Miles Industries, Ltd.

Miles Industries was founded in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1977 by Garry & Barbara Miles, its objective - to build upon the Miles' family experience in the Home heating industry. We started of with a cabinet type wood burning space heater similar to the Ashley that was distributed by Garry’s father Edgar Miles (1902-1985) who set up dealers from Vancouver Island to Manitoba in the late fifties to the mid-sixties as the western Canadian distributor. By 1981, Martin Miles had established a network of dealers. When the first plate steel Fireplace Inserts arrived in the scene, Garry started to look for a gas burning alternative. This led to discussions with Valor Heating Ltd of Birmingham, England. and obtained a sample Valorflame for evaluation. When installed into a wood burning fireplace in our lower floor "rec" room, we were immediately convinced of an opportunity because of its high radiant output and efficiency. And so, Garry set about the task of bringing these gas burning and efficient radiant fireplace heaters to Canada by obtaining Safety Certification for sale in British Columbia. After a slow start many of our wood stove dealers took to Valor Radiant Fires who are still major Valor dealers today. In 1984 as volume grew, Miles Industries obtained the exclusive Canadian distributorship for Valor products and the first Canadian Gas Association (CGA) Certified products arrived for sale on a national basis. At this time, Paul Miles joined the company and moved to Ontario to develop Eastern Canadian markets. In 1986, Valor designed and sold the first ever direct vent room sealed fireplace, and it became an instant success in Canada. In that year Miles pioneered the first "power vented" gas fireplace allowing fireplace installations almost anywhere in the home. By 1987, sales had increased from 100 units in 1982 to more than 10,000 units per year. The company's exclusive distribution agreements with Valor soon expanded to Washington, Oregon and California. Recognizing a need to bring product to market faster and more economically, Miles Industries approached Valor Heating in 1999 and recommended that Valor Branded products be manufactured by Miles. An agreement was signed in 2001. The Miles' manufacturing plant has been certified (since December 2002) by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). The company has invested in a large well equipped product-engineering lab, also with CSA certification. Since taking over production and design from Valor UK, Miles Industries has successfully designed and launched a number of new gas fireplace products, including the best selling Legend G3 Insert Series.