Chapter 88 Equipment Localization and Upgrade

Chapter 88 Equipment Localization and Upgrade

Chapter 88 Equipment Localization and Upgrade (Thanks to Fengliu Changdi for the reward)

Robert smiled and said, "Yes, our friend in Hong Kong is not only a genius in invention, but also a genius in marketing. We followed his example and just gave away a few for free. We immediately received a large number of calls asking to buy sticky notes."

"Haha, it's really amazing. I didn't expect it to be so popular." Robin was also very surprised. The six phones in front of him kept ringing and a large number of clerks were recording customers' needs.

Then someone specifically compiled the data and wrote it on the blackboard. The data was quite encouraging.

Robert nodded and said, “I did expect that Post-it Notes would be popular, but I didn’t expect it to be this popular.

I just called Hong Kong, they are working hard to produce, but I guess it would be difficult for their small factory to meet the demand in California."

"Insufficient production capacity?" Robin said with some regret, "It's a pity that we didn't get the production authorization, otherwise with our efficiency, we would definitely be able to increase the production capacity in a short time."

Robert said, "It's no use. I tried to make concessions to Eric in other aspects and wanted him to give us the production license, but he didn't agree at all."

Robin asked, "Why?"

Robert said: "They probably want to protect their own interests by controlling the production end.

He authorized us, but he didn't know how much we produced and it was impossible for him to come and check.

But if we don’t get the authorization and we continue to produce secretly, it will be easy to be discovered if the factory becomes large-scale.”

"I figured it out. He's a Hong Konger and can't do anything to us, right?" Robin said with a smile.

Robert shrugged and said, "Maybe, but the contract is signed in black and white, so we can get away with it by using some gray areas. If we breach the contract directly, it will affect the image of our 3M company.

Besides, if he transfers the contract to some professional law firms in the United States, it will cause great damage to our reputation if it really becomes a big deal. There is no need to do such a thing."

Robin nodded and said, "That's right. Anyway, we control the channels, so there is no need to seek profits from the production end. I am mainly worried about the production capacity."

Robert thought for a moment and said, "Although I don't know Eric very well, he gave me the impression of being a very capable person during those few days. Give him some time, and he should be able to solve the problems on the production side."

Robin nodded and said, "This guy is really cunning. He controls the production rights, and there is still a blank market in countries outside the United States.

I guess he is waiting for our company to fully promote the sticky notes, and then attract distributors from other countries to actively find him. "

Robert said with a smile: "Anyone would do the same. This sticky note is so popular. If the business in the United States goes well, I will go to Hong Kong to see if I can get the agency rights in Europe."

Robin nodded and said, "If you had known earlier, you should have quoted a higher price and directly bought the patent. As long as the money is in place, I don't believe he won't sell it."

Robert said helplessly: "Who can predict the future? A budget of more than $50 requires a vote by the board of directors. The board will not approve it without seeing the data.

At that time, several other companies had also contacted Eric. If we delayed any further, we might lose this opportunity for cooperation.

Moreover, I could sense that he was determined to build his own factory. As you know, having money and having a large-scale factory are completely different.”

"Well, maybe." Robin added, "Then let's do what we have now."

Robert smiled and said, "Christmas is coming. The ten-day holiday is enough for Hong Kong to stock up more goods. I will then look at the market feedback in California and ask Eric to formulate a sufficient production capacity increase plan."

Robin said: "That's good. If there is a chance, I would like to meet this young man..."

"I'll invite him to come to the United States next time," Robert said with a smile.

Although only businesses in cities around Los Angeles have received the Post-it Notes so far, judging from their popularity, once Post-it Notes are really sold throughout the United States, the output value will be very high.

Eric's patent is enough to make him a key partner of 3M.

……

In Hong Kong, the weather in December is still a little cold sometimes, especially when there is no sun.

In the small office of the Changxing factory, Yang Wendong got up from the bed yawning. It was dawn.

After washing up, Su Yiyi, Zhao Liming and Lin Haoyu also came and brought breakfast. Su Yiyi said, "Brother Dong, it's too hard for you to live in the factory every day."

Yang Wendong picked up the meat bun, took a bite and said, "It's okay. It's not much different from home. It's more convenient for me to work. Besides, I lived in a squatter's house for more than ten years. Now it's a thousand times better than before."

"That's true, but now that you're the boss, there's no need to do that." Su Yiyi said with a smile, "We still have to find someone who can speak English as soon as possible."

Yang Wendong shook his head and smiled, "People who can speak English usually tend to work for foreign companies, or worse, trading companies or some large factories. It's a bit difficult to find a small one like ours, and you want people to work the night shift."

In the 50s, Hong Kong was relatively conservative in many aspects. People with some education tended to work for large companies or government departments, and it was difficult for small companies to recruit talent.

Talented people who can speak English, especially those who can communicate freely, are sought after by foreign companies. After all, the society as a whole has a generally low level of education, and those who can recognize Chinese characters and understand newspapers are considered the intellectual elite.

Zhao Liming asked: "Can't we recruit more people even if we spend more money?"

"If you spend more money, people might think you're a liar." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Of course, it's not that we can't recruit people, but it may take some time. It won't be that fast."

Even though there were so many talented people in the mainland in later generations, sometimes many companies had to wait a long time before recruiting. That was during the era of the telecommunications boom. In Hong Kong today, it is very difficult to recruit talent if you are not a big company, and it takes a long time.

It’s a bit like the small and dilapidated private enterprises in mainland China in the 80s and 90s, competing with foreign and state-owned enterprises for talent.

Lin Haoyu thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Dong, why don't we install a phone at home?"

"You can install a phone at home, but the number is different." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "I've also asked the telephone company. The same number can have several extensions, but there are restrictions on the distance."

Of course, there was no call forwarding technology in this era. There was only a small area where multiple phones shared a line;

Theoretically, the Hong Kong Telephone Company could also connect the company's line to your home, but they might not go through so much trouble for your family. Or there might be some other technical reasons. Yang Wendong didn't understand communications, not to mention that this was communications from the 50s. Even Huawei engineers would probably be confused if they traveled through time.

Su Yiyi said: "Then I'll find a few more newspapers to submit recruitment information."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I contacted Robert last night and he placed another large order." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "In the future, unless it's something extremely urgent, he will place orders with us via express airmail.

Starting tonight, I won't have to work here anymore. Even if there's an emergency in the U.S., Robert will call me at night, and I'll just pay him overtime according to his salary. It's not much if it's just an occasional overtime payment."

"That's good." Su Yiyi said with a smile.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But the recruitment process has to continue. We are also in urgent need of people who know English."

"Yes." Su Yiyi agreed.

After finishing breakfast quickly, Zhao Liming asked, "Brother Dong, how many orders did 3M in the United States place?"

"60. They hope we can send it to the United States after Christmas." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

"60?" Zhao Liming said quickly, "That's impossible. Even if we work hard to speed up, we can only make 1.5 a day at most."

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I know, so I rejected it. In fact, it would be useless even if we had enough time. This is only the demand in a small part of California. If we can meet the demand in California in a short time, 3M will definitely think about going to other states immediately."

This kind of product, which makes people like it at first sight, can also improve office efficiency. It is a beneficial type of means of production and will inevitably become a hit once it appears.

In the past, after 3M invented the Post-it Note, it also faced the situation of not being able to produce it in time; it will be too late in Hong Kong no matter what.

Therefore, he is not in a hurry about the insufficient production capacity in the early stage. Even Apple in 2010 took several years to solve the production capacity problem. The more times like this, the more he has to stay steady and do things step by step, and there must be no quality problems.

Zhao Liming said: "Dongsheng told me yesterday that their imitation equipment is about to be completed, and invited us to take a look tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"Well, okay, let's go tomorrow. If Dongsheng can produce this equipment, it will be very helpful to us." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

The production and after-sales of equipment are all local, which greatly improves the efficiency of the enterprise. It is similar to the industrial parks in the mainland in later generations. The more concentrated the better, from small industries such as textiles and hardware to large industries such as automobiles.

As a time traveler, although he had never opened a factory in his previous life, he had done trade and knew this basic logic. Now he tried his best to move in this direction.

Unfortunately, Hong Kong's industrial base is too poor, and there is no papermaking and glue industry, which means that it needs to maintain high inventory and high-cost procurement. However, there is no way to do this for the time being, and it can only solve the problem of localizing equipment that can be achieved.

The next day, Yang Wendong took Zhao and Su across the ferry, called a taxi, and came to the Dongsheng Equipment Manufacturing Factory in North Point, Hong Kong Island.

"Brother Dong, these factories are really big, much bigger than ours." Zhao Liming said, looking at the surroundings and Dongsheng in front of him.

Yang Wendong said with a smile: "It's normal. Our scale is nothing in Hong Kong, but soon, it may not be the case."

As 3M's channels expanded, he knew that his current factory was far from meeting the demand, not to mention that when spring comes in the northern hemisphere next spring, the spring of mouse traps will also arrive.

This time is different from this year. This year's market has just been developed, and next year, the channels and trading companies will definitely be prepared. In addition, replacing plastic with cardboard will also be more convenient for export and terminal sales, so sales will inevitably explode.

Zhao Liming said: "Then we have to move to another location. The current factory cannot support us to expand too much."

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Yes, this is actually a normal phenomenon. Many companies suddenly become busy and need to find new venues for several months. It is said that it was the same when plastic flowers were popular last year."

Rumor has it that plastic flowers became popular in Hong Kong overnight last year, and then a large number of overseas merchants came to purchase them. Due to insufficient production capacity, those overseas traders were eager to pay 100% deposit directly just to get the goods first.

This also made many factory owners anxious and they looked everywhere for new factories.

Seeing how urgent the market is, the owners of those industrial office buildings have instead raised prices and slashed prices.

"That's good." Zhao Liming smiled and then said, "The guy from Dongsheng is here. He is Zhou Zhigang, the second-in-command of Dongsheng."

"Well, it seems that you still value us very much." Yang Wendong smiled. Although he is confident about his future, Changxing is still just a small company at present.

Dongsheng is an equipment company with some fame in Hong Kong. It was a great honor for the second-in-command to come and receive me.

"This must be Mr. Yang from Changxing Industrial, right?" Zhou Zhigang said with a smile on his face, shaking hands.

Yang Wendong also responded politely, shook hands and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhou."

"Please come in," Zhou Zhigang said to the three people, "Tea has been prepared for you."

"Mr. Zhou, you are too polite." Yang Wendong smiled. They were all polite courtesies, but they were indispensable.

Several people followed Zhou Zhigang and first came to a reception room in the three-story office building in front of the factory. Dongsheng is also an old company, so it is naturally much better than Changxing in these aspects.

"Mr. Yang, Mr. Zhao, Ms. Su, this is the development history of Dongsheng." Zhou Zhigang introduced with a smile: "In 1945, after the defeat of Japan, Dongsheng was established. At the beginning, we only made some pliers and scissors. Later..."

Yang Wendong also listened to the introduction quietly, thinking that when his company grows in size, he will also need to build a historical development wall like this.
After listening to the introduction and drinking tea, Yang Wendong followed Zhou Zhigang to the factory gate at the back of the building.

A machine similar to the sticky note machine at home is also making sticky notes at full capacity;
An engineer saw the customer coming and walked up to introduce the equipment.

Yang Wendong took a look and asked, "Mr. Zhou, this equipment will be produced in our company in a few days. If there are no problems, I can directly order 20 units, but I want to know if you can optimize and improve it further?"

……

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(End of this chapter)