Chapter 453 Ordering Container Ships
After taking a sip of tea, Yang Wendong looked at Wei Zetao and said, "Old Wei, your factory is almost ready?"
"Yes, the land is free. Now the only issue left is tax exemption." Wei Zetao replied.
Yang Wendong said: "Well, let's reach an agreement with the officials as soon as possible. Now that Changxing Industrial's global sales are getting better and better, we also need a new production base."
Changxing Industrial's sales have been rising in recent years, not only for new products, but also for old products, such as sticky notes, trolley cases, adhesive hooks, etc.
On the one hand, there was no publicity in the early stage, and with the company's capital investment, it also started advertising in Europe and the United States and more and more channels; the second reason is that the global economy is still rising as a whole, and the demand for many commodities is gradually increasing; and the third reason is that Because of the expansion of urbanization, many of Changxing Industrial’s products are very friendly to ordinary people in the city
Hong Kong only has a population of more than 3 million, so unlimited expansion in Hong Kong is not possible. As for Wanwan, although it also has a production base, it also needs to consider some factors, so it does not dare to expand too much and only produces according to tariff requirements.
Singapore is a new base comparable to Hong Kong. It is stable, has a good geographical location, is home to Chinese people, is located in Southeast Asia, and can easily develop the local market.
"Understood." After Wei Zetao agreed, he asked: "Yang Sheng, one more thing. Is it better to treat our employees in Singapore like a normal company in Singapore, or imitate Hong Kong?"
"Let's put it in the middle. It's better than other companies. Only in this way can we attract the best employees." Yang Wendong paused and said, "But there is no need to be like this in Hong Kong, but the benefits can be better, such as the most basic meals. ”
Some older people in the mainland of the past life know that even in the mainland, before 2010, the food in many factories was still not very good. It was not until later that the cost of meals increased slightly when it accounted for a very low proportion of the company's profits.
In this life, when he traveled back in time in the early days, he was really hungry for a long time. Therefore, after the success of starting a business, other benefits, let alone other benefits, can be adjusted according to the market. However, in terms of food, employees are basically taken care of deliberately.
Of course, it's not very good. It can only be said that the relatively basic food in the previous life is already very good today.
After hearing this, Wei Zetao said: "Okay, I understand."
Yang Wendong added: "However, if we encounter very poor people, we can take appropriate care of them, whether it is salary or benefits. We must form a company culture. Although we will not treat employees as family members, we are at least willing to help employees in need. ”
Companies that say they treat their employees like family are garbage and stupid companies. PUA employees never thought about whether others have any brains before. A company is a company, and individuals are individuals. Under normal circumstances, treat each other equally. Under special circumstances, treat each other equally. It would be great if we could show some understanding and help each other.
This is Yang Wendong's concept. There is no need for any employees to be my family members. The ones who work are my brothers. You work for the company, the company gives you enough income, and the relationship is harmonious, that's all.
Wei Zetao said: "I understand, the company's internal human resources department has people in charge of welfare business, and they will be responsible for this aspect."
"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and said: "Then it's up to you two to make our first big investment in Singapore. Once these are completed, we can make subsequent second and other investments in the future."
Singapore's future is no worse than Hong Kong's, and it is not as good as Hong Kong economically now, so the rate of return on your current investment must be higher.
Of course, although the gap between 1-10000 and 100-10000 is a hundred times greater, the actual impact on income is not big, so there is no need to rush into investment now, just step by step, it can be done from the 1960s to the 1970s. Before the mainland reformed, it was completely possible to invest with eyes closed.
Investments in Singapore involve tens of millions of dollars. Even if both parties seek to reach an agreement as soon as possible, there are still many details that need to be negotiated, especially some situations involving laws and local interests, which are not decided by both parties and can only be done in one step. Come one step at a time.
On the European side, there was new progress. Yang Wendong immediately chartered a plane with Cathay Pacific and went directly to France.
Atlantic Shipyard, where Yang Wendong met his old friend Pierre whom he met last time.
Pierre smiled and shook hands and said: "Eric, are you satisfied with our yacht?"
"I'm very satisfied. I also feel the luxury of European aristocrats." Yang Wendong replied with a smile.
In his previous life, although he also succeeded in starting a business, he was only a small-scale rich man. He once rented a yacht on the Yangtze River, but it was far behind this kind of privately customized sea palace. This kind of private Yachts can only be enjoyed by the super rich. They are specially designed for renting. Although there are also large ones, the comfort level is completely different. Similar to cars and trucks, one is private and the other is commercial.
What is even more unimaginable is that in the previous life of the 21st century, many Internet and oil tycoons would buy yachts with a length of more than 100 meters, the same size as warships. However, there is no such thing in this era, and it may not be available for another ten or twenty years. .
It’s not that it can’t be built, but without sufficient satellite communications, it would be too dangerous for a yacht to go to the deep sea. If you only consider offshore, a medium-sized one is enough.
Pierre said: "Customer satisfaction is our greatest support. This time, our container ships will definitely satisfy you."
For a large shipyard, a luxury yacht can only be said to be a general order. Two to three million US dollars is not small, but it is not much. Moreover, this is basically a one-time business. Normal people buy one. There is a high probability that I will not buy a second one in the future.
As for commercial cargo ships, they are big business. First, they are large in number, and second, they are highly sustainable. As long as large shipping companies operate normally, they will expand their scale, and old ships will also be gradually phased out.
"I hope so too." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Then let's go see the ships first."
"No problem, there happens to be a container ship of the same model. It's almost completed. We can go up and take a look." Pierre said with a smile.
Everyone quickly arrived at the shipyard, and many white workers looked at Yang Wendong and his party curiously. It is estimated that it is relatively rare for Asians to come to Europe to buy ships. After boarding the boat, another French guy next to Pierre kept introducing him in a "jabbering" manner, while Pierre acted as a translator. Even though the languages in Europe are very similar, everyone may know a little basic English, but they can do it. At the translation level, there are still relatively few.
People from Changxing Shipping are also around, and they will occasionally explain. After all, the translation of professional terms may not be accurate, and it is also because they have been here before. Today, it is only the first time for the boss Yang Wendong to come here.
More than an hour later, after walking around the ship, everyone got off the ship and came to the conference room in a building next to the dock.
"Eric, how do you feel?" Pierre asked with a smile.
"Not bad." Yang Wendong returned and asked: "Pierre, when will you be able to deliver the 6 freighters I want to order?"
This time when I came to Europe to book a ship, the relevant personnel of Changxing Shipping had already consulted in advance. The final decision was to customize 6 container ships, and then the user would transport them within Europe or between Europe and the United States. Of course, leasing would be the main option. Unlike Japan, European shipping companies all rent ships, but sometimes due to financial pressure, they still rent. This thing is just like renting a house, and many large companies also rent offices.
The reason why there are 6 ships is not because we don’t want to buy more, but because of the evaluation of many banks in Europe. They are only willing to provide loans with this amount of funds.
Banks also have bank rules, and in this era a lot of information is not exchanged. Although my company is not small, it is based in Asia. European banks will not investigate. Even if they cooperate, they will cooperate with the Asian branch and the European side. It doesn't matter, if it weren't for the fact that many of Changxing Industrial's products had good market performance in Europe, then it is estimated that the loan amount for the three freighters would be impossible.
Pierre replied: "We will build it in three shipyards. One ship will probably take less than two years, so the first three ships will be delivered in early 1967, and the next three ships will probably be delivered by the end of 1968."
"Less than two years?" Yang Wendong's expression remained unchanged and he asked, "Can't it be faster?"
Pierre shook his head and said: "No, this is already the fastest speed. Ms. Ava has confirmed this, right?"
Ava is Zheng Yuhua's English name. Many people in Hong Kong have it, especially those who do foreign trade business. It can be said that it is necessary, otherwise business transactions will be very inconvenient.
Zheng Yuhua nodded, and then whispered to Yang Wendong: "Yang Sheng, the shipbuilding speed in Europe is not as fast as that of Japan or Wanwan. It is not just shipbuilding, but also other manufacturing industries and even service industries;
The workers here have more rest time, many are unwilling to work the night shift, and the work intensity is not high, so that's why. ”
"Well, that's all that can be done." Yang Wendong replied.
The work of Westerners in this era is obviously not complicated. After all, their economy is relatively developed.
It is said that the three countries in East Asia are very involved. But if you want to live a good life in the future and even for your next generation, you must be involved. In an era when Western technology is fully leading, only by being involved can you compete for industrial production, obtain funds, and then enter the next step of research and development. cycle.
Seeing that the two were negotiating in their own language, Pierre did not ask any questions. After a while, Yang Wendong said: "Okay, that's it for the delivery time. Let's discuss the price again."
In fact, Yang Wendong did not participate much in the price negotiation. In the early stage, Changxing Shipping also made inquiries and visited shipyards in Germany, Italy and even the UK. In addition, the transaction prices of other shipping companies can be used for reference.
Before Yang Wendong came, Zheng Yuhua and others had already conducted many price negotiations with Pierre and others, and this time, it was almost settled.
After several days of negotiations, representatives from both sides, totaling more than 20 people, finally set the transaction price. The total price of six 1,000TEU container ships was US$13.32 million.
1000TEU means that 1000 containers can be loaded and unloaded at one time. Generally, the maximum load capacity of a container is 28 tons, but the load capacity of the entire container ship is only 20,000 tons. This requires coordinating the weight of the boxes during future operations. After all, not every container will be loaded. The maximum load is 28 tons. In this case, neither the shipbuilding company nor the shipping company can increase the maximum load of the ship, which would be a huge loss.
The reason why it is 1,000TEU is because in this era, this is already the largest number of container ships. Technology is developing, and the current ship technology, port facilities, etc. are not suitable for larger container ships.
On November 2, the two parties formally signed an agreement, and Changxing Shipping purchased a ship in Europe for the first time.
Many reporters also came to interview. For this era, it is big national news for a large shipyard to receive orders, because batch ship orders, from top to bottom, can provide tens of thousands of jobs to France. , and even for the government, it is a big deal.
Longchi, a leader of the French Ministry of Commerce, also came to the Atlantic Shipyard to meet with Yang Wendong.
"Mr. Eric." After Long Qi saw Yang Wendong, he shook hands with a smile and said, "I learned about your past some time ago, and I have to say that I admire your ability very much."
Everyone will admire someone who is self-made, even if they are from the wealthy class themselves, because they also know how difficult it is for even the wealthy class to move up to the next level, let alone start from the grassroots.
Yang Wendong smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Longqi."
Longqi added: "I have also used the adhesive hooks and trolley cases produced by your company. I have to say that these little things really make life a lot more convenient. There is a huge demand for this in Europe;
I know that your company has a factory in the UK. I wonder if Mr. Eric can also invest in building a factory in France? ”
"I will think about it." Yang Wendong did not refuse directly, saying: "In this way, I will arrange a business team to come to France for inspection. We will discuss whether we can cooperate after the inspection."
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(End of chapter)