Exhibit 31(a)

                                   CERTIFICATE

I, John W. Jordan II, certify that:

1)  I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Jordan
    Industries, Inc;

2)  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
    statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
    to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
    such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
    covered by this report;

3)  Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
    information included in this report, fairly present in all material
    respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
    of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4)  The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
    establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
    defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15e and 15d-15e) for the registrant
    and have:

    a)  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
        disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
        supervision, to ensure that material information relating to
        the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
        made known to us by others within those entities, particularly
        during the period in which this report is being prepared;

     b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
         and procedures, and presented in this report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
         of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

     c)  Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
         most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in
         the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is
         reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting;

5)       The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
         on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
         reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
         registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
         function):

     a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
         operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

     b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.





Date:  November 15, 2004
       ------------------------                /s/  John W. Jordan II
                                               --------------------------
                                               Name: John W. Jordan II
                                               Title: Chairman and CEO