Late July.
Lin Zhichao came to Cheung Kong Industries and inspected the progress of zipper production.
I saw that Bao Chunlai showed Lin Zhichao the production process of zippers. The rice punching machine made the 'zipper grains' one by one, and then bent them with a vise. Then he used tweezers to arrange them one by one on the textile cloth, and beat them with a hammer to fix them. , this is just 'rice rowing'; and the 'pull head' is almost manually beaten and then installed.
It seems to be a simple manual production, but it is actually "super high technology". Just a row of rice will test the workers' eyesight and hand strength; otherwise, if the position is wrong and the zipper cannot be combined, it will be a substandard product.
Therefore, if it is made by hand, it must be a skilled worker.
And even so, hand-made ones are much inferior to those produced by automatic rice rowing machines (automatic zipper machines), and the cost is still very high.
Lin Zhichao knew that the small zipper would have tens of thousands of patents in later generations.
Even now, Europe and the United States already have a lot of patents, such as hookless zippers, invisible zippers, etc.
"Manager Bao, how many zippers can a skilled worker produce in a day (the length of the crotch of suit pants is about 5 zippers per meter)?"
Bao Chunlai said: "A skilled worker like me can produce 20 pieces a day, and we call 40 pieces '1 dozen,' so a skilled worker can produce 'half a dozen' a day. But a skilled worker who can achieve this speed There are only a handful of workers, plus the yield rate, so there are actually many deviations. I estimate that 10 to 15 a day is more accurate."
In fact, there are other labors involved in these 10 to 15 steps, and 'arranging rice' is only one of the steps.
Lin Zhichao immediately calculated that an outer zipper costs around 2 Hong Kong dollars (rich people in this era wear zippered clothes, aluminum alloys are cheap, and copper zippers are more expensive). A dozen of them costs about 80 Hong Kong dollars. Skilled workers can create benefits of about 800 Hong Kong dollars a month. .
But excluding wages, materials, other labor, etc., the boss can only say that there is a slight profit. After all, the monthly salary of a skilled worker alone costs more than 100 Hong Kong dollars; not to mention the scrapping loss of defective products caused by worrying quality, aluminum alloy and copper materials Expensive and so on.
He has also recently investigated through some channels and found that European and American industrial zippers have not yet truly entered Asia. It is probably because there are handmade zippers in Asia and the zipper market is not very big yet.
Of course, labor costs in Europe and the United States will also increase very high. Even if the zipper is produced by an automatic zipper machine, it is only for the 'metering' process. In fact, labor is still required in many places, such as the textile fabrics on both sides of a zipper, the zipper puller, etc. , these are still artificial.
Thinking of this, Lin Zhichao was actually in a state of excitement.
Don't underestimate the bit of textile fabric used for zippers. As the saying goes, "Gathering less makes more" is also a big business. What's more important is that Hong Kong is a paradise for textiles into ready-made clothes. The prices are cheap and the quality is gradually catching up with Europe and the United States.
Secondly, the copper and aluminum alloys needed to produce zippers can be imported. In the later stage, they can even produce their own aluminum alloys and enter the door and window industry.
Finally, there is the improvement of the 'automatic rice arranging machine'. As far as Lin Zhichao knows, the improved automatic rice arranging machine can reach 230 times that of manual rice arranging; before the improvement, it was only 100 times. at the same time. At this time, the 'pull' is not yet an automated production, but it can also be innovated and developed into an 'automatic stamping machine'. As long as you have money, it is possible to hire mechanical engineers from Europe and the United States, or from RB, but it is not very high-tech, and Hong Kong is not without industry.
If zippers can be applied to clothes, bags, etc. in Asia, the market will grow several times.
After understanding this, Lin Zhichao felt that this industry could be developed.
At the same time, in terms of competition with RB, both sides have their own advantages. RB wins because of its developed industrial chain, and Hong Kong wins because of cheaper costs.
Lin Zhichao said to Bao Chunlai and Li Gaofu: "Okay, you continue to organize production and sell qualified products. The company will operate normally. At the same time, I will often take time to participate in the production and sales of Yangtze River Industries."
"Okay, boss!" the two said quickly.
Then, Lin Zhichao said: "Manager Bao, I also hope that you will develop an aluminum alloy zipper. If you succeed, I will give you half a year's salary as a bonus."
Bao Chunlai said quickly: "Thank you, boss, I will develop it as soon as possible, don't worry!"
In fact, it is not difficult, it is just a matter of material, but Lin Zhichao needs to motivate Bao Chunlai.
Lin Zhichao then said to Li Gaofu: "Manager Li, you are responsible for market promotion and material procurement. Especially in terms of material procurement, learn more about overseas market conditions and channels."
Li Gaofu naturally knew what it meant and immediately said: "Okay, boss!"
Only Bao Chunlai had some doubts about how much materials Cheung Kong could use and could just purchase them directly from Hong Kong.
In this way, Lin Zhichao's zipper industry began to take off, and he decided to take time out to start learning the entire zipper industry; he had vision, knowledge, and a developed brain, and it was much easier for him to succeed than ordinary people. But the more this happens, Lin Zhichao likes to study because he requires himself to be the best in the industry.
He will try to spend a month or two to familiarize himself with all the knowledge of the zipper industry and understand the situation overseas. After that, he will inspect Europe and Germany, purchase an 'automatic zipper machine', and seek long-term cooperation with machinery factories.
The reason why I didn't go to the United States to investigate was because I felt that Germany was cheaper and could give Lin Zhichao a certain amount of attention.
As far as he knows, at present, only a few countries in the world, such as the United States, Germany, and Switzerland, can produce automatic zipper machines.
.......
In the afternoon, Lin Zhichao returned to work at Changjiang Real Estate.
When the time comes, Lin Zhichao still plans to merge Cheung Kong Holdings and Cheung Kong Properties, with the 'Cheung Kong Holdings' as its headquarters, with manufacturing and real estate under its subsidiaries.
It can be said that when he first chose the name, Lin Zhichao was thinking of "borrowing the east wind and borrowing luck" and decided on the "Yangtze River" signboard without much hesitation.
To be honest, Lin Zhichao is really afraid of the rise of Superman Li, so he must be the first to make plastic flowers in Hong Kong. Even if Lin Zhichao was worth tens or hundreds of millions at that time, he would not let go of the plastic flowers.
In this way, even if Li Chaoren follows suit, at least he will not be able to earn 1 million a year, which will greatly reduce his real estate strength.
Why does he have to prevent others from rising? It's because Lin Zhichao is worried that HSBC will appreciate Li Chaoren, and Hutchison Whampoa will have one more competitor.
The management of Changjiang Real Estate was called and a meeting was held.
"How many documents have been submitted by companies or contractors who are interested in contracting the construction of 'Lantian Yayuan'?" Lin Zhichao asked.
A total of 26 five-storey tenement buildings will be built on the 40,000-square-foot land in Happy Valley. Lin Zhichao plans to subcontract to three contractors or construction companies. The engineering department of Cheung Kong Land will direct and schedule it. The construction materials will also be negotiated by Cheung Kong Land. and procurement.
The advantage of this is that Changjiang Real Estate has developed its own construction capabilities and plans to establish a construction company in the future.
Huang Changhong said: "A total of five companies and contractors submitted information, expressing their willingness to cooperate sincerely and obey our arrangements." After that, he handed over the information prepared in advance to Lin Zhichao.
Lin Zhichao glanced at it casually and said: "If Huang Shun Construction's conditions are good, they have a position. I will take a look at these five documents first, and then we will finalize the three companies to cooperate with."
Huang Changhong nodded and said, "Okay."
Lin Zhichao also asked about price negotiations for building materials, the plans of the engineering department, etc., almost down to the smallest detail. Even when it came to building materials, Lin Zhichao went to the market and checked with several material dealers before handing it over to the purchasing department of Changjiang Real Estate for detailed discussions.
Precisely because Lin Zhichao is meticulous about everything, he has a heavy workload every day, working more than 15 hours a day. After all, he still finds time to study.
There is nothing that can be done about this. He does not have many talents at this time, and his career has just started, so it is natural for him to reach this point.
"What are the financial arrangements? Are there any problems with the expenditure of the three projects?" Lin Zhichao asked again.
Finance Zhou Fuzhao immediately said: "No problem! The second installment of No. 46~48 Shanlin Road will be collected in full this month... The construction cost of No. 126 Modu Street is sufficient... Lantian Yayuan The start-up expenses are also sufficient..."
The land at Yau Ma Tei Ferry Street has also entered the drawing design stage, but the drawings are relatively simple. A set of the previous drawings is enough. To be honest, Lin Zhichao's requirements for building materials are only average. In his opinion, these houses may have all been demolished in 20 years.
Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Well, although it's tight, it's actually quite manageable."
Zhou Fuzhao thought for a moment and said, "When does the boss plan to sell the four tenement buildings at No. 126 Modu Street?" In his opinion, if the four tenement buildings at No. 126 Modu Street are pre-sold, Yangtze River Real Estate's funds will be lost. Just sit back and relax.
Lin Zhichao did not answer this question, but asked Hu Zhaoxu: "Are there other companies in the market selling off-plan properties?"
Hu Zhaoxu immediately said: "No! I think there may be three aspects: first, everyone's ideas have not changed, they just think that 'strata sales' are more beneficial; second, regarding 'off-plan sales', they may think that the house will still be The prices are rising, so I don’t plan to sell them now, but they may take advantage of the high prices to sell after a period of time when more mainland tycoons come. Thirdly, many real estate companies may not understand the operating methods involved and are worried about screwing up. "
Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "As long as the price rises, we will dare to sell it for 30 Hong Kong dollars per square foot."
Hu Zhaoxu said: "Maybe everyone still wants to sell it for 35 Hong Kong dollars per square foot."
Lin Zhichao shook his head. The price is difficult unless the design, marketing and location are in place.
Finally, Lin Zhichao said: "Then we will also pre-sell the houses on Magic City Street in late August. Construction of Lam Tin Garden in Happy Valley will start in September. Everyone, make plans and preparations."
"Yes, boss"
At this time, Yangtze Real Estate had a total of 21 employees, including him, the boss, who was already at his limit.
After all, he needs about 5,000 for monthly salary, and his annual operating expenses are 70,000 to 80,000.
It can be said that Cheung Kong Properties is one of the largest real estate companies in Hong Kong.
