Chapter 1369 Big Brother’s Carrot (Third update, please subscribe)
The Steel Building was named after the steel company, but not because of it.
When walking into the Steel Building, Dimitrievich looked up at the steel monster in front of him - this building has been full of controversy in the architectural community since it was built, because the building looks like an alien mechanical monster. , however, is known as the "Steel Monster".
The exterior is made of steel, but the inside is made of reinforced concrete. The combination of the two materials gives people a very cold and industrial atmosphere. It is more like a monster piled up by a pile of technological parts and attracts people's attention.
However, as the headquarters of Donghai Steel Company, it is perfect. After all, steel is their old business!
However, Dimitrievich and his party didn't think too much at this time. As soon as they entered the lobby, they were led into the elevator by the receptionist, and soon they entered an office.
Of course, what he met was not the general manager, but Schroeder, the business leader. The two were old friends. After all, the Soviet Union had been a customer of Donghai Steel for the past dozen years.
We started chatting as soon as we met. We started chatting straight to the point. Naturally, we talked about the embargo in "Batumi".
"Yuri, you know, we have received instructions not to provide you with large-diameter oil pipelines, so."
He shrugged his shoulders helplessly, Heinrich sighed and said:
"You know, I like dealing with you very much. In the past few years, we have exported to you bearing steel for high-speed trains, oil drill pipe steel and a variety of other high-quality steel products, including large-diameter steel. Oil pipeline.”
To a certain extent, the Soviet Union can definitely be called Donghai Steel's "high-quality customer". Although the Soviet Union's steel output is the second in the world, many of its steel grades cannot be produced, and the quality is also a bit worse, so they need to buy it from abroad. import.
In fact, this is the case in many countries. Not every country can produce all types of steel.
"So, we had to suspend the previous all-access."
Then, Heinrich specifically emphasized:
"Of course, this is only limited to oil pipelines over 30 inches!"
Faced with such an answer, Dimitrievich said directly:
"Heydrich, the large-diameter oil pipeline is exactly why I came here. I believe that as a friend, you should have a way to get rid of these!"
Looking at his old friend in front of him, Dimitrievich leaned forward slightly and said:
“As for the price, it’s easy to negotiate!”
Steel is a metal and like all metals has its own price. This price is basically controlled by two factors: one is the necessity of this metal in certain processes of world industrial perfection; the other is the rarity of this metal.
And steel is a very...common metal. The total annual production in the world is about 700 million tons! as a common metal. It is one of the basic materials of modern industry and is widely used in construction, transportation, national defense and other fields. Steel is an indispensable material for building high-rise buildings, bridges, railways and highways. In addition, steel is also widely used in manufacturing. From automobiles to machinery and equipment, almost all manufacturing fields require steel as the main raw material.
It is precisely because it is an extremely widely used basic material that in the 19th century, the saying "steel is the country" came into being, and the root of this statement lies in - all war machines and industrial machines, All are inseparable from steel.
In short, steel is very important, so important that it can trip up a country!
Just like now, the Soviet Union, the second largest steel producer in the world, has stumbled by this stumbling block. Therefore, Dimitrievich came to Donghai Steel with only one purpose-to purchase large-diameter oil pipelines.
To this end, he even threw out price bait, which is their most common method in foreign trade.
"We can give you a slightly higher price than the market price!"
Facing the price bait, Heydrich hesitated and pondered.
"This..."
After a long time, he said:
"You know, there are too many aspects involved in this matter, so I need to report it up."
……
"Sit down quickly."
Jensen gestured to Heydrich, asked him to sit on the sofa, and asked:
"Drink some tea, black tea or green tea?"
"Thank you, sir, that's all."
Pointing to the teapot in front of him, Heydrich said:
"Haha, Huangya! I love drinking this too."
After pouring tea for Heydrich, Jason asked:
"How was it? How was the meeting with the Russians?"
“Their needs are urgent.”
Taking the teacup, Heydrich said:
"They are willing to increase the price by 15% on the current basic price." "15%, oh, they are so generous..."
Can you not be generous? When doing business with the Russians, it’s a good thing if they don’t lower the price. They actually take the initiative to increase the price by 12%. This is indeed rare, Jensen said:
"It must be very urgent to act so generously. However, it is understandable that oil exports are very important to them! They almost only have a few commodities that can be exchanged for hard currency, so in order to ensure that oil Of course they are willing to pay some price for the export.”
"Indeed, sir, the main feature of trade between Russia and Western Europe is the exchange of oil for technology. They use their abundant oil resources to exchange for advanced Western technology and equipment. It can be said that this is the best way that is both realistic and feasible and adapts to their respective needs. .
For their part, energy trade with Western Europe could be exchanged for foreign currency, creating the necessary conditions for importing products from the West. In addition to trade controls, a lack of hard currency was another major obstacle to the Soviet Union's purchase of Western products.
Therefore, they need to take advantage of their resources and use oil as the main source of foreign exchange. Three years ago, they exported oil to Western Europe in exchange for nearly 300 million U.S. dollars, nominally accounting for 31.5% of the Soviet Union's total foreign exchange earnings. They also exported a large amount of arms, machinery, equipment, transportation and other industrial products to developing countries every year, but In fact, most of these countries do not have enough foreign exchange to pay and can only Use the loans they provide or repay with agricultural products, so it is basically a nominal expenditure. As for the Eastern Group... they all use barter trade and accounting rubles, which also leads to the actual exchange of oil for foreign exchange. Accounting for more than 50%, the rest are various rare metals, mineral products, etc..."
As the regional business manager of a large steel company, Heydrich had experience working in the investigation department, so he naturally knew these data at his fingertips.
"The large-diameter oil pipeline is the key to realizing the trade strategy of exchanging oil for technology. After the war, with the depletion of resources in the Baku oil field in the old oil-producing area, their oil production base gradually moved eastward to Western Siberia, so that the oil Transportation has become an important issue. Pipeline transportation is the most economical and safest of all transportation methods, among which the diameter of the steel pipe is the key factor that determines the cost.
If 40-inch steel pipes are used, the freight will be 39% less than 24-inch steel pipes and 72% less than rail. However, their steel pipes cannot meet the needs of the development of the petroleum industry in terms of output and quality. Large-diameter steel pipes require advanced production technology and are the "bottleneck" of their petroleum economy.
According to an analysis and estimate of their import volume and construction progress, their large-diameter steel pipe production capacity is only a "symbolic quantity." Therefore, to solve this problem, they must import from abroad. ”
Listening to Heydrich's narration, with the tea cup in his hand, Jensen was even more emotional. That country's steel production is the second in the world.
They can make tank armor with excellent performance, but they cannot make high-quality vehicle sheets, which limits their automotive industry.
They can make excellent steel plates for warships and submarines, but they cannot make enough steel plates for ships, which has become the weakness of the civilian shipbuilding industry.
Just like now, they can produce large artillery, but large-diameter oil pipelines have become their weakness.
Currently, the United States is the largest steel pipe producer, with 60% of the world's steel pipes over 24 inches produced in the United States. However, the United States has imposed a strict embargo on steel pipes, so they can only find other ways to import large-diameter steel pipes.
Therefore, in the past few years, they have imported a large number of large-diameter oil pipelines from West Germany, France and other countries, and Donghai Steel is of course their choice.
However, now, after Batumi has included the "large-diameter oil pipeline" in the embargoed items, they will consider using a "flexible method" to obtain this technical product.
"Because oil exports are very important to them, it can even be said to be a vital link, so they are willing to increase prices."
After taking a sip of tea, Jason asked:
"So now, how many do they need?"
The manager's answer made Heydrich's heart skip a beat. If nothing else happened, the manager would definitely agree to this transaction.
After all, business itself is about making money
"At present, the shortage of just 40-inch oil pipelines is expected to exceed 1 million tons!"
1 million tons!
When he heard this number, Jensen didn't think there was anything strange. In fact, they needed more steel pipes. And this is just their calculation based on the current amount of work.
"One million tons..."
Putting down the tea cup, Jason mentally calculated the profits from this business. Obviously, the profits are extremely considerable. Putting aside profits, the 12% premium is simply a golden doll delivered to your door.
High profits, of course, also mean high risks.
This business is risky. Once it is seized by the "Batum Commission", not only the fine will be imposed, but someone may even have to pay a price.
Thinking of this, Jason said directly:
"It seems that we need to find a white glove and find a way to avoid all potential dangers!"
"Yes, sir."
Heydrich said:
"But I think the most important thing to solve is the transportation problem!"
(End of chapter)