Chapter 590: The Site of the Blue Chimney

Chapter 590: The Site of the Blue Chimney

Chapter 590: The Site of the Blue Chimney
"Yes, it's the plastic bottle for beverages." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "In fact, I had this idea a long time ago, but it is difficult to realize it technically, and our own research and development foundation is not very strong;

Now the time is right and our beverage business is developing very well, so we can give it a try.”

As a time traveler, every time he drinks a beverage, when he picks up the glass bottle, he will think of the plastic bottles in his previous life. In many aspects, plastic bottles are better than cans; such as cost, transportation, etc., maybe only for carbonated beverages, cans taste better because they can withstand enough pressure.

However, people nowadays are not stupid. Half of the weight of beverages in glass bottles is glass. Everyone wants to remove this fragile and bulky glass, but it is difficult to achieve technically.

Metal can only be used to make cylindrical cans, and today's tinplate cans are not light in weight; plastic is the best choice.

The problem is that when plastic is processed, it releases a lot of toxic chemicals. It's okay to use it to make toys, but it's very dangerous to use it to hold beverages and let people drink it.

Wei Zetao replied, "Mr. Yang, it is said that many European and American companies have been researching the idea of ​​using plastic to make beverage bottles for decades, but there has been no progress in recent years because when plastic is blow-molded and heated, it releases toxic substances that cannot be removed and can easily dissolve in beverages."

"I know, but I heard that there is a material called PET, which has very stable properties and releases very few toxic substances after heating. You can check it out. If it is true, take it back to the laboratory in Hong Kong for research." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

Yang Wendong had already looked up information about PET. The full name of this material is polyethylene terephthalate, which was discovered by DuPont in 1941. However, the early patents were in the hands of DuPont, and other companies could not get involved, so the development was slow.

The patent expired in the mid-60s, and PET was used in many fields, such as bottles, containers, and test cups for non-food products.
However, early PET could not be used directly to make beverages, otherwise DuPont would have made it long ago, so re-research is still needed.

Wei Zetao nodded and said, "I know PET, too. Formosa Plastics can produce it, but it can't be used to hold beverages. If we want to research how to make it safe to hold beverages, it's a very complicated research."

"I know, but our company has grown to its current size. If we don't try to develop new technologies, we will never make a breakthrough." Yang Wendong said, "We still have to spend the money we should spend. Even if we get nothing and fail in the end, we have tried our best."

Unless it is a sustainable gaming industry, other physical industries that want to become giants must try to develop and achieve breakthroughs in technology in order to succeed;
Otherwise, whether relying on creativity or other advantages, without technology, it will decline sooner or later.

After more than ten years of traveling through time, he no longer knows the first-mover advantages in traditional industries, and he can no longer think of any blockbuster products that rely only on creativity without any technology. If Changxing Industry wants to go further, it needs to rely on itself.

Wei Zetao replied: "Okay, Mr. Yang, I will try my best to carry out research and development in this direction."

Yang Wendong said: "Well, engineers in this field can be recruited from DuPont. If they can be recruited, they can be brought to Hong Kong. If they cannot be recruited, they can be placed in the laboratory center of the US branch to fully utilize the advantages of overseas talents."

It is unrealistic for Hong Kong, which is not good at the chemical industry, to conduct research and development on such high-tech problems. The fastest way is to build a research and development base overseas.

DuPont was also the company that originally developed the plastic bottle. Although Yang Wendong was not sure who developed it, it would be good for him to poach some people from there. If he could poach the historical team, it would be even better.

"DuPont? This company is also a top chemical company in the United States. It may not be easy to poach people from this company." Wei Zetao said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said: "Yes, it is not easy, but it will definitely be possible if the money is in place. This research itself will definitely cost a lot of money, but if it succeeds, our profits will be astonishingly large."

In the past, plastic bottles were the largest carrier of beverages. Even if the patent fee for a plastic bottle was less than one cent, the annual profit was very scary.

But to get this return, the investment must be very high, involving the research of materials, burning a lot of money, and success depends on luck;

Many times, after years of hard work, nothing comes of it, but by chance, you may discover something special, which results in huge profits, just like Viagra.
"Understood. I will immediately invest the company's resources to start this project." Wei Zetao replied.

Yang Wendong asked again: "This also requires the cooperation of the equipment company. I heard that Dongsheng is going to go public soon, right?"

Since I started my own business, my largest equipment partner has been Dongsheng Manufacturing. This company, which did not exist in the 80s, has now grown very large due to its partnership with Changxing Group.

The establishment of the Far East Exchange last year allowed many Chinese companies to go public and raise funds, and Dongsheng was one of them.

Wei Zetao replied: "Yes, I still have 30% of Dongsheng's shares. Do you want to buy more?" "No, we don't need to swallow up the cooperative enterprise." Yang Wendong shook his head and said: "But we can help them a little, announce some good news that is beneficial to Dongsheng, appropriately raise its market value, and make it easier for Dongsheng to obtain sufficient financing."

In fact, Dongsheng can be said to be a core enterprise of Changxing Group and even Hong Kong's manufacturing industry. Its own paper, sticky notes, plastic production equipment, beverage production lines, and various customized equipment are all made by Dongsheng;

However, Dongsheng's founding team had no intention of selling the company, and he couldn't force a takeover. Besides, Dongsheng's development to where it is today was partly due to Changxing Group and partly due to these people. If it were really acquired by himself, it might not be able to have the capabilities it has today.

Wei Zetao agreed: "Okay, I will cooperate with Dongsheng."

In 1970, Hong Kong's local stock markets showed a very good upward trend. Influenced by this, many Chinese companies were preparing to go public this year. Naturally, the Far East Exchange welcomed all applicants as long as they had a little fame or scale in the industry.

After returning to Changxing Building from Kwun Tong, Yang Wendong called Zheng Zhijie and Fang Xianming and said, "Some of the companies we invested in early are about to go public. You should also release some favorable news appropriately so that they can raise more funds. This will also be beneficial to us."

Fang Xianming agreed, "Okay, Mr. Yang, I have no problem with the financial aspect. Currently, I am also doing the guarantee review for many of them and arranging for them to cooperate with Hang Seng Bank.

This way we can circumvent the restrictions on us under the Hong Kong government's banking law. We are shareholders on both sides. They cooperate with us and we make profits. We just need to control the risks."

"It's the same on my side. I can release some news about cooperation with them. Some of our business itself needs to be contracted out to other companies." Zheng Zhijie also said.

Changxing Real Estate owns too many plots of land, both large and small, and its energy is limited, so it will develop the large plots by itself, and may develop the small and medium-sized plots in cooperation with others, or contract out part of the business.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, since we have invested in these companies, we still have to provide them with appropriate assistance. Only in this way can we invest in more companies more smoothly in the future."

Before a company decides whether to accept investment, it will definitely investigate the previous record of the investor. If the company invested by the investor can help its development, then the company will naturally be willing to be invested.

Although Changxing Group is now very large, when it comes to investment, the best model is still for both parties to negotiate and make good-faith investments, which is the most cost-effective and time-saving;

Only because British and Chinese capital are naturally opposed to each other, it is only suitable for secret ambush and malicious takeover.

"Mr. Yang, which companies are you planning to invest in? Let me go and find out about them first?" Fang Xianming said with a smile.

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Not yet. In the future, it may mainly involve overseas. Let's talk about it later."

Of the four future Chinese families in Hong Kong, except for Cheng Yutong, all others were invested by him. In addition, there is the Hu family, which is basically enough. Although the others, such as Hang Lung and Eagle Group, were very powerful in the early 80s, they suffered heavy losses around 84.
Today, Hong Kong's history has changed beyond recognition because of his existence, and he is not sure what the future will be like. Apart from the few he has already invested in, investing in other companies would be like opening a blind box. It would be better for him not to invest and just focus on supporting his few younger brothers.

Overseas companies have a much larger market size than Hong Kong companies. Even Mr. Li in his previous life invested overseas on a large scale, so it would be natural for him to do the same.

"Okay." Fang Xianming did not ask any more questions. In fact, he also felt that his group was already very large in Hong Kong. It would not be appropriate to grow any bigger. It would be better to develop overseas.

At this time, Zheng Zhijie suddenly said, "Mr. Yang, we don't invest in companies, but what about real estate? Recently, the Swire Group has a large warehouse and an old dock that they are preparing to sell. I think that location is very good."

"Swire Group? What position?" Yang Wendong asked immediately.

Many of the top plots of land in Hong Kong are in the hands of many British financial groups, such as Jardine Matheson, Swire, Wheelock, Hong Kong Electric, etc.
The latecomers, whether British or Chinese, no longer had any surplus food. This is why so many Chinese companies attacked British companies in the 80s. The meat was really too fat.

Zheng Zhijie said: "It is the old site of the 'Blue Chimney' pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon."

"Blue chimney? It's in Tsim Sha Tsui, where I started my business. Of course I have to take it down." Yang Wendong said with a smile.

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(End of this chapter)