As an innovation engineer, Christopher Rourk worked for companies in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Italy, France and Germany before establishing his own company, VOLTA ion, in Miami, Florida, in late 2018. Its mission: revolutionizing the automotive service equipment industry with innovative, environmentally sustainable solutions.
Shortly after, Rourk and his team of mechanical, mechatronic and automation engineers introduced the first rechargeable, cloud-connected truck jack, which is powered by renewable energy and uses biodegradable oil. Trucking companies, truck dealers and the federal government welcomed this equipment for not only its innovative ergonomic design and functionality, but also its low carbon footprint.
As it continues gaining traction in the U.S., VOLTA ion has begun exporting to Europe. “When it comes to jacks, Europe holds a slightly larger market share worldwide than the U.S., so exporting holds great growth potential for us,” Rourk said. “We’re talking with some key countries in South America about their automotive needs, too.”
For Rourk, jacks are just the beginning. He has plans to expand not only in the automotive space, but in areas including global food security. “We’re developing agricultural robots, which will be ready for testing in 2025, as well as other innovations. As long as my team is willing to do it, we’ll just keep pushing.”
Below, Rourk shares his views on entrepreneurship and innovation.
What inspired you to establish VOLTA ion in 2018?
In the innovation world, it’s easy to become complacent. In the past, I worked for some companies that said, “Hey Chris, let’s start innovating!” But once we created star products that brought in a ton of money, they would decide to stop investing in R&D. I couldn’t continue innovating, and so I felt restricted.
I wanted to create a company that wouldn’t stop innovating. I also wanted to help advance minorities in the engineering world, because I usually found myself being the only Latino involved in these advanced engineering programs. I saw a lot of people out there who wanted to innovate but didn’t have a good leader to bring them on board and bring out the best in them.
Now, five years later, our engineering team at VOLTA ion is a mix of people (40% of whom are women) from different parts of the country and with different backgrounds but who share one goal: to bring the future to the present. I’ve never worked with a better team than the one we have now! VOLTA has grown and excelled because everyone loves what they’re doing, and so they give all they’ve got.
Will you explain more about the culture at VOLTA ion?
In engineering, things are black and white: They either work or they don’t work. (That’s why we branded our company with black and white, along with green to represent our environmental commitment.) But when it comes to our people, I believe in having a work environment where everyone can be themselves and express what they feel. We want this company to be their second home. When you go to work at a place where you feel like you’re at home, you push yourself harder because you’re comfortable and you’re happy to go to work.
When I interview people, I don’t just look at their qualifications on paper. I ask questions to discover whether they have the ability to stand up for what they believe in and ask what they do on weekends. I’m looking for people with interests beyond engineering. What we’ve found over the past five years is that people involved in the arts — visual arts, music, painting, karate, etc. — usually have a great ability to answer questions and find creative solutions when they encounter a challenge.
People talk about STEM; I talk about STEAM. You can embrace mathematics and theory, but if you don’t understand the arts, you can’t break theory. Theory is a number that limits you, but if you have art inside of you, you can always break theory, which is what we’re always doing at VOLTA ion. That’s where innovation happens.
What is your vision for VOLTA ion’s future?
The sky’s the limit! We plan to grow tremendously.
Our vision is to be inside mechanic shops, taking care of all the lifts and jack stands, with everything cloud-connected so that we can service equipment and make software updates online. We also recently added a manufacturing facility and additional team members so that we can build everything in-house versus using components manufactured by third parties. And we’re working with a utilities company and the state on a solar panel program for mechanic shops. It’s designed to power our jacks and future automotive products, while also generating additional power we can sell to electricity companies.
In terms of new innovations, our company is structured with a separate engineering entity, VOLTA Integrator, so we have the freedom to explore other areas and build new businesses as opportunities arise. We are learning from our experiences with VOLTA ion and can apply that knowledge to our other companies.
How does having a dedicated business banker benefit your company?
My PNC business banker and I have a very good relationship, so it’s easy for me to ask for his banking perspective when I want to make a financial move. He might say, “You’re not quite ready for this; try doing xyz first.” It’s good to have someone on my side who knows the banking industry — it helps push our business forward.
Recently, we’ve been talking about financing equipment for our manufacturing facility. This is a huge facility, and working closely with PNC is going to be crucial to achieving our goals as we move into the next phase of our company’s development. Good collaboration with a great business banker is vital to successful growth.
What advice would you offer aspiring entrepreneurs?
Never give up, always push forward — surrendering is not an option. You will encounter difficult moments, but if you stop, you’ll never reach your goal.
When the world tests you, focus on getting over that wall to take your business to the next stage. I’ve seen multiple entrepreneurs speak about their successes, and the reality is that some people gave up one day before they became successful because of how hard it is to continue pushing forward. You have to push.
When you need inspiration to do that, consider reading Charles Bukowski’s poem “Go All the Way.” This is the part I really enjoy: “If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.”
