Production processes

The Horst Schäfer GmbH feather and down bedding factory processes 100 tons of raw materials annually. Our good contacts with the classic raw material countries such as Canada, Alaska, Poland and Hungary guarantee the best quality down. The products are produced exclusively on the company’s own premises in Eching. Purchasing, production and sales are therefore all in one set of hands. This guarantees the best quality with a large degree of transparency and flexibility.

Step by step to a quality product

Pre-cleaning of the raw materials 
The pre-cleaning machine separates the bedding feathers and down from coarse dirt and foreign substances.

Washing the down 
Next the washing and spinning machine washes the feathers / down (approx. 70 to 100 kilo per load) with bedding feather soap.

Drying the down 
The wet feathers / down are blown in a silo and then dried in a steamer at about 130ºC. All bacteria is killed at this stage.

Removing dust from the down
A cooling machine removes the fine dust from the feathers/down and returns them to a normal temperature.

Sorting into categories
The 3 chamber sorting machine sorts the materials into different levels of quality by means of airflows. The down which is the lightest element is blown into the furthest chamber, the heaviest feathers into the first one. Different strengths of air flow enable sorting according to the different quality characteristics thus meeting the requirements of each customer in the best possible way.

Filling the types prepared
Finally the different qualities are filled into ready-made shells which are made into comforters or pillows, or into one or ten kilo sacks and sold as “loose goods”.