Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Raia.
Joseph, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My father got me my start in the trade in 1987 he had a small mold shop in Schaumburg. I give him all the credit for giving me a strong foundation to get started. I went on to work in five other shops four of which are gone now. From there in 2004 when I made the decision to start my own business the manufacturing trade was in a slump. There was a very large manufacturing base in the Chicago area but in the early 2000’s quite a few shops went out of business. I decided in addition to building plastic injection molds which was my background that I was going to specialize in EDM and go after other industries which utilized precision machining. We were able to get into projects with aerospace, medical, oil, military as well as the mold industry. I have kept Sparx as small business so we could give the attention to detail and personal service that have made us successful. But despite being small we still have grown with enough machines to handle larger projects for our customers as needed.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Things weren’t always easy. Getting the business off the ground I worked by myself putting in many 100 hour weeks to satisfy and grow a customer base. My wife and children were amazing in their support. I had quite a bit of help from guys that I used to work with in other shops that would come in at night to help me keep my workload on time. Today we have a great core group of people here at Sparx that helps things run smooth.
Please tell us about Sparx EDM Inc.
We still build and repair plastic injection molds but have branched into precision machining as well as grinding. EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) is still our specialty. We have carved ourselves out a niche with our ability to take on about any job. From tiny high precision medical parts to large parts that force us to be creative in our approach. We enjoy taking on projects from around the country that most companies would shy away from.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to do anything over it would most likely be trying not to do everything myself. As great and understanding as my family was I lost a chunk of time that I cannot replace.
Contact Info:
- Address: 65 Sangra Court
- Website: www.sparxedm.com
- Phone: 847-722-7577
- Email: joer@sparxedm.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/sparxedm/
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