Joel A. Stava

Downers Grove, Illinois  ·  joel@joeldco.com

Your business doesn't need a fund. It needs an operator.

I'm Joel Stava, an engineer by training. For eighteen years I've worked in and then helped manage engineering and sales at a specialty metals manufacturer in the Chicago suburbs. Now I want to buy one good industrial or technical business and run it myself, and I'm looking for an owner who cares what happens after the sale closes. Your people keep their jobs. Your name stays on the building. I take it from here.

Acquisition Criteria

Earnings$500K to $2.5M in EBITDA or SDE, established and provable
SectorIndustrial, manufacturing, engineered products, or technical services
Revenue qualityRecurring revenue, or customers who stick around
GeographyI'm in the western suburbs and want to stay near home, so the Chicago area comes first. I'll consider a remote-run business when the technical or strategic fit is right.
ConcentrationNo single customer or supplier the business can't live without
SituationAn owner planning to retire, pass the business on, bring in a partner, or sell

If your business is close but not exact, reach out anyway. The list describes what I care most about, not a set of hard cutoffs.

Background

Operating record18 years as VP of Engineering and Sales at Midwest Tungsten Service, running tungsten, molybdenum, and tantalum work for defense, aerospace, and medical customers
TrainingB.S. in General Engineering and a Masters in HRIR, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Engineering work across power, communications, and for the past 18 years, metals.
CapitalCommitted, with a lender-ready structure and a long-term hold. No fund timeline.

A Fund vs. Me

The typical financial buyer

  • Buys a whole portfolio. Yours is one line item.
  • Drops in a hired manager, or no one at all.
  • Cuts costs to dress up the resale.
  • Sells again in three to five years, ready or not.
  • Has never quoted a job or read a technical spec.

What you get with me

  • I buy one company. This one.
  • I run it myself, on site.
  • I grow it, the way I have before.
  • I hold it for the long term. No exit clock.
  • I read your drawings and talk to your customers.

Structures That Fit Your Exit

Full buyout

You hand over the keys on a date you pick, with a clear plan for moving your team and customers across.

Phased transition

Stay on for a season or a few years if you like, helping with sales, customers, or mentoring, and step back on your own schedule.

Family transitions

If part of the next generation wants to stay, I can build the deal around them, whether that means a partnership, a partial sale, or a clear path forward.

Downtown Downers Grove, Illinois: brick train station, fountain, and flower beds on a summer day
Home base: Downers Grove, Illinois. I'm buying within about an hour of Chicago.

For Brokers & Intermediaries

I respect your time and your fee. Send a teaser or CIM that fits the criteria above and you'll get a real answer fast, not a form reply. I've spent two decades on the operating side of industrial deals. I know what a real business looks like, and I move when I see one.

Response timeOne business day from teaser to answer
CapitalCommitted and verifiable. Happy to show it early.
ProcessYou deal with the decision-maker directly. No committee, no re-trading.

If you've ever wondered what happens to your company the day you stop showing up, let's talk.

Whether you own the business, advise the owner, or just know someone weighing what comes next, one email starts a private, no-pressure conversation.

joel@joeldco.com
Joel Stava

Sincerely,

Joel Stava

Engineer and operator