in Medina, Ohio, who put everything they have into building the highest quality, safest and most efficient cremators on the planet. It has truly been an honor.
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