Corporate work led to private consultancy

Borden Foods lab was going to Ohio, and researcher didn't want to move.

February 8, 2006

By Kenn Peters
Staff writer

Danny Chawan, of Liverpool, is the founder and owner of Srim Enterprises LLC, a company that helps develop and ensure the quality of food.

Chawan, a scientist with more than 30 years of research and development expertise in the food industry, lists accomplishments that include:

• Quality control test procedures to assure consistent quality of pasta imported from Italy.
   

• Nine product and process patents for pasta and cheese.
   

• Unique quality control methods to tackle stickiness problems in the manufacture of marshmallows and caramel-coated popcorn.
   

• Testing and processing procedures to control sediment formation in bottled citrus juices.
   

• Training of domestic and international personnel in quality control and quality assurance, services.

Chawan began his business after having worked for the Borden Foods research centers in Syracuse for 30 years. Even then, he might not have, if Borden hadn't moved its research center to Columbus, Ohio. . "I didn't want to shift my family to Columbus and sell the house, so I said, 'I think I'll start my own company,' " he said.

Like many entrepreneurs, Chawan said, he discovered that going into business for one's self often is easier said than done. First, there was a question of money, which he had to borrow, including using home equity.

Once in business, Chawan had to establish himself by solving problems to the satisfaction of the customers.

Having done that, Chawan said, he realized that great satisfaction comes from meeting customers' expectations.

"And once you have the satisfaction of having done things right, you never have to think, 'I shouldn't have done that,' " he said.
Chawan said his advice to budding entrepreneurs is to understand they won't have a steady source of income, at least at the beginning, and to know their strengths before going into business.

"That is the basic thing for any entrepreneur to be aware of," he said.

© 2006 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.