Chapter 81

"Of course not!" Shen Jinrong waved his hand heavily and said, "Apart from cooperating with the host factory, we have other ways to sell our tires. Recently, a company in Jiangnan Province has become quite famous. I believe some of you here have heard of it. The person in charge of this company, through some unknown channels, obtained a batch of suspension systems and tires specifically for the Volkswagen Santana from Volkswagen..."

"I know who you're talking about," Xu Yanchao, the head of the supply and marketing department, suddenly became excited and slammed the table, shouting, "You're talking about the unit that modified the 212 Jeep?"

"That's right, it's them," Shen Jinrong nodded, somewhat delighted.

"Modified 212?"

"What's the situation?"

"What's going on..."

Seeing Xu Yanchao suddenly become extremely excited, everyone was a bit confused and started whispering to each other: What's the deal with this modified 212 Jeep? Why is Xu Yanchao so happy all of a sudden?

"Let me explain to everyone," Xu Yanchao couldn't wait for Shen Jinrong to finish speaking and said excitedly, "This company is called Huacheng Industrial. It's said to have some connection with the East China Military Region. They somehow obtained a batch of suspension systems and tires for the Volkswagen Santana. They replaced the 212 Jeep's tires with Santana tires, replaced the original leaf springs with Santana suspension, and even redesigned the suspension system..."

"Modify the suspension? That's just a mess!" Before Xu Yanchao could finish, ** immediately became angry and said indignantly, "Without rigorous calculations and rigorous road tests, what this company is doing is a joke with the users' lives!"

Although they were a tire manufacturing company, as part of the automotive industry, everyone naturally understood some automotive technology. Automotive design and production are extremely serious and precise matters, and the suspension system is a critical component. How could a company they had never heard of before make such thorough modifications to a vehicle's suspension system? ** felt that the police should immediately arrest the manager of this company and execute him!

"Old Yang, don't be so agitated. If you want to report, wait until Xiao Shen finishes speaking... Xiao Shen, please continue."

"Sure," Shen Jinrong nodded and continued, "What I want to say is not about their methods, but about the inspiration I got from them. If the 212 Jeep can use Santana tires, then why can't Santana, Cherokee, Shanghai, and Peugeot use our tires? Even if we can't obtain the qualifications of a supplier, tires are ultimately consumables. After a few years, users will eventually need to replace their tires. At that time, who the users choose to replace their tires with is not up to the factory, right?"

"..." Everyone in the meeting room was stunned: Yes, why didn't we think of this simple logic?

Even if we can't cooperate with the host factory, tires are a consumable item. Any car will need to replace its tires after a certain mileage. It's ridiculous that we didn't think of this simple logic.

** was also stunned, who had been indignant just a moment ago: "Is this... possible?"

"Why not?" The factory manager, Fan Jiajun, who had not expressed an opinion until now, finally smiled and turned to the party branch secretary, Zhang Yingwen, who had also been quiet, and asked, "Old Zhang, what do you think?"

"I think we can give it a try," Zhang Yingwen nodded and said slowly, "And I think we can broaden our thinking. We don't have to limit ourselves to the domestic market. If the quality of our car tires is good, why can't we consider exporting them to earn foreign exchange?"

Right!!

The words of the old secretary reminded everyone. We can not only sell our car tires domestically but also export them.

Exporting is good. Exporting can earn foreign exchange, which can increase the factory's importance in the province. Additionally, it would be a good advertisement for the Hangcheng Rubber Factory, telling the whole country that our Changyang brand tires are not only a well-known brand domestically but also a well-known brand abroad, which could further stimulate domestic sales... This is truly a bright path!

** looked ashamed. His mind had finally caught up, and he said solemnly to Shen Jinrong, "Xiao Shen, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."

"Teacher, please don't say that," Shen Jinrong quickly stood up, indicating that he couldn't accept it, "You were just thinking of our factory..."

As they were being modest, a staff member from the factory office hurried in and whispered something to the office director, Deng Nanhua.

The next moment, Deng Nanhua's expression became incredibly vivid.

Under the curious gazes of everyone, Deng Nanhua got up and went to Fan Jiajun and Zhang Yingwen, whispering something to them.

What did he say? Many people stretched their necks, very curious.

It didn't take long for Fan Jiajun to say in surprise, "Such a thing? Is it true?"

"I'm not sure," Deng Nanhua hesitated, "But since they've sent an official letter, saying they want to come and inspect our factory and welcome us to inspect theirs, it shouldn't be fake, right?"

"That makes sense..." Fan Jiajun slowly nodded. Since they dared to invite us to inspect their factory, it's likely not fake.

What's going on? Everyone's eyes were wide open, trying to analyze the situation from the conversation between Deng Nanhua and Fan Jiajun: Can you just tell us directly what's going on?

The old factory manager, Fan Jiajun, was quite open-minded. Seeing the anticipation in everyone's eyes, he instructed Deng Nanhua, "Xiao Deng, tell everyone the news."

"Yes," Deng Nanhua organized his words and then said, "The office just received a letter from Huacheng Industrial Development Co., Ltd., the company that modified the 212 Jeep. They heard that we are planning to start a car tire project and are preparing to cooperate with us."

Everyone immediately understood: No wonder Deng Nanhua's expression was so strange earlier. This is quite a coincidence.

"Is that all?" Xu Yanchao couldn't help but ask. If that's all, your expression shouldn't be so strange, right?

Deng Nanhua: "In the official letter, they also said that if the cooperation is successful, they will order no less than 10,000 sets of tires from us every year."

Xu Yanchao exclaimed, "How many? 10,000 sets?!"

A set of tires consists of 5 tires, one for each wheel, plus one spare tire, so 10,000 sets of tires mean 50,000 tires in total!

50,000 tires may not seem like a lot, but in the previous plan, out of caution, the Hangcheng Rubber Factory, even if it really started the car tire project, planned to produce only 100,000 passenger car radial tires per year!

Now, the company that modified the 212 Jeep is willing to order at least 50,000 sets of tires per year? This would account for half of the Hangcheng Rubber Factory's car tire production capacity!

The project hasn't even started, but there's already a market for it. This is excellent news for the Hangcheng Rubber Factory, although everyone still had a big question mark about whether Huacheng Industrial Development Co., Ltd. could really have such a large demand.

** frowned, "Are they scammers? Even SAIC, with the combined annual sales of the Santana and Shanghai models, barely exceeds 10,000 units. How can Huacheng Industrial Development Co., Ltd. claim they need 10,000 sets of tires per year? Isn't that a bit too much of a boast?"

The old factory manager smiled, "Don't jump to conclusions. No matter what, this is a good thing. Let's see first."

That's right, we need to see first.

The old factory manager's words were wise and cautious, and no one could argue with them. No matter what, this is a good thing for the Hangcheng Rubber Factory. We need to understand the situation before making any decisions. Even if they can only order 2,000 sets per year, it would still be good news for our factory.

Is this the place where I will be working?

Seeing the scene before them, the group of old men from the metropolis couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Although they already knew that the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory was established in the 1960s and all the buildings were built during that time, the lack of any multi-story buildings, let alone a single-story building, was still beyond their expectations.

As for the good greenery in the factory area, no one cared. In those days, the greenery in state-owned enterprises was always excellent, with tree ages often exceeding 30 years. It would be embarrassing to greet colleagues from other factories if your factory's trees were younger than 30 years.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Geng should have said something to stabilize everyone's emotions, such as, "Although our current conditions are tough, our company's development prospects are very good, and we are entering a period of rapid growth..." But Chen Geng did not choose to do so.

Why?

Because the people who came were not children; the youngest was nearly 50 years old. Their personalities were steady, and they wouldn't impulsively judge a situation based on a first impression. Moreover, they had already understood the situation before coming. Huacheng Industrial, which originated from the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory's third industry office, had just completed asset separation in this military enterprise reform. How could they expect a repair-oriented unit to have excellent conditions?

From the reactions of these old men, it was clear that although the situation was somewhat unexpected, it did not exceed their expectations too much.

Chen Geng remained calm, but the leaders of the Third Military Equipment Repair Factory, who had come to greet them, were extremely nervous.

Taking advantage of the moment when Peng Guangming went to greet the old masters, Liu Qianjin pulled Chen Geng aside and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Chen, with our simple conditions, can we really keep these masters?"