"I'll consider it. The investment isn't a small sum, and I can't be as decisive as Old Zhang."
Zhang Mingcan replied after a moment of silence.
Tan Jincheng nodded,
"Indeed, it requires careful consideration, but there's no rush, it's still early. I'll be going now."
Although neither side stated it explicitly, they both understood the implication.
Zhang Mingcan watched Tan Jincheng stride towards his Audi A6, his eyes flickering, then followed suit.
"No need to see me off, we don't need to do that,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
"I wasn't trying to see you off; I just wanted to walk a bit and clear my head,"
Zhang Mingcan said with a wry smile.
In just one year, this young man had grown from a mere follower to someone he needed to look up to, changing so rapidly it was hard to adapt.
"Actually, if you want to do it, you don't need to go through so much trouble. Just set up a new company, and your current factory can remain as it is."
Zhang Mingcan replied somewhat distractedly,
"Hmm, I'll think about it."
Tan Jincheng glanced at him, seeing that he didn't seem to grasp his meaning, but said no more.
This matter indeed required serious consideration.
Unlike Zhang Haiping's expansion, buying land to build a factory and the more expensive injection molding equipment meant an investment of at least ten million yuan.
Zhang Mingcan might have some connections; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to secure 5 million yuan last time.
But it seemed his personal wealth wasn't substantial enough, as he was even reluctant to buy the Audi A6 he had long desired.
An investment exceeding ten million yuan might represent his life savings.
Such a large investment was no longer something he could decide on his own; at the very least, he had to go home and discuss it with his wife.
Companies like Mingcan Plastics were, in essence, just larger husband-and-wife businesses.
Zhang Mingcan handled the business and social dealings, while his wife managed the finances at the factory.
Tan Jincheng's idea was actually to establish a new company, acquire land in an industrial park to build a factory, and invest in equipment.
Shanchi Technology could then take a certain equity stake in the new company.
Although exterior components weren't core technology and any plastic products company could get started with a bit of investment, this year's orders were in the tens of millions, and Tan Jincheng didn't want to let others profit too easily.
Switching to new suppliers wasn't impossible, but for a large company, stability was paramount in the supply chain system.
Constantly changing suppliers every year or two would seem rather petty.
Collaborating with a supplier to establish a new company, holding a certain stake in it, would mean the supplier wouldn't have to worry about sudden loss of business or non-payment, and he himself could be more at ease.
This was the best way to cooperate.
Just like the urban investment company acquiring shares in Shanchi Technology, cooperation leads to mutual benefit.
However, there was no point in telling him this now; he would wait until Zhang Mingcan had thought it through.
After all, there was no rush.
Based on next year's production capacity design, with orders ranging from over 1 million to over 3 million yuan per month, the existing Mingcan Plastics and Shanchi Technology's injection molding workshops could essentially handle it, so there was no need for excessive worry.
The most important thing now was batteries, especially 48V batteries.
The Fengchi series used 48V batteries, so he needed to talk to Boneng Environmental.
Due to the previous production capacity design for the luxury version being only 20%, there was still a lot of 60V battery inventory.
After the new factory area was put into operation, a portion of this inventory needed to be consumed first.
For a manufacturing enterprise, whether it's component inventory or finished product inventory, it must be well managed.
As a business grows, a significant portion of its manufactured goods will be converted into inventory.
This inventory not only ties up substantial capital but also requires considerable human and material resources to manage.
Often, a company can easily be dragged down by excessive inventory.
He remembered from his previous life that several companies in Apple's mobile phone supply chain were dragged down by inventory.
Electronic products iterate quickly; if they couldn't be sold in the current year and became inventory the next, it was quite dangerous.
Although electric mopeds weren't that extreme, and the market was also rapidly expanding, they still carried significant risks, such as battery updates and iterations, and exterior designs.
Especially after the implementation of the New National Standard, the electric moped industry underwent a huge transformation.
If there was a large amount of inventory before the New National Standard was implemented, it would truly be a major headache.
Currently, the implementation standard for electric bicycles still used the "General Technical Conditions for Electric Bicycles" from October 1, 1999, which later generations commonly referred to as the Old National Standard.
Only parts of the complete vehicle were subject to mandatory standards.
In practice, no one regulated them.
Electric mopeds on the market were diverse, with many exceeding standards.
In the wildest years before the implementation of the New National Standard, some electric mopeds even resembled motorcycles, and "Ghost Fire" youths rode them at high speeds.
Like any industry, the early development of electric mopeds involved rudimentary production; a few workers and a dilapidated factory could start manufacturing.
However, after the New National Standard was implemented in 2019, there were very few electric vehicles exceeding standards on the market.
This marked a turning point for the industry, with a large number of small factories closing down and the market officially entering a branding and operational stage.
The most significant change under the New National Standard was that every electric vehicle had to undergo 3C certification and obtain a license plate before it could be driven on the road.
However, currently, none of this was required; one could buy an electric moped, find a random place to learn for two days, and be ready to ride.
After the New National Standard in 2019, the "three major certificates" became indispensable.
The increase in corporate costs would inevitably force some small workshops out of business.
Beyond that, the most significantly affected was lead-acid batteries.
Electric vehicles with lead-acid batteries generally had larger bodies and were heavier overall.
To comply with the New National Standard's requirements, lithium batteries had to be considered.
Lithium batteries, as a crucial component for electric vehicle range, allowed for compact vehicle bodies and lighter battery weights.
Correspondingly, lithium batteries were also more expensive, so in later generations, it became difficult to find relatively low-priced electric vehicles on the market, especially in large cities.
There were still 13 years until 2019, and 9 years until 2014, the year recognized by the industry as the first year of new energy vehicles.
Using these 9 years to research lithium battery technology should still be enough time.
Therefore, Shanchi Technology was destined to abandon lead-acid batteries.
There was no need to research an industry with insufficient future applications, just as it was unnecessary to stick with PC-based internet now.
Compared to most, Tan Jincheng and Shanchi Technology, possessing memories from a previous life, had an advantage in terms of general direction.
What was currently lacking was in technological research and development; Shanchi Technology's technical strength was still too weak.
And Tan Jincheng didn't understand technology, which was his biggest current concern.
—
Changxin County, Boneng Environmental.
It was past two in the afternoon when Tan Jincheng arrived.
Compared to most previous occasions, his solo arrival this time made him seem somewhat solitary.
The company had hired two drivers: one responsible for receiving guests, driving the previous BMW 3 Series, and the other serving internal needs, driving the Passat and pickup truck transferred from Jinpeng Trade.
However, Tan Jincheng was not yet accustomed to having a personal driver.
He usually drove himself when going out, partly because it didn't quite suit his current status, and partly due to his personality.
Compared to entrusting his life to a driver he hadn't known for long and didn't quite trust, Tan Jincheng still preferred to drive himself.
Although it was a bit more tiring, he felt more at ease.
As the leaders had analyzed, Tan Jincheng's investments often resembled an all-in bet, yet his company's operational cash flow was very well controlled.
A significant part of this was due to his personality.
Adventurous, yet not lacking in prudence.
"Welcome back, Mr. Tan. Why are you alone this time?"
Boneng General Manager Zhang Yunhua greeted him warmly.
This time, he personally received Tan Jincheng, and his attitude was even more enthusiastic than last time.
"I'm the only idle person in the company, so I came,"
Tan Jincheng said with a smile, taking the mineral water offered by Zhang Yunhua's secretary, Ma Xiangfeng.
"Mr. Tan has been doing incredibly well in the past six months. Who in the electric moped industry doesn't know Shanchi now?"
Zhang Yunhua exclaimed.
Six months ago, the unknown Shanchi electric vehicles, through two celebrity endorsement campaigns that broke into the mainstream, suddenly became a market darling.
Their cooperation with the local government and the investment in and construction of their industrial base also spread throughout the industry.
All of this happened too fast for people to accept.
Honestly, the last time Tan Jincheng brought so many people to place an order, even though he was the client, Zhang Yunhua didn't think the company would go far, probably just seeing the market boom and wanting to make a quick buck.
Forty thousand battery sets, while not a small order, wasn't a huge one for this year's electric moped market.
The contract was only for one year, so he figured once they sold out, that would be the end of that client.
But Tan Jincheng's series of actions completely changed Zhang Yunhua's perception of Shanchi.
This young man's ambition was no less than that of Xinri and Yadi, who had been making waves this year.
Especially since he also had the support of the Beicang District government behind him, it was truly hard to say how far he would go in the future.
It was clear that Tan Jincheng's visit this time was on behalf of the new Shanchi Technology, to discuss further cooperation with the company.
Shanchi Technology was no longer what it used to be; if their boss wasn't hands-off, it wouldn't even be his turn to talk to Tan Jincheng.
"General Manager Zhang, you're joking. We're just a small operation; what else can we do besides taking some unconventional marketing paths?"
"Haha, Mr. Tan, that's not an unconventional path at all. Corporate marketing is inherently very necessary; even good wine fears deep alleys, after all."
"By the way, I'm curious about something: did you really spend 35 million yuan to hire Liu Yifei as an endorser? That's too expensive, aren't celebrities making money too easily these days?"
He was right; even Maotai didn't skimp on promotion.
"Yes, indeed, we spent that much, but it's a long-term contract, so it's not too bad. General Manager Zhang, you wouldn't believe it, when we signed the contract, I actually wanted to become a celebrity myself! The money we earn in a year isn't even enough for one endorsement fee."
"Haha, if Mr. Tan were to become a celebrity, I think that would work too. You're quite handsome yourself."
Exactly, "Yicheng Baigu," that was his nickname back in high school.
After some small talk, Zhang Yunhua asked somewhat impatiently,
"Mr. Tan, are you here to discuss a new battery cooperation plan this time?"
How could he not be impatient?
It was said that Shanchi's 40,000 sets of 48V batteries were almost used up.
(End of Chapter)