From coal to eco-friendly ventures

China’s Shanxi province is well known for its coal production -- and Xiaoyi city is one of its main centres. Coal-related industries account for more than half of the province's GDP. But the local government has been trying to persuade businesses to move from these pollution-causing ventures to something more sustainable and eco-friendly. It only takes 2 hours to process ducks for shipping, at this poultry company In Xiaoyi City.

But it took 4 years for the MingXin Poultry Company to turn a profit.

The company used to mine coal and manufacture coal-related products. In just a short space of time, it saw soaring profits. But in 2006, amid a market meltdown and government carbon initiatives, the head of the company made a radical decision to switch from coal to ducks.

Sima Shouliang, General Manager of Mingxin Poultry,said, "Before starting in this field, we did a lot of research. We found that Xiaoyi had advantages when It came to duck farming, especially in the areas of the bio-security and disease prevention. The government has given us great support, investing 1.5 million dollars in our company. In particular the policies introduced this year provide a lot of subsidies for farmers."

A total of 32 million US dollars has been invested in the project. 130 different duck products are made here, and sent out to more than 10 provinces across northern China.

Most importantly, the transformation has directly helped 1000 duck farmers in surrounding counties, and the thousands more working in related industries.

Lebelight is another example of how a company can move between seemingly unrelated sectors.

Its parent company is Golden Rock, one of the biggest coal related product corporations in Xiaoyi City. Facing the new era, the CEO looked to new technology, and the manufacture of energy saving LED lights.

Sun Xikui, spokesman od LEbeilight Tech. Company, said, "One side has abundant capital, while the other side is mastering advanced technology.We set up the company together. In the initial stage, we plan to invest 79 million dollars,and to reach annual output of 20 million tons. Energy conservation is the future for both China and the world."

A new technology zone is now being constructed in Xiaoyi, which will include electro-optical research facilities, large scale manufacturing and technical demonstration centers.

A new Xiaoyi is appearing before the world.