Douglas Machines: Our History

History of Douglas Machines 

The history of Douglas Machines Corp. began when lifetime entrepreneur Douglas Miller moved from England to Clearwater, FL as a young man in the 1970s. Douglas was always looking for ways to make small businesses more efficient, and he quickly realized that the bakery and supermarket sectors were being bogged down by the lengthy process of handwashing large racks and sheet pans.

That’s why, in 1979, he got to work building the first Douglas Machines cabinet washer in his sister’s garage in Dunedin, FL. Later that year, Douglas Machines got its first HQ: a small office space on Sunnydale Boulevard.

We’ve come a long way since then. After the 2011 FSMA was passed, we experienced such a boom in business that in 2016, we moved into our 68,000-square-foot facility which tripled our manufacturing, assembly, and shipping areas.

The baking industry was Douglas Miller’s bread and butter, and our connections to the industry will always be special. We’ve expanded into dozens of market sectors thanks to our hard work, customer-centric approach, and dedication to customization and innovation. We now have loyal connections in food processing, pet food, snacks, nutraceuticals, dairy, and more.

As we’ve expanded, made new connections, and tackled new problems from our customers, our product line has grown and diversified. We’ve always prioritized innovation in our designs, and that leads to changes. Douglas Miller’s first line of washers consisted of 3-4 models designed for bakeries. Douglas Machines now offers 80 models that service dozens of sectors, plus custom machines for unique problems. The result? Our customers return to us again and again to solve their cleaning challenges.

Everything we do is driven by curiosity. We ask questions, we listen, and we combine our customers’ perspectives with our thorough knowledge and technology to create more intuitive products. 

Douglas Machines’ history is one of hard work and community. Our incredible team and partnerships brought the company from a Dunedin garage to our current state-of-the-art facility. We hope you’ll join the Douglas Machines community as we forge into the future.