Asbestos testing laboratory opens office in Rancho Dominguez to clean up Los Angeles.

Asbestos testing laboratory opens office in Rancho Dominguez to clean up Los Angeles 

David Kahane recently opened a Rancho Dominguez office for Forensic Analytical Specialties Inc., an asbestos testing laboratory. The second office for the Haywood-based firm, Kahane said the new office has inked 10 new accounts in its first two months.

The office already employs five people, four on a professional level. In Haywood there are 45 employees.

With roughly 30 percent of the San Francisco market sewn up, FASI had revenues on the order of $3 million last year, according to Kahane, who is a vice president of FASI.

Kahane sees the potential Los Angeles market at three times the size of that of the Bay Area. If the company takes off here, Kahane projects revenues reaching $9 million here. This year Kahane estimates there will be $250,000 to $500,000 of billing.

Kahane said Los Angeles lags behind the Bay Area and the East Coast in asbestos remediation. That provides his firm with an opportunity. He said having an office in Los Angeles County will enable his firm to offer a quicker response to existing and new clients, as well as exploit growth in demand.

In business for four years, FASI is in it for the long haul, Kahane said. "It is easy to get in and out of the business and make a quick killing because the public is not well informed," he said.