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:  May 16, 2005
                                                  /s/   John W. Jordan II
                                                  -----------------------------
                                                  Name:  John W. Jordan II
                                                  Title: Chairman and CEO