Since 1929, Miller Electric has grown from a one-man operation selling products in Northeast Wisconsin, to what is today the world's largest manufacturer of arc welding and cutting equipment.

In the 1920's, almost all electric arc welding was done with large, expensive, three-phase motor generators with DC output. Three-phase power was very limited in those days and usually only available in big cities. Consequently, most blacksmiths in rural areas were still using the ancient hammer and forge technique to weld metal. In 1929, Niels Miller recognized the need for a small, affordable arc welder that would operate on the type of electricity readily available in rural Wisconsin. With no money for raw materials, he used scrap sheet metal, core and coil materials to hammer together that first welder in his basement. His simple, non-rotating AC welder was smaller, lighter and less expensive than the DC units that were available.