Young entrepreneur creates opportunity in weak economy

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Jake Hadden pitched this California-based Titan LED. Outside the offices in Lake Zurich are Hadden, Chris LaPlante and Michael DelFavero. | Joe Cyganowski~for Sun-Times Media

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Updated: October 31, 2011 10:38AM

With the weak economy surrounding today’s job market, college graduates are not only leaving universities with an education, but with increased pressure to find a job that allows them to use their newly acquired knowledge.

Jake Hadden, a 23-year-old Lake Zurich resident and recent graduate from University of Illinois in Chicago’s science program, was one student who experienced that difficulty. Rather than giving up, Hadden pursued his interests and created a job of his own.

“I knew I wanted to start my own business,” Hadden said. “Going ‘green’ is the new market in science and with a technical side to me, LED lighting seemed to be an ideal combination of the two.”

By the end of October 2010, Hadden had joined the company Titan LED, a California based business specializing in Energy Efficiency and Clean Tech lighting solutions (www.titanled.net/). Hadden pitched the idea to company officials of working as a sales representative for the Chicago area. The company, seeing a chance to grow, agreed.

“With the company’s goal of expansion, it was me and my partners, Mike Del Favero and Chis LaPlante, that made it possible to bring Titan to the Midwest,” said Hadden.

As of June, the company decided to officially establish it’s first Midwest location in Lake Zurich at 650 Telser Road. With this large step, Hadden and his colleagues moved up from sales and became the national directors in charge of the region including Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“With access to a new facility to cater to our needs, we are continuing to grow and develop,” said Hadden. “We just moved in and opened the showroom and are in the works of setting up manufacturing within the next few months.”

LED lighting is considered by many to be the “hot” green technology due to its longer lasting and more cost-efficient capabilities. Titan LED offers products which are designed to install and retrofit a variety of existing infrastructures for warehouse, retail, hospital, school, municipal, and small business office fixtures.

“The reason people are switching from basic fluorescent tubes is because fluorescent lighting is actually being phased out right now,” said Hadden. “Companies are choosing LEDs because they are 90 percent more efficient than traditional lighting while emitting more light and less heat with a five times longer lifespan.”

Hadden and his team have already completed a parking fixture project for the Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights and are currently working with District 95’s Seth Paine and Sarah Adams elementary schools to upgrade outside and wall tack lighting to LEDs.

“Businesses that choose the LED option profit on this,” said Hadden. “Although LEDs are initially more in cost, there is a quick return on investment with energy and maintenance savings of approximately 50-80 percent and additional rebates which are offered through energy companies and government grants. The lights are also engineered from 95 percent recycled materials and are mercury free.”

After deciding to take his career path into his own hands, Hadden continues to have high hopes and big plans for the future. Titan LED plans to continue expanding toward being able to create their own LEDs rather than outsourcing production.

“We hope to soon be in production for the first Midwest location for Titan,” Hadden said.