Chapter 257 Hong Kong citizens: Are there such useful bags in the world?

"So fast?" Yang Wendong was a little surprised and asked, "I remember they said the equipment needs to be customized and it will probably take until the middle of this year?"

During this period, he actually attached great importance to plastic bags. Although this thing itself may not generate much wealth, it can drive the development of a considerable industry and is also of great help to his own supermarket.

But since it involves polymer chemical materials, he can only wait.

Wei Zetao explained: "This is not produced on the production line, but in Formosa Plastics' laboratory. Based on the patent from Sweden, the film is made in the laboratory and then cut out using a small film cutting device.

The efficiency is not very high and the cost is not low, but we can make samples first and then test various performances. We have also sent some to Hong Kong.”

"That's pretty fast, not bad." Yang Wendong also walked forward.

Wei Zetao opened the box in his hand, inside was a stack of transparent plastic bags with a little white, all folded.

Yang Wendong pulled one out, touched it carefully, and said, "It feels a bit hard, about the same as last time."

"The materials are the same, and they are made in the lab, so there shouldn't be much difference." Wei Zetao said with a smile, "Formosa Plastics' lab is still okay. I guess in the whole of Taiwan, only Taipei University's chemistry lab is better than theirs?"

"What about our future laboratory?" Yang Wendong asked casually.

In order to invest in technological research and development, Changxing Industrial has established a technology research and development department and laboratory in Taiwan, but it is still under construction, so everything still needs to rely on Formosa Plastics.

Wei Zetao said: "The space and equipment are better than Formosa Plastics, but the R&D personnel may not be as good. Even if we spend all the money to recruit people, it will take some time for them to cooperate."

"Well, let's do it step by step." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "In the early stage, the R&D department can provide us with the best and most suitable materials worldwide."

The R&D department is not just the one that develops new things.

There are so many plastics in the world. If a department can choose the lowest-cost and most suitable materials for its company's products, it may save the company millions or even tens of millions, and the economic benefits it brings are also very strong.

This is actually a reflection of technology: finding the best material.

As for real research and development, it is not possible at the moment. Even Formosa Plastics, the future plastics giant, is currently only producing various materials developed by others.

Wei Zetao added: "Mr. Yang, although this plastic bag feels bad, it is very strong. Taiwan has done a test and put 30kg of things in it and hung it in the air for 2 days without being torn.

So there is definitely no problem using it as plastic bags for packaging at Carrefour supermarkets.”

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked, "This feels a bit like tape. If you really put something heavy in the bag, the bag itself may not be damaged, but will it hurt your hands?"

People who frequently used plastic bags in their previous lives know that unless they choose very thin plastic bags or environmentally friendly (degradable) plastic bags, it is unlikely that the daily items inside will damage the bag, unless there are sharp objects.

But once there is something heavy in the bag, your hands will be hurt, especially when the weight is heavier and the straps on your hands are thinner, which makes it easier to hurt your hands.

The plastic bag in my hand now feels like tape and is obviously harder. If a heavy object were to strangle my hand, it would be so painful!
"That's the case." Wei Zetao nodded and said, "But there is no good solution at the moment, unless we add a thick layer of material to the handle, similar to when we use a piece of cloth to cover our hands to carry a bag.

But this way, the cost will be too high, and this process will also affect the production speed."

"The cost is too high, it's really not possible." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Cost is an essential factor that must be taken into consideration for any commodity, even the military one.

The cost of plastic bags must be very low. If it is a little higher, supermarkets or vendors will not be able to give them to customers for free, and it will be difficult for this thing to become popular.

At this time, Liu Huayu, who had been silent, said: "Mr. Yang, this is actually not a big problem. Even if there are some defects, only a few people will encounter this problem.

When shopping in a supermarket, only a few customers buy very heavy items. We cannot give up serving the majority of other users just because it may affect a small number of users.

Besides, even if someone uses a heavy object, it will only strangle the hand. A normal person will find something to cushion it. Even if they can't find it, it won't cause any serious harm to the person. The hand will generally be fine after a while."

"Well, okay, let's try using this bag first." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Just like building a supermarket, the first product does not need to be perfect. First solve the problem of "existence" and "non-existence" before considering further optimization.

Perhaps in a few years, new materials invented by myself or others may be softer and stronger, reaching the same level as plastic bags in previous lives.

"Okay." Liu Huayu said with a smile, "Then I'm going to place an order with Formosa Plastics. I'm going to use it at the checkout counter in the supermarket."

"Isn't it produced in the laboratory? Is the output so large?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Wei Zetao explained: "Mr. Yang, although it is produced in the laboratory, the production capacity is not very low, and it is no problem to meet the needs of a Carrefour supermarket.

And I also want to conduct a large-scale quality test by testing it with thousands or tens of thousands of users.”

Liu Huayu also agreed: "Yes, a few thousand plastic bags don't actually require much raw materials, they are enough for me to use for a day.

Even if Formosa Plastics produces it in a laboratory, it can easily meet the needs of a supermarket."

"Okay, you guys make the decision among yourselves." Yang Wendong nodded.

For plastic bags, thousands of them may only make up a few cartons, so the quantity of materials required is not really high;

It’s just because the market demand is so huge. If we can make plastic bags at a low cost, then there will be no one in Hong Kong and other nearby places who doesn’t need them.

Even in the mainland, with such bags, people can increase efficiency when carrying small items.

"Okay." Liu Huayu said.

Yang Wendong asked again: "What about the softer plastic bags that can be used to store candies, snacks and small fruits? Have you made any progress?"

When making plastic bags this time, Yang Wendong proposed two requirements based on his shopping experience in a supermarket in his previous life.

The first is a plastic bag that can bear weight. It is used by users to store goods after shopping and take them home. This requires thicker and harder plastic bags.
The second is that it is relatively thin and is used for storing small snacks. These products need to be weighed and sealed at the place of purchase, which is convenient for users as well as for the management and security of supermarkets.

Wei Zetao said: "Not yet. Formosa Plastics is still testing. The samples have been made, but because they are too thin, the plastic bags are always easily torn when they are made."

"Is it because of the equipment?" Yang Wendong asked again.

Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Yes, the thinner the plastic film is, the more difficult it is to make. It will also need to be cut later, which will make it more likely to go wrong."

“So, is this kind of equipment used by Formosa Plastics from Japan?” Yang Wendong asked.

Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Yes."

Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Then let the technicians there investigate the equipment in Europe and America to see if there are any better ones. Everything should be centered on the smooth production."

During this era, Japan began to catch up with Europe and the United States in many technologies, but not all.

Generally speaking, if developing countries want to catch up with powerful countries, they will definitely give priority to developing industries with larger markets.

Industries that are relatively remote and have a smaller market generally do not participate. For example, in the past, if the “public intellectuals” had not annoyed them, mainland steel mills would not have made ballpoint pen refills.
The market for film cutting equipment is unlikely to be very large, and may be stronger in Europe and the United States.

"Okay." Wei Zetao agreed.

Yang Wendong looked at the bag in his hand and asked, "Lao Liu, is this the bag? Fully transparent?"

"Yes." Liu Huayu didn't quite understand what the boss meant.

Yang Wendong pointed to the middle of the bag and said, "Do you think we can print our company's brand image and name here?
In this way, when anyone uses this bag, not only he himself, but also the people around him can see the brand, right? "

In the previous life, RT-Mart Supermarket liked to do this kind of thing. The bags it provided were of very good quality and were loved by many people.

Even after the plastic ban was issued, supermarkets were forced to charge for plastic bags, but many people still spent money specifically to buy bags.

"It's a good way to promote it." Liu Huayu then looked at Wei Zetao and asked, "Old Wei, this shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"Not difficult, that's it." Wei Zetao thought for a moment and said, "Printing words on such a small bag may cost more than the plastic bag itself, because printing ink needs to be imported.

And to print quickly, you have to find special equipment.”

"That's a problem, so let's go and consult first." Yang Wendong nodded: "Let's launch plastic bags first. If the printing cost is really high, then forget it."

There are many limitations in this era. For example, the speed of the production line is determined by industrial signal transmission. Although Yang Wendong does not understand this aspect very well, he knows that the development of the industrial field in the next few decades will also revolve around this. Therefore, many products that could be produced at high speed in the past life may not be feasible in this era.

Hong Kong and even Taiwan are relatively small in area and population, and their industrial chains cannot be complete. When it comes to industrial products with low demand, such as ink, it is impossible for them to make them themselves, so they can only import them, which increases costs.

"Okay." Liu Huayu agreed and said, "But if we only produce small batches for our Carrefour supermarkets, then even if we pay a little bit ourselves and make Carrefour supermarket plastic bags popular in Hong Kong, it will be worthwhile.

This publicity method is definitely much cheaper than putting it in the newspaper, and it is also a new publicity method, so the effect should not be bad.”

"Well, OK." Yang Wendong said, "Then let Formosa Plastics find a way to print some words on it, even black will do."

Coloring is definitely costly and troublesome. As plastic bags are a new product, there is no need to make them look great the first time.

Wei Zetao said: "Mr. Yang, regarding the issue of printing on bags in large quantities, I will consult some overseas companies. Many products already have plastic paper on them, so perhaps there is a way."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Yang Wendong smiled and asked, "When do you plan to launch this bag?"

Wei Zetao said: "In the past few days, Taiwan has produced nearly 3000 pieces, and the daily production capacity is more than . If we place an order here, their production capacity should be able to double."

"Okay, then we'll launch the blank version first." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "You can launch the printed version later." Advertising on plastic bags is just a byproduct, and its function itself is the most important. We can't put the cart before the horse.

Once your own supermarket has plastic bags, the shopping experience will be qualitatively improved.

……

Three days later, Yang Wendong also came to the Carrefour supermarket in Changxing Plaza. At this moment, dozens of boxes full of plastic bags were moved to the location next to the supermarket cash register with the efforts of several workers.

"Mr. Yang, we have shipped 10 plastic bags from Taiwan," Liu Huayu said. "They are divided into three sizes, targeting customers with different needs."

"How much does the bag cost?" Yang Wendong asked.

In the future, when plastic bags can be mass-produced and costs can be reduced, they may be free to a certain extent depending on actual conditions.

But now that they have just been launched, their convenience over normal bamboo baskets or cloth bags is enough to make them a valuable commodity.

It is free when it should be free, and it is charged when it should be charged. Otherwise, many people will come to take advantage of the situation, and then the production capacity will not be enough, which will cause problems.

Liu Huayu said: "The charges are 3 cents for large, 2 cents for medium and small bags respectively. The 1 cent bag is a loss, but considering the convenience of checkout, no decimals are added."

"Well, the ones made in the laboratory are indeed a bit more expensive. Once they can be mass-produced in the future, the price will be further reduced." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

"Yes." Liu Huayu said: "Wang Yongqing has already signed an agreement with a German manufacturer of chemical equipment production lines, and it is estimated that it will be completed before June.

Wei Sheng also went to Japan to customize special film cutting equipment, which can produce bags in batches. It is estimated that large quantities will be available in August or September. "

"Yeah, okay." Yang Wendong nodded.

The production of plastic bags will be carried out in Hong Kong. This high-demand industry can also create a large number of jobs.

Taiwan will be responsible for producing polyethylene synthetic materials, which will then be converted into films and shipped to Hong Kong. In this way, there will be no pollution in Hong Kong.

Of course, Taiwan must have certain pollution control measures, at least they must comply with legal requirements and strictly prohibit harming human safety.

……

After a while, the supermarket opened.

As usual, many people went in through the entrance, shopped, and then came to the cashier counter in front of the exit to check out.

"Miss, would you like a new type of bag that our supermarket has just launched?" the cashier asked with a polite smile.

"Bag? I have one." The woman raised her hand and revealed a cloth bag.

"Ours is different." The salesperson explained, "Look, our bags are made of plastic, very strong and waterproof. Can you feel it?"

There are not many people in the supermarket now, so the cashiers have time to introduce things to customers, which is also the arrangement above.

If there are too many people and it is still too late, there will be special people who will introduce the services to the people queuing in front of the checkout counter.

"Made of plastic? Waterproof? Strong?" The woman couldn't believe it: "This transparent bag is made of plastic?"

The cashier said, "Yes, look, isn't our tape also transparent? Their materials are similar."

"That's right." The woman reacted and then picked up the bag and pulled it a few times. It didn't look like it would tear at all, and it was really light, even lighter than a cloth bag.

Then he asked, "How much is this bag?"

"This is a medium-sized bag in your hand, 2 cents each," the cashier replied.

"2 cents? Then I'll buy one." The woman said without hesitation.

It was only two cents, so she wouldn't feel bad even if she lost it. Nowadays, a better cloth bag costs two or three dollars, and even a cheap paper bag costs a few cents.

"Okay." The cashier immediately included the plastic bag in the customer's total bill.

After paying the money and leaving, the woman came to a sparsely populated place, put the goods in the plastic bag into the cloth bag she had prepared, and then began to study it.

"It really can't be torn, and it's waterproof." The woman confirmed after a while: "This thing only costs 2 cents, it's so cheap, the factory at that place must be terrible."

Her family made plastic baskets. In the 50s, Hong Kong society began a vigorous movement to replace plastic products. The iron buckets, iron basins, clothes hangers and cups were all replaced with plastic ones.

Later, when the market became saturated, their family set their sights on bamboo baskets that were used by many people. Plastic baskets are lighter, stronger, and less likely to break than bamboo baskets, and they are also cheaper, so their business is booming.

But when she saw the bag, she knew that her business might be in big trouble.

"I have to go back quickly." The woman quickly packed up her things and walked out of the square.
In Carrefour Plaza, many users have also understood the magic of plastic bags, and people who know each other are already discussing this thing with each other.

"Hello, where does your supermarket buy this plastic bag?" a middle-aged man asked a waiter who was introducing plastic bags.

The waiter replied: "This is a channel exclusive to our company. I don't know where to buy it from."

The man then asked: "So you are the only one in Hong Kong who doesn't have this kind of plastic bags?"

"Yes." The waiter nodded.

The man immediately said, "Then I'll buy 10 bags, no, bags, and I'll go to the bank to withdraw the money right away."

As a businessman, he saw at a glance that this bag had unlimited business opportunities. If it was taken to other places, it would definitely sell for a good price.

The waiter shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, sir. We don't sell bags separately unless you buy something. We will match you with a plastic bag of the right size based on the quantity and size of your shopping."

The order had been given long ago that the bags must follow the goods.

"Ah?" The man was stunned. He only got one bag for buying a batch of goods. He would lose a lot of money. So he said, "Why don't you do this business?"

"That's not something I can know about." The waiter said quickly, "Sir, you already know about the plastic bags. I need to go somewhere else to explain. Sorry."

"Oh~" The man sighed when he saw the waiter leave.

Obviously he already knew what the Carrefour executives meant: no one should try to hype this plastic bag.

"Can I have a little more of this bag?"

Many cashiers have received such inquiries, but the answer they received was: "No."

"You run a shop and do business, so how can you not sell things to people?" Many people were also anxious, they all wanted to buy more.

This bag is much better than the cloth bags, paper bags, bamboo baskets, plastic baskets, etc. they have at home. It can be said that it has the characteristics of all packaging materials. It is very light, waterproof and cheap.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they really couldn't believe that there were such bags in the world.

"Brother Jiang." A young man walked up to an older man and said, "I have interviewed more than 30 people, and they all have their own opinions on plastic bags."

"Okay." The man called Brother Jiang said, "Mr. Wu's idea is to let us write an article about plastic bags right away based on the feedback from Carrefour Supermarket today.
In addition to interviews, we also need to have our own opinions and analysis. The higher-ups attach great importance to this matter and asked us to publish articles together with the Hong Kong Chinese Daily and the Oriental Daily. We must not be careless. "

"Don't worry, Jiang, I like this plastic bag after seeing it." The young man said with a smile, "I will definitely write this article from my own perspective and that of people from all walks of life."

"Okay, let's interview one more person, and then we need to go back." Brother Jiang said, "After we go back, let's discuss the content of tomorrow's publication."

"Okay." The young man agreed.

Then he looked at the people around him. Many of them were seeing this kind of plastic bag for the first time and they all treated the bag as a treasure.

At noon, a middle-aged woman walked home holding a plastic bag and said to the man in the house, "Abu, what do you think this is?"

"What is this? A transparent bag?" Abu looked at it curiously and said, "Where did it come from?"

"It's from Carrefour supermarket. You can get something for free when you buy something." The middle-aged woman said happily, "This thing is really convenient. You should try it."

After saying that, she poured out everything in the bag and handed the bag over.

Abu took the bag, tore it a few times, and said, "It's very strong. It should be waterproof, right?"

"Yes, I never thought there would be such a bag in the world." The middle-aged woman said happily: "If this little thing becomes popular in the mainland, it will be very convenient for cargo transportation."

"How much does this thing cost?" Abu asked.

The two of them are China Resources employees dispatched by the mainland to Hong Kong. When there is something in Hong Kong that is suitable for the mainland, they will report it.

This bag is obviously one of them. If its cost is low enough, it is estimated that it can reduce transportation costs, which are all related to foreign exchange, energy and food.

"Two cents each, it shouldn't be expensive. It's just the cost of materials." said the middle-aged woman.

Abu nodded: "Then go check the information again, and we will report it when we have more details."

"Good~"

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)

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