At the Export Development Zone, apart from one workshop that is already half-completed, the rest is temporarily empty.
It's understandable, given that a new factory is being built.
After posing for a few photos and answering some questions, the group headed straight to the old factory in Xiapu Industrial Zone.
Quite a few leaders seemed to be present today.
In addition to the main leader, Leader Gu, whom Tan Jincheng was familiar with, and his secretary Zhao Jinsheng also came.
There were also a few others who looked somewhat familiar but he didn't recognize.
"It seems I'll have to watch the local news more often and subscribe to a few newspapers in the future."
Before today, Tan Jincheng had not actually interacted with many leaders.
Apart from his direct departmental superiors, at most, he would occasionally meet with those from the sub-district office.
He was genuinely unfamiliar with official matters.
However, after today, he needed to strengthen his understanding in this area.
Running a business shouldn't involve getting too close, but similarly, one cannot be completely isolated.
Especially for real industries like setting up factories, contact with local authorities is indispensable, and their help can often achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Over the past few months, Tan Jincheng had summarized his interactions with various departments and generally felt quite positive.
Most of the time, people adopted a mutually beneficial attitude: if you operate legally and profitably, I can also gain some achievements to advance my career.
As for other interactions, such as making donations or sponsoring certain events, while they did occur, they were generally within an acceptable range.
This aspect was much better than his hometown in the mainland.
It wasn't that Tan Jincheng hadn't considered taking the business plan back to his hometown to set up a factory; after all, building such a large factory in his hometown would be quite impressive.
But two factors made him hesitate.
The first was the supply chain issue.
His hometown's industrial foundation was average, and the supply chain was not well-developed.
If he really went back, he would either have to increase business operations to perfect the supply chain from other provinces and cities, or establish a complete supply chain locally himself.
Neither of these two options was acceptable to Tan Jincheng.
The first would increase operational costs; the second would not only be time-consuming and laborious but also prone to pitfalls and might not even be completed in several years.
The second was not wanting to deal with an overly complex environment.
No matter how impressive you were, or how large the factory you opened, your age and family social connections were undeniable.
At 20 years old, in an environment full of elders, stepping out meant being a nephew or grandson to everyone.
If someone came through a relative of your family seeking connections, you'd have to receive them, wouldn't you?
Living like that would be too uncomfortable.
Being in another place was better, and with inconvenient transportation now, if you came to my door and I didn't want to see you, I could just find a reason to go on a business trip.
After a few days with no results, you would naturally leave.
It was different here in Beicang.
Tan Jincheng, with less baggage, even if he couldn't secure 150 mu of land this time, could develop slowly.
At worst, he could slowly expand with the current scale, and by 2007, once he had accumulated enough capital, he could still expand.
The economic situation and the industry were both on an upward trend, and with a good business environment, it was entirely achievable.
The group departed from the Export Processing Zone, and several cars quickly drove towards Xiapu Industrial Zone, arriving in less than 20 minutes.
The old factory area also had a welcoming queue, led by Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping.
Before departing, Tan Jincheng had already greeted both of them.
These two had, after all, spent time within the system and had offered Tan Jincheng many suggestions in recent days, such as these welcoming ceremonies, which they had reminded him of.
There's no harm in being overly polite.
Although the old factory area was packed, its size was limited.
They looked around several workshops, toured the assembly line production, and asked workers questions about things like benefits and wages.
The main leader seemed to be in good spirits.
While touring the inspection area, he actually had someone install a battery on a small electric scooter that had just completed its quality inspection, preparing for a test drive.
This caused the accompanying reporters to frantically press their camera shutters.
"Quickly arrange for someone to take photos."
Tan Jincheng secretly told Zhang Xuhui.
Zhang Xuhui then realized and hurriedly went to get the camera.
Damn it, this assistant is still not good enough; he didn't even know to carry a camera at such an important moment.
Never mind, just take a couple of photos with the phone first, and later, give the reporters some red packets and ask them for their photos.
These are all promotional materials for future success.
Look at Old Ma, photos from the nineties can still be found and used for promotion.
What if it fails?
Even if it fails, it's fine.
I can show it to my grandchildren later and brag a bit.
"Your grandpa, back in the day, also had his glorious moments; now look at you, blah blah blah…"
Hmph, but I have to show it to Old Tan first.
Two minutes later, a message displayed that the MMS sent to "Dad" was successful.
Don't recognize him? It's okay, I'll tell you who he is once the news comes out; the one riding the scooter is two years younger than you.
"Not bad, the horsepower is quite sufficient, and the riding experience is good. President Tan, your company's products are really good. How much did that one sell for just now?"
the main leader said with a smile after riding a lap.
"Leader, the one you just rode is our company's top-tier version, with a market price of 2299 yuan. We also have a slightly lower-configured model, with a market price of 1999 yuan. However, apart from the battery, all other configurations are identical. The reason we do this is to allow ordinary people to buy suitable products at a more affordable price."
"2299, 1999. These two prices are quite a bit cheaper than mainstream electric vehicles on the market. Are there any issues with safety, while ensuring the company's profitability?"
"Absolutely, there are definitely no safety issues. After all, it's a means of transport, and safety comes first. As for the low price, we are a new brand, and we originally intended to open up the market through a strategy of small profits but quick turnover. We will also develop more models in the future."
"Hmm, as a means of transport, safety must be guaranteed."
"Yes, we will keep the leader's teachings in mind. Even if we don't make a profit, we will not produce products that fail quality standards."
"You young man,"
the leader pointed at Tan Jincheng and chuckled.
"Then Leader, shall we go to the office building and take a look at our R&D team?"
The test drive segment was not originally planned, but since it happened, it was a good thing.
Next was a visit to the R&D department, followed by a meeting.
There wasn't much to see in the R&D department.
Some potentially confidential documents, including several newly developed products, had been hidden away.
Their work today was quite relaxed, simply sitting in front of computers pretending to work.
The tour process was omitted; due to limited time, everyone headed straight for the meeting.
Only a few people attended the meeting: several leaders and their secretaries.
From Flash Chi Technology, there were just Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xuhui.
Zhang Xuhui was responsible for serving tea and water and taking meeting minutes, while Tan Jincheng was responsible for explaining and answering questions.
As for the others, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping were in charge of reception, and reporters would conduct some random interviews.
However, the questions had already been pre-determined, so Tan Jincheng didn't need to worry about that.
They were all official district media, and none dared to cause trouble.
"Let's dispense with the pleasantries and begin. Tell us about your 150-mu industrial park plan."
As soon as he sat down, Leader Gu looked at Tan Jincheng and said.
"Alright, leaders, please wait a moment."
Tan Jincheng dared not slack off, connecting to his computer and projecting the PPT onto the large screen background.
For such a large project, it was impossible to pass with just a single application; a project plan was definitely required.
What he planned to do with these 150 mu of land, how the 200 million yuan investment would be used, what the annual investment would be, the company's future production capacity design, and how many employment issues it could solve – all needed to be clearly explained.
Although the leaders had already made their decision, they still wanted to test his mettle.
"Leaders, our company is a two-wheel electric vehicle manufacturing enterprise, currently focusing on independent design and complete vehicle assembly. Although established not long ago, by combining market marketing strategies, our company has achieved certain results, with estimated sales expected to reach around 40,000 units this year."
"Our company's Flash Chi series, since its launch, has been highly popular in the market due to its extreme cost-effectiveness and controllable quality. In recent months, it has even been in short supply."
"In terms of brand operation, the gap between us and the current leader, Xinri Group, is not that significant. What we lack, simply put, is the inability to increase production capacity. Therefore, our company has had the idea of building its own industrial base."
"The 150-mu industrial park plan will be divided into Phase I and Phase II projects. Phase I will primarily focus on establishing automated assembly line factories. Phase II will involve building a 20,000-square-meter battery and electrical appliance R&D factory, striving to attract more talent and achieve full independent R&D for external components, batteries, and other critical parts."
"2005 was a year of great development for the two-wheel electric vehicle industry, with production capacity doubling compared to last year. Furthermore, according to analyses by experts within and outside the industry, the electric vehicle market will usher in even greater opportunities in 2006 and 2007."
"In the future, our country's electric vehicle brands will enter countless households, becoming an important means of daily transport for people, and can even be exported overseas. This is an opportunity for the electric vehicle market, and also a significant opportunity for our company."
"Our company hopes to embrace a brand new development with the help of the district government and various leaders. This is the expectation of myself and all employees of our company."
"The above is my analysis of this project plan. If there are any inaccuracies, I welcome corrections from the leaders."
After nearly half an hour of explanation, it was time for questions, which inevitably involved specific business operation issues such as capital, land resources, and how to deal with industry competition.
Tan Jincheng addressed each of them.
Additionally, Tan Jincheng also revealed in advance that the company had signed a hugely popular celebrity to build momentum for the new product's launch, and, while ensuring quality and investing in R&D, to achieve nationwide popularization through a single promotional campaign.
After all, Liu Yifei's side would be issuing a press release in a few days, and there was nothing to hide about this matter.
Flash Chi's previous success was largely due to its promotional efforts; this was a core competency that could not be lost.
As expected, once this news was announced, everyone nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed this young man was not just all talk; no matter what the district decided, he was going to do it.
Moreover, during the recent explanation and Q&A session, this young man was clear-headed, responded appropriately, and recited figures offhand.
Clearly, he had made thorough preparations.
Since that was the case, there was no need to waste more time.
The main leader and Leader Gu exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
Leader Gu began,
"Our district is very interested in President Tan's proposal, and also very fortunate to see outstanding young people like President Tan dedicating themselves to real industries."
"We wonder if President Tan is willing to accept cooperation, and if we can work together to achieve a win-win partnership?"
(End of Chapter)