In 1985, Mr. Si-yuan Chen founded in his hometown Fenggu Company, a rice drying company. At that time, Chen’s own belief and passion in rice was the anchoring power of Fenggu Company. A graduate from Yuanlin Middle School, Mr. Si-yuan Chen is a loving, caring and easy-going person. His business thrived by attracting trust from farmers with a simple and transparent trading mechanism.

Mr. Si-yuan Chen

In 2003, Mr. Si-yuan Chen’s second son who ran the business with him suddenly passed away. This put his family in misery and cast a shadow on Fenggu Company. At this juncture, his eldest son Mr. Tsung-wen Chen decided to quit his job in another city and returned home to take over the business. A graduate from Yunlin Vocational College (currently National Formosa University), Mr. Tsung-wen Chen used his professional expertise and transformed this factory.

Under Mr. Tsung-wen Chen’s leadership to keep up with the times, Fenggu Company has become a rice drying specialist, a change from its past business model as a rice wholesaler. By utilizing his expertise in mechanical design, Mr. Tsung-wen Chen modified the rice drying machines for better workflows. The transformed Fenggu Company moved to its current address at No. 258, Caoyi Section, Caohan Road, Caohu Village, Fangyuan Township, with a bigger facility of 1,200 pings in size.

Rice drying looks easy to the eyes of outsiders because machinery seems to be idle a lot. However, it is necessary to operate the machines almost around the clock during the harvesting season, to dry a large quantity of rice in a short time. Insufficient sleep can be said to be part of the lifestyle as a rice dryer.

This workstyle is stressful in the long run. Mr. Tsung-wen Chen often said,"We may not look busy all the time, but on average, we work 8 to 10 hours every day."。

In his spare time, Mr. Tsung-wen Chen enjoys swimming and exercise. To him, sweating is a good way of stress relief. Ideas sparkle in perspiration. It is a way of self-challenge and life achievement.

Interview with Mr. Tsung-wen Chen

Under the efforts from the father and the son, Fenggu Company has experienced different stages and created a rich history, by reflecting the evolution of agriculture in Taiwan. Day in and day out, Fenggu Company has become a stable business. At dusk, the figures of the Chen family’s father and son are the glittering at the corner of their factory.

Mr. Si-yuan Chen patrols the factory