Chapter 274: Cans and the First Cooperation with the Mainland

Chapter 274: Cans and the First Cooperation with the Mainland

Chapter 274: Cans and the First Cooperation with the Mainland

"Cans? I know." Zhou Haoran nodded and said, "This is a technical patent invented by an American engineer in 1959.
Many companies in Europe and the United States have already begun preparing to introduce this technology, and Coca-Cola is one of the earliest companies. Recently, they are also preparing to package beverages in cans at their beverage factory in Taikoo, Hong Kong.

"Taikoo is planning to make cans?" Yang Wendong's eyes lit up and he asked, "Tell me more about the cans."

As a time traveler, Yang Wendong naturally knew that the beverage industry was able to explode thanks to the emergence of cans and PET plastic bottle technology.

The technical difficulty of PET plastic bottles is very high. It is not just about materials and costs, but also safety issues that need to be considered. This thing is not a suitcase or a sticky hook. It needs to be used to hold food, and the release of toxic substances under high temperatures also needs to be considered.

In the past, it was not until the 80s that beverages in plastic bottles were truly introduced, and large-scale production did not begin until the 90s and s.

Before this, glass bottles and cans were the mainstream. The former had existed longer than beverages, and the latter had only come out in recent years. Based on his experience in his previous life, cans were definitely better than glass bottles, but it was hard to say in this era.

Zhou Haoran thought about it, formulated the following sentence in his mind, and then said: "The raw material of this can is tinplate, and the idea should come from normal food cans. In fact, a long time ago, a large beverage company intended to do this, but they have not found a good way to open the can.

Because beverages need to be opened anytime and anywhere, but food cans are difficult to open due to the sealing requirements, this is why the customer scenario does not match.

It was not until a few years ago that an American engineer came up with the idea of ​​a pull ring structure. He spent several years doing a lot of research on the balance between sealing and opening difficulty, and then succeeded and registered a patent in 59.

"It's difficult just to find a balance." Yang Wendong nodded.

Many things may seem simple, but they were extremely difficult when they were first invented. A can must be sealed and can be easily opened with one finger, which really tests design capabilities and material properties.

"Yes, this is extremely difficult." Zhou Haoran added: "Even if the patent has been issued and the product can be made, it is another matter to make a few dozen in the laboratory and mass produce hundreds of millions of qualified products in the factory.

As far as I know, many large beverage companies and some specialized beverage machinery and equipment companies also spent a long time on research and development before they succeeded. "

"What pass rate can be guaranteed now?" Yang Wendong asked.

He has also considered this issue. The probability of error allowed for some industrial products is called PPM, which means parts per million.

Because even one in ten thousand is intolerable. Imagine a large company producing hundreds of millions of bottles of beverages a year, and there are tens of thousands of leaks. It will go bankrupt immediately, and the channel will immediately return the products on a large scale.
Zhou Haoran said: "The pass rate is about 0.3 in , which is very high, but there are subsequent testing processes that can pick out most of these defective products, and the number that flows into the market should be less than one in a million.

But it depends on which company’s equipment it is. Germany’s Krones’ equipment is the most technologically advanced, and Coca-Cola also purchased it from them, but the price is relatively expensive.”

"Do you know how much it costs?" Yang Wendong asked again.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yang, Swire Group hasn't completed the deal yet, and the price is still confidential. I'm in charge of marketing, so I'm not very clear about this." Zhou Haoran explained, "I'll go back today and ask a friend."

Even though he had made relevant preparations for the interview, he never expected that Yang Wendong would ask about cans. Many large companies are still in the exploratory stage for this product and have not yet set up production lines.

"Well, OK." Yang Wendong didn't care and said, "Since Coca-Cola is preparing to start the can production line, it means it is still cost-effective from an economic perspective."

"That's not the case." Zhou Haoran replied: "In fact, the top management of Swire Group has hesitated for a long time about this matter. The core issue is that Hong Kong does not produce iron;
Cans may be cost-effective in Europe and the United States because they have a local steel industry and the price of iron is not expensive, but in Hong Kong, iron has to be imported, which makes it difficult to do so. "

"Well, do you know how much iron is needed for a can?" Yang Wendong asked again.

In the past, cans were made of aluminum and were very thin and light, but that was the result of decades of development in beverage packaging technology; now that cans have just appeared, they certainly can’t be that good.

Zhou Haoran said, "I know this. An empty can weighs 60 grams. I also received a sample from Coca-Cola in the United States and weighed it."

"60 grams each?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "One hundred million bottles of beverages, that's 6000 tons, which is not a lot."

Zhou Haoran explained: "Mr. Yang, this empty can is 60 grams, but the raw materials are definitely not enough, there will be losses in the middle, and the demand is estimated to double.

And if you become big, then 100 million bottles is nothing. The annual beverage sales of Swire Group are now over a billion.”

One hundred million is nothing for the beverage industry. Swire Group and Coca-Cola are strategic partners, and half of the cola drinks in Southeast Asia are processed by Swire.

"That's true." Yang Wendong thought for a moment and asked again, "Since Taikoo is now preparing to make canned drinks, it must also import a large amount of tinplate. If they can do it, then I can do it too."

Zhou Haoran nodded and said, "Yes, but Watsons has certain disadvantages in making canned beverages, especially compared to glass bottles."

"What do you mean?" Yang Wendong asked.

Zhou Haoran said: "Although I don't have the data, many people in the Swire Group already know that long-distance transportation of cans is cost-effective, so even if Swire wants to make cans, it is also for the consideration of overseas markets.

In China and even in nearby places, glass bottles are still the main type of products.”

Yang Wendong also understood immediately and said, "You mean, cans cost more than glass bottles, but long-distance transportation is more cost-effective?"

"Yes, glass bottles are fragile, and long-distance transportation requires too much protection." Zhou Haoran said: "In addition, Hong Kong has a local glass manufacturing industry, and glass bottles can be recycled. Even if cans can be recycled, they cannot be melted down and reused. Hong Kong does not have any advanced steel mills."

“Yes, there are, but we can only recycle scrap steel.” Yang Wendong said with a smile.

In the early days, Hong Kong had a shipbreaking business, and some steel mills were born in the local area, specializing in remelting the steel on the ships and then selling it to shipyards.

However, shipbreaking is an extremely polluting industry. Even the Hong Kong government, which likes to pursue a "free market", could not stand it and gradually restricted the shipbreaking business. Naturally, Hong Kong's former steel mills also gradually declined.

However, there are still a few good ones, but none of them can make ultra-thin steel plates.

Zhou Haoran added: "Mr. Yang, I think this matter still needs to be considered in the long run."

"I know." Yang Wendong nodded, and then said: "Everything needs to be checked clearly, including equipment prices, steel import prices and channels, operating costs, etc.

But I still want to do this as soon as possible. If we are the first brand to launch canned drinks, plus the new herbal tea, I can focus on media promotion and build a brand. Otherwise, how can we compete with Coca-Cola and Swire in a conventional way? "

The purpose of making herbal tea and cans is to promote new ideas and then promote them;

This is one of the necessary factors for the media to achieve the strongest effect, just like Douyin in its previous life. Even if it promotes it with all its strength, if the product itself is mediocre, it will have little effect.

"Okay, I will go back and collect the information and give it to you as soon as possible." Zhou Haoran agreed.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Okay, then I welcome Mr. Zhou to join Watsons."

One advantage of Hong Kong today is that British capital is dominant, and these British capitals also have many outstanding Chinese talents. These people would not be able to develop in British companies.

So when Yang Wendong went to poach people, it was easy for him to succeed.

Of course, this only works for a well-known Chinese company; ordinary companies don't have this ability.

"Mr. Yang, you can just call me Lao Zhou." Zhou Haoran said with a smile.

"Okay, Lao Zhou." Yang Wendong paused, and then said, "But there is one more thing. You came to Watsons mainly to develop the beverage industry, but Watsons also has pharmacies and cosmetics businesses;

This area is also under your charge, but you will have a deputy to assist you, and he will be an expert in this area."

A large company has many businesses, so it is impossible for its top leader to know everything. It is even possible that the leader knows nothing and just needs to know management.

Changxing Group currently still adopts the business separation system, but as its scale grows, the number of businesses in its branches will also increase, and it will naturally need to use deputies to manage some of the businesses, just like other large companies.

Watsons' main business is the retail of beverages, health products and medicines. In the short term, beverages have greater market potential, but it will take a long time for cosmetics and medicines to grow.

Therefore, Watsons will first focus on the beverage industry and the health care product industry, which is actually real estate. After a few years when the number of stores is sufficient, it will consider
"Okay, I will also study these two industries." Zhou Haoran agreed.

The acquisition of Watsons and subsequent arrangements have basically come to an end. We will consider specific issues after the new team arrives.

In the outside world, the news about Yang Wendong's acquisition of Watsons has attracted a certain amount of attention, but only a few people are really paying attention to it. Most people will not care too much about things that have nothing to do with them, and the transaction amount is not very large.

A week later, the media stopped reporting on the incident.

However, many people have discovered that there are many more Watsons drinks on the checkout counters at Carrefour, and there is a clear reminder that these drinks can be drunk while waiting in line and paid for after finishing, but this is only limited to people in the line.

Many people were also quite interested. After all, queuing is boring and having something to drink would be nice.

Friday, April 4:

Yang Wendong met two guests again at Changxing Building: Huo Yingdong and Ding Kejian.

Huo Yingdong smiled and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Yang, for acquiring Watsons, a century-old enterprise."

"It's true that it's a hundred years, but the scale is not that big." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

Huo Yingdong said: "It's not big now, but it's also because the previous management was too useless and the major shareholder hasn't come to Hong Kong for a long time. It's strange that it can succeed.
Now that Mr. Yang has taken over, he will definitely be able to restore Watsons’ former glory.”

"Haha, thank you very much." Yang Wendong said with a smile. Hearing such words, especially from Huo Yingdong, he was naturally very happy.

At this time, Ding Kejian said, "Mr. Yang, Watsons has always cooperated with China Resources. I have asked the mainland to prepare high-quality ginger and some Chinese medicine."

"Thank you." Yang Wendong said.

Many industries in Hong Kong rely on materials brought in from the mainland by China Resources. The same is true for the beverage industry. Even the water comes from the mainland.

Ding Kejian smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Today, the Changxing Group is on track to become the top Chinese financial group in Hong Kong, and is gradually becoming a giant in the export, real estate, shipping and retail industries.

Even though China Resources has a monopoly on the supply of basic daily necessities in Hong Kong, it still needs to build good relationships with such large conglomerates, because in theory, they only need to buy enough basic supplies to meet daily needs. Whether they are willing to buy more is another matter.

China Resources' greater obligation is to earn foreign exchange. Basic living supplies are the foundation, and being able to expand the sale of industrial products from the mainland in Hong Kong or even export them through Hong Kong is the way to earn more foreign exchange. This requires the help of large local conglomerates, especially Chinese conglomerates.

After the three of them sat down, Yang Wendong asked, "Do you two have any good news for coming here today?"

Ding Kejian said: "Yes, the mainland has agreed that as long as you build a museum in Hong Kong, some of the mainland's antiques can be sold or rented for exhibition in Hong Kong;

This is also a way for ordinary Hong Kong citizens, especially students, to understand Chinese history.”

"Okay." Yang Wendong continued, "Then how can we cooperate on the sale and rental levels of antiques, as well as the size and location of the museum?"

Although the museum is our own, the antiques in it are mainly from the mainland, so we need to consider the transportation method of mainland antiques into Hong Kong and the method of entering the museum; even different antiques have different storage requirements, etc.
This is different from other normal museums, as they have their own inventory and can make their own decisions.

Ding Kejian said: "I can't make the decision on this matter, and I don't understand it. What the higher-ups mean is that they will send a team of experts to Hong Kong for a field investigation."

"That's fine." Yang Wendong nodded. Not to mention his subordinates, even in the whole of Hong Kong, there might not be such talents.

Ding Kejian took out another notebook and said, "Mr. Yang, here is a list of antiques that can be sold. You can take a look and see which ones you want. We can discuss the quantity and price. How about that?"

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(End of this chapter)