Our History
In 1981, Cory Miller left the design drafting profession and He and his wife Marsha moved from the Houston area to Northeast Texas. Cory served as an apprentice water well driller throughout 1982, and in 1983, designed and built his first drilling rig. Cory acquired the rare and coveted distinction of the Texas "Master Drillers License" #2464, and founded C. Miller Drilling in August of 1983. From the very start, C. Miller Drillings' motto has been "Water Wells Done Right". More than a motto, it has been a business commitment that has been the cornerstone of the business since that time.
Through the years, C. Miller Drilling has stayed on the cutting edge of water well drilling technology. In 1984 C. Miller Drilling added a larger Portadrill 501 drill rig capable of depths up to 1000' to their equipment. In 1986, Cory Miller was the first in the area to become certified by the NWWA (National Water Well Association) becoming certified in several categories of well drilling and pump installation. In 1987 C. Miller Drilling was the first in the area to advertise their four point guaranty, and the only company to advertise a sand free water guarantee. The guaranty stands alone to this day. In 1988 C. Miller Drilling added a service & pump pulling truck to their fleet along with a full time service technician making C. Miller Drilling Co. one of few drilling companies properly staffed and equipped for both drilling and service independently. In 1989, C. Miller Drilling bought Wilson Well Screen Co. - the primary manufacturer of PVC well screens in the Northeast Texas area. The experience gained as a well screen manufacturer through interacting with other drilling companies in the selection, application and outcome of their well screens installations has provided the staff of C. Miller Drilling unique insights and experience in the construction of trouble-free, sand-free water wells. This is experience of direct benefits our customers in every well we drill. In 1997, C. Miller Drilling added another deeper capacity drilling rig, a Portadrill 524, to the fleet. This rig, equipped for depths up to 1400', provides for drilling residential, agricultural, and municipal projects. All the necessary support equipment for this rig was added at the same time making C. Miller Drilling one of the few companies in Northeast Texas equipped to run two complete drill rig crews as well as an independent service crew.
In 2001, the Millers built a new office and shop facility on highway 154 between Gilmer and Quitman Texas (14 miles west of Gilmer, 15 miles east of Quitman). In 2002, C. Miller Drilling bought out a nearby drilling company, adding a Speedstar SS-135 drill rig, and another service/pulling rig to the fleet, a 5T Smeal pulling/service truck. This equipment enabled C. Miller Drilling to expand their manpower to operate three drilling rig crews and two service trucks simultaneously. More and larger Municipal and Community well projects were contracted, and in 2006 a Wilson Sr. drill rig was acquired to provide the capability to drill large municipal wells up to 3000' deep. Still deeper projects were tackled and in 2008, a Hopper GXXTA model drilling rig was acquired with drilling capability to 7,000'. Now equipped with 6 drill rigs and 5 service/pulling rigs, C. Miller Drilling is one of the few drilling companies in Texas equipped to handle any size or depth water well drilling project in the state of Texas. Over the last decade, C. Miller Drilling has earned the reputation of providing the highest quality Municipal and Community water wells, just as they had earned the reputation for the highest quality residential, agricultural and irrigation wells in previous years. To this day, seventy percent of the Community and Municipal water wells drilled by C. Miller Drilling have proven to be the highest producing wells for the water system, providing clear, sand-free water in capacities greater than any of the other wells in their systems. This is the result of disciplined attention to every detail of these projects.
Throughout these 28 years, C. Miller Drilling has continued to "raise the stakes" among the water well drilling community by offering the highest standard of guarantees and the broadest range of services and capabilities. Our founder, Cory Miller remains committed - to be the best water well drilling and service company in Northeast Texas by providing our customers the best quality water wells and well pump service available. With a customer list that includes such names as Trammell Crow Farms, Pilgrim's Pride, Sanderson Farms, Texas Eastman, Exxon, and a host of community and municipal water systems, C. Miller Drilling has distinguished themselves as the premier drilling company in the area. See our list of Engineered Community and Municipal wells. While these customers represent large and demanding projects, still 75% of our jobs are residential well projects where we continue to focus our quality commitment on one well at a time.
