“A qualified shuttlecock requires 16 goose or duck feathers, while a single white goose or duck yields only 14 of the most suitable primary wing feathers. These feathers must go through 24 precise processing steps before they become a finished product,” Pan Xianping, head of Xingchen Feather Industry, told reporters. He said the feathers used in their production all come from the wings of the Western Anhui white goose; these feathers have high oil content in the vane, strong toughness, and sufficient thickness, producing shuttlecocks with more stable flight trajectories — a core industrial advantage for the company.

Leveraging Guzhen Town’s large and complete white‑goose industry chain, Xingchen Feather Industry has achieved steady growth. The company currently produces 2 million dozen shuttlecocks annually, with a monthly capacity approaching several hundred thousand tubes. Benefiting from rising shuttlecock prices last year, the company’s annual output value exceeded RMB 100 million, setting a record high. What began as a small enterprise with only a dozen or so employees has grown into a scaled company employing nearly 300 people, effectively driving local employment. Employees typically earn monthly wages of RMB 4,000 to 5,000, allowing the community to share in the benefits of industrial development.

On product development, Xingchen Feather Industry is pursuing a two‑pronged strategy: contract manufacturing shuttlecocks for several internationally renowned brands while vigorously building its own brand. Its proprietary “Le-Ling” shuttlecock line is diverse, and riding the domestic boom in badminton, monthly sales have reached 17,000 dozen, gradually securing its foothold in the market. Currently about 60% of the company’s shuttlecocks are destined for competition use; the company plans to raise this proportion further, continue to unlock additional value from Western Anhui white‑goose feathers, optimize production systems, and improve product quality so more people recognize the durability and flight stability of shuttlecocks made from Western Anhui white‑goose feathers, thereby advancing the local shuttlecock industry to a new level.

Source: anhuinews.com