Chapter 174 Food Industry Independence
January 13, 1869.
Vienna.
As soon as the end of the year passed, Ernst immediately left for Austria. It was still very cold in Austria in January, and the snow in Vienna looked unique.
Consortium office in Hechingen, Vienna.
"This place is about two miles away from the city of Vienna. The surrounding area is basically farmland, and due to terrain restrictions, the land is not very fertile, so the price is not high.
The most rare thing is that this place is one of the few large areas around Vienna. The owner of the vacant land is Viscount Lexton of Austria. We have already negotiated the price with him. If we buy it as a whole, the price can be cheaper." Boon, the head of the Hechingen Foundation in Vienna, pointed to Vienna on the map. A plot of land on the outskirts of the city was reporting back to Ernst.
"How big is the area?" Ernst asked.
“The total is 1.642 thousand acres, which is enough land to build several factories, so there is absolutely no problem in terms of size.” Boone said.
"Well, how are the transportation conditions?" Ernst asked.
"It's less than 20 minutes away from the train station and the Danube River. If the road can be renovated, it will definitely be faster, so it is very convenient to collect and distribute supplies from here." Boone answered with all his treasures.
“Very good, go discuss the price with Viscount Lexton! By the way, ask the people around you if they are interested in selling the land, and try to make the land bigger. Of course, the premise is that the land must be connected together. " Ernst made the final decision, basically declaring that the property rights of this land fell into the hands of the royal family of Hechingen.
In the new year, Ernst plans to separate food production from the daily necessities group under the Hechingen Consortium and establish a specialized food group.
Previously, because the Hechingen Consortium controlled a small scale of food processing and manufacturing industry, it was placed under the custody of the Daily Necessities Group.
In 1869, after three years of development, the East African colonies were no longer what they used to be and could provide enough agricultural raw materials for the Hechingen Consortium.
The most important thing is that in 1869, the immigration tasks in East Africa were reduced, which could save a large amount of surplus food for export.
In the first three years, East Africa immigrated as much as possible, and food was needed to accommodate the new immigrants. In order to support the new immigrants, the rations required for the early immigrants were jointly advanced by the East African Colonies and the Hechingen Consortium, and continued until the land Develop until harvest.
Fortunately, the temperature in East Africa is the same throughout the year, so immigrants can quickly put into production. However, immigrants during the dry season will be prioritized near rivers and lakes.
This year, East Africa will be able to export more food by no longer pursuing the maximum number of immigrants.
It is definitely not very profitable to directly export grain, especially now that the whole of Europe is singing and dancing, production is in order, and Britain, France, Russia, and the Opposition are all immersed in development.
Therefore, in order to enhance the competitiveness of East African grain, Ernst strives to establish a modern food enterprise group in Europe.
Different from the past, this time Ernst placed the new company's headquarters in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, implementing the Hechingen Consortium's German-Austrian-African development model for the first time.
Food is an important industry no less important than the production of daily necessities. If it can develop, it will definitely become another heavyweight industry in the territory of the Hechingen Consortium.
To develop the food industry, the Hechingen Consortium has a natural advantage. It is backed by the East African colonies, has sufficient raw materials, and is richer in funds this year. The funds used to expand immigration in the past can be invested in new industries. Coupled with Austria's superior geographical location and stable social order, establishing food companies in Austria has natural advantages.
Of course, the most important point is that it can better borrow the resources of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Empire itself is a large agricultural country. The raw materials for the wine of the Hechingen Company are provided by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At the same time, the Hechingen Consortium often brings Hungary to Hungary. Regional grain is sold throughout Europe via the supermarket system.
The two sides have a natural basis for cooperation. Politically, the Hechingen royal family has a close relationship with the Austrian royal family. The right time, place and people are all on Ernst's side.
The above conditions are also available in the German region, but Austria has an advantage that Germany cannot match, that is, Austria is on the Mediterranean coast.
As long as the Suez Canal is opened at the end of the year, the products of the East African colonies will be able to reach Trieste directly through the Suez Canal. By then, the Austro-Hungarian Empire will be the center connecting Germany and the East African colonies.
Furthermore, the German region has a high level of industrialization, and this is also true in the field of food processing. Relatively speaking, the Austro-Hungarian Empire has a large gap in this area, and the Hechingen Consortium just fills this gap and staggers competition.
Moreover, it can be said that Ernst chose this time period to come to Vienna to arrange the construction of the food enterprise, which can be said to be very subtle.
It will take at least several months from land acquisition to the completion and commissioning of the factory. This is only in the Vienna area, and a factory will definitely be built in Trieste in the future.
Vienna can make full use of the agricultural resources of Austria and Hungary, while Trieste is well connected to the agricultural resources of East Africa.
This way, both internal and external, the ability to resist risks is greatly improved. At the same time, the construction time of the Trieste factory is scheduled for the second half of the year, which coincides with the opening of the Suez Canal.
There is no need to rush the construction of the Vienna factory in the first half of the year and the Trieste factory in the second half of the year. It will be a matter of time when the Suez Canal is opened.
Ernst sat at the table and circled Hamburg, Berlin, Hechingen, Vienna, Trieste and other cities on the map with a red pencil.
These cities and regions will become the fulcrum of Hechingen food companies in Europe, taking into account the entire European region.
Competition in the European food industry is definitely very fierce. In addition to Europe, there will also be competition from overseas colonies.
So Ernst didn't have much illusions about profits. Huge profits were definitely possible, so it would be good if the flow of water continued. Moreover, East African products mainly focus on large quantities and sufficient quantities, and they can also earn considerable income.
At the same time, it can also pave the way for East Africa's future agricultural products in advance. The food output that can be provided by two million people is definitely considerable.
After all, in this era, most countries still rely on agricultural taxes to support their finances. There is no agricultural tax in East Africa, but more than 90% of the profits from agricultural production are in the hands of the Hechingen Consortium.
Only in the past three years, the investment in the East African colonies was also very large, so the money received by the Hechingen Consortium was basically invested in the construction of East Africa, and in the first two years, the Hechingen Consortium completely completed It is a loss-making business and subsidizes a large amount of funds for the construction of East Africa, resulting in the slow development of enterprises in Europe.
Moreover, the current population of East Africa is only close to two million. Only when these two million people are engaged in production activities at the same time can its agricultural profits be high. This means that only a few months will East Africa really be able to produce The value of agriculture for a population of two million. After all, agriculture is cyclical and crops take time to grow.
(End of this chapter)