Chapter 241 Purchase of Patents
Chapter 241 Purchase of Patents
November 1962, 11, Taiwan:
"Hello, Mr. Wei." Wang Yongqing personally came to the factory gate to greet the distinguished guest from Hong Kong and the representative of the company's major shareholder.
Wei Zetao stepped forward and shook hands with him, saying, "Hello, Mr. Wang."
"Please come in. It would be a good opportunity for Mr. Wei to take a look at our new factory," Wang Yongqing said politely.
"Okay." Wei Zetao naturally agreed.
Although I came here for important matters, I can still spend some time here. It is also necessary for me to take a look at the factory invested by my boss.
Afterwards, Wang Yongqing took Wei Zetao on a tour of the plastic particle production workshop, and Wei Zetao took the opportunity to learn about the plastic production process.
The production of plastics requires a large amount of chemical raw materials plus derivatives from petroleum refining. If the production is moved to Hong Kong where there is no relevant industrial chain, and so many dangerous chemical elements need to be transported, it would be better to keep the production base in Taiwan and then transport the safe and non-toxic plastic particles directly to Hong Kong.
After the factory tour, the two came to the office in the front administrative building. Wang Yongqing personally made tea for Wei Zetao and said, "Mr. Wei, please have some tea."
"Thank you." Wei Zetao replied.
Wang Yongqing put down his teacup and said, "Mr. Wei, there is one thing I hope you can tell Mr. Yang. Formosa Plastics will be renamed Formosa Plastics Group."
"Change the name?" Wei Zetao thought for a moment and said, "Does it mean T.W Plastics Group?"
Wang Yongqing nodded and said, "Yes, Formosa Plastics is now the only large plastics supplier in Taiwan. The higher-ups asked me to change the name, which I think is appropriate. The previous name Formosa Plastics is not suitable for brand promotion."
"Okay, I'll inform Mr. Yang. There shouldn't be any problem." Wei Zetao agreed.
"That's good." Wang Yongqing asked again, "Then Mr. Wei, are you here to increase production capacity this time?"
The demand for plastic raw materials in Hong Kong has indeed far exceeded his previous estimates. The newly built factory is not enough. This is a good thing, but if he wants to expand production again, he will need more funds.
Of course, knowing it before may not be useful. Without sufficient evidence of market demand, banks will certainly not provide full support.
"Yes." Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Changxing Trading has already negotiated with many plastic toy and household products manufacturers in Hong Kong and signed future supply orders;
In addition to the demand of our Changxing Industrial itself, you still need to expand further. As for the funding, Mr. Yang and I have discussed it and we will lend some money to Formosa Plastics.
As for how much is needed, that will have to be negotiated.”
"Really? You're going to borrow the money directly?" Wang Yongqing was a little surprised. He originally thought that they would just go to the bank to borrow money together.
Wei Zetao said: "Yes, Changxing Industrial directly lent a sum of money to Formosa Plastics. The most important thing now is to build a factory immediately to meet the needs of Hong Kong.
Otherwise, if you borrow money from a bank, it would involve hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the approval process would take at least one or two months, which is too slow.”
Today, Changxing Industrial's Kwun Tong Industrial Park is almost completed and is preparing to gradually increase its production capacity. The most important raw material, plastic particles, is indispensable.
Especially in the entire industrial park, there will not only be Changxing Industrial, but also many other peers in the plastics industry. This is a major step for the group to control the supply of plastic particles in Hong Kong, and the core of production capacity is the production base in Taiwan.
"I understand. I also know something about the situation in Hong Kong." Wang Yongqing said, "In that case, I will immediately arrange for someone to go to Japan to check out the larger equipment production line;
The land in Taiwan is relatively simple, and I can immediately apply to the government for a piece of free land.”
"OK."
Wei Zetao smiled and said, "It is really convenient to build a factory in Taiwan. The land is free. You wouldn't even dream of doing this in Hong Kong."
"Different places have different policies. There's no comparison." Wang Yongqing said: "Hong Kong's area is small, most of it is mountainous, and the few flat lands have to be built into cities and developed industries, so this situation will naturally occur."
"Yes." Wei Zetao also understood the reason.
Wang Yongqing added: "However, after a few years, if Hong Kong's economy develops better, the land where many of Changxing Group's factories are located will be extremely valuable. This is something we cannot compare with here."
"Mr. Wang is also interested in real estate?" Wei Zetao asked back.
“Of course I’m interested, but I haven’t invested much.” Wang Yongqing replied: “In fact, whether it’s real estate or industry, we and you are just following the path that Western countries have taken.
The government here gives free industrial land to suburban areas far from the city because they know Taiwan may follow the same path in the future.
Wei Zetao nodded and said, "That's right."
Wang Yongqing added: "A long time ago, I began to study the history of various business developments in the West. It was because I had studied enough that I dared to determine that the plastics industry would be a must-have industry for Taiwan and even neighboring countries in the future, and then I invested all my efforts in it."
"Awesome." Wei Zetao gave a thumbs up and said, "No wonder Wang Sheng is so successful. If you were in Hong Kong, you would also be called the "Plastic King"."
"Is it on the same level as Mr. Yang's Post-it Note King?" Wang Yongqing asked with great interest.
Wei Zetao nodded: "Yes, there are many other industrial tycoons in Hong Kong, but the scale is different. Yang Sheng's achievements are now the highest."
"That's Yang Sheng's achievement. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." Wang Yongqing said with emotion: "It's only been a few years, and he has achieved today's results. It's really amazing."
"Yes." Wei Zetao was truly proud. Being able to follow such a business tycoon was the greatest honor for him as a professional manager.
Wang Yongqing drank a cup of tea and asked, "Mr. Wei, besides the new capacity expansion, do you have any other instructions?"
"Yes, there is one more thing." Wei Zetao asked, "Do you know polyethylene?"
"Of course I know, this thing is very commonly used." Wang Yongqing is also a smart man, and then asked back: "Do you want to make polyethylene?"
Wei Zetao shook his head: "It's not us who do it, but we hope you can make this kind of product. Can you do it?"
Wang Yongqing thought for a while and said, "I have never done it before. I have to study it. I remember that the patent for this thing has expired, which means that as long as I have the equipment, I can make it.
But production still needs to consider issues such as market and technology.”
"The market problem should not be too big." Wei Zetao said: "We should have a considerable purchase volume here, and polyethylene is also a very common industrial product. It has a large market in Taiwan, Hong Kong and even Asia."
"Yes, I know that." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "What do you want polyethylene for?"
Wei Zetao shook his head and said, "This is a business secret, so I won't tell you for now."
It is still unclear whether the patent for polyethylene plastic bags has been registered, so even within Changxing Industrial, no more than five people know about this. "Well, I'll check the information too." Wang Yongqing didn't mind Wei Zetao's confidentiality, which was normal.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Wang." Wei Zetao said with a smile, "Regarding the following cooperation issues, the people I brought today will also discuss with you soon. Mr. Yang's intention is to reach a cooperation as soon as possible and then build a new factory."
"No problem." Wang Yongqing nodded: "I will also find out the polyethylene issue as soon as possible."
After staying in Taiwan for a few days, Wei Zetao returned to Hong Kong again. At the same time, he learned what he wanted to know from lawyer Zhang Weida.
On November 11, Wei Zetao rushed to Yang Wendong's office and first reported on the situation in Taiwan.
"Okay, invest as soon as possible." Yang Wendong said, "We need to invest on a larger scale this time, and it would be best if the production capacity could be increased several times. Even if it exceeds the demand in Hong Kong, Wang Yongqing can still sell it to other places. I think he definitely has the ability to do that."
Wang Yung-ching, the future Asian plastics tycoon, almost monopolized the plastic supply in half of Asia, and his marketing skills must have been first-rate;
Especially in the early stages, places like Asia are increasingly short of cheap plastics, while European and American countries are taking advantage of the industrial scissors gap to desperately reap the benefits of developing countries.
In this era, the local companies that are able to rise are actually those that have made their fortunes by replacing overseas imports or overseas brands with locally produced products at low prices.
For example, the home appliance and automobile industries in mainland China developed in this way in the past.
"Okay, I will negotiate with Wang Yongqing as soon as possible." Wei Zetao said, "Mr. Yang, there is also news about polyethylene plastic bags. A Swedish company has registered a number of patents for plastic bags."
"Swedish company?" Yang Wendong felt it was a pity. If he had this patent, even if he couldn't make a fortune, he could still create a lot of jobs. He then asked, "What do you mean by many patents?"
Wei Zetao replied: "Mr. Yang, the patent for plastic bags is not a creative patent, because bags are not patentable, unless the size is patented, but such patents are meaningless, and you can get around it by changing the size.
What the Swedish company Celloplast has registered as a patent is the material, that is, the bag made of a certain material, which is the patent.
According to lawyer Zhang's information, this Swedish company started researching lighter and cheaper bags in the 50s, but it took several years to achieve results, but they don't seem to be perfect. They have registered at least 10 plastic bags made of different materials. The core is polyethylene, but the ingredients are said to be different.
"It seems to be quite difficult." Yang Wendong also understood a little that he really underestimated the difficulty of plastic bags.
Wei Zetao said: "Yes, this Swedish company wants to make very high-quality plastic bags, but it has never been perfect, so it has not been launched on the market until now."
"That's interesting." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Well, send someone to communicate with them and see the size of the other company to see if they can accept our investment.
Or, we can take a look at their different plastic bags and perhaps negotiate to buy the ones they have registered for patents.”
The pursuit of perfection is a good thing, but excessive pursuit of perfection is not in line with commercial value.
Yang Wendong didn't need the best plastic bags like those in his previous life. He would just have to get them first. Besides, the environment in Asia definitely doesn't require as many convenient bags as Europeans and Americans do.
As long as it is better than the current baskets or paper bags, it will have commercial value in being launched. First enter this industry, and then slowly optimize and upgrade it.
Wei Zetao said: "Okay, I'll send someone right away."
Changxing Group is now one of the largest Chinese groups in Hong Kong. Naturally, it has a large number of talents who can speak English, and some may even have studied abroad in Europe or Sweden.
a week later:
Yang Wendong brought Su Yiyi to the Kwun Tong Industrial Park again. Now, except for sticky notes and mouse traps, all plastic-related industries will be transferred here.
Therefore, Kwun Tong will also become the new headquarters of Changxing Industrial Factory.
Although Post-it Notes are more important, internally, it is already a mature and stable product and does not require too much effort in the short term. It is enough to just ensure production capacity.
Plastic products come in many varieties, have higher technical requirements, and are more prone to quality problems, so they have become the focus of Changxing Industrial's attention in the future.
After entering the office, Wei Zetao rushed over with several bags in his hands.
"Mr. Yang, Mrs. Yang." Wei Zetao greeted them and said, "Mr. Yang, this is the plastic bag that our colleague Xiao Li got from Celloplast in Sweden. Please take a look."
Since the boss attached great importance to this matter, they would naturally do their best. After contacting the Swedish company, they immediately spent some money to get the samples and then had them airlifted back.
"Can we get the company's product so soon?" Yang Wendong took it and asked, "Isn't this product not launched on the market yet?"
Wei Zetao explained: "No, their company actually distributed them near the company. It was probably an early market survey. After getting feedback, they may need to improve and optimize the materials.
It’s just that the Swedes may prefer paper bags, so it’s not widely launched.”
"Hmm" Yang Wendong touched several plastic bags in his hand.
The first feeling is that the feel is too bad, some are too soft, and some are too hard.
Wei Zetao went on to say: “These plastic bags are soft and easy to tear, and they can’t bear the weight of hanging something heavy;
The quality is not a big problem, it can bear weight, but it is very rubbing against the hand. I tried it and it hurt. "
Yang Wendong asked, "This kind of hard stuff shouldn't just be made of polyethylene, right?"
Wei Zetao said: "Yes, polyethylene is just like wax, very soft. In industry, it is also used as sealing and insulating materials. If you really use polyethylene to make bags, it is softer than the softest one in your hand.
Celloplast has also spent a lot of time studying the combination of polyethylene and other materials to find the most suitable bag material, but after several years, it has not found the most perfect material composition. "
"Synthetic materials, this is indeed very difficult." Yang Wendong nodded.
If it were really that easy, he wouldn't believe that bags are what humans need most. With so many billions of people in the world, no one would think of making plastic into thin bags. After all, film has already existed.
According to the existing information, Celloplast wanted to make plastic bags a few years ago and also thought of polyethylene, but still failed to make a perfect product.
In the past life, many very common and ordinary things may contain the results of countless people's countless years of hard work. It is because of large-scale production that the cost is reduced to a level that ordinary people can use at will.
Wei Zetao added: "Mr. Yang, Europeans and Americans are more picky. They may dislike this harder plastic bag, but I think it will be much better in Asia."
"I thought so too." Yang Wendong nodded and picked out a harder plastic bag in his hand: "This one should be fine. Ask Xiao Li to talk to Celloplast and see if he can buy the patent for this material."
PS: Ask for monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)