Zou Biao feels that the current dilemma of the cotton textile industry is due to two reasons:
The first aspect is the planning issue during the First Five-Year Plan period. From the beginning, the Planning Institute did not plan to spend much effort on cotton textiles, and various imported cotton cloths, whether domestic or imported, could already fully meet basic needs. If it were not to meet some special needs, perhaps even this demonstration textile factory would not be built.
Of course, from Zou Biao's perspective, it is difficult to say that there is anything wrong with the Planning Institute's decision. Regardless of the abundant supply of cotton cloth, the local objective conditions in Hainan are indeed not suitable for the development of the cotton textile industry.
Although Hainan is the birthplace of cotton textile technology, compared with Songjiang, its production efficiency has been greatly exceeded by Songjiang. Jiangnan not only has large-scale cotton spinning, but also has an equally large silk weaving industry. The base of loom manufacturing craftsmen is much larger than that in Hainan, and both technology and craftsmanship are improving much faster. In Hainan, there is actually no large-scale textile industry. Basically it is still at the stage of family side business.
The second aspect is the business model issue. During the First Five-Year Plan period, due to the demand for "special use" products such as canvas, the Planning Institute believed that a limited-scale textile industry could be established. In order to reduce investment, the spinning package purchase system was proposed. A rather deceptive mode. The result is also obvious: the collected yarn cannot be hung on the mechanical loom.
The yarn produced by manual spinning is not uniform and stable. Once the loom is hooked up, it is very easy to break the yarn, and the quality of the cloth is also relatively poor. Especially the warp yarns that bear tensile force are easy to break when the force is great, causing difficulties in production. The strength of the yarn causes the machine's production speed to slow down. Even if the carded cotton sliver is subcontracted to processors, this problem still cannot be solved. Spinning can only produce uniform and strong yarn using mechanical power, or at least water power. It is difficult to spin good quality yarn manually. These machines often require a certain amount of floor space, which is not something ordinary farmers can afford. Only workshop owners with certain capital can afford it.
These two problems together naturally form the current embarrassing situation of the textile industry. Zou Biao had no choice but to continue to be his person in charge.
With the launch of the Senate's "Production Capacity Expansion Plan", the reorganization of the textile industry with the help of private capital has been put on the agenda of the Ministry of Light Industry. Zou Biaoxi, who was already discouraged, got an assistant from the sky: Lishan, an old enemy, came out and was willing to take over the textile promotion business, and was responsible for helping attract investment and promotion for the light textile industry.
So Lishan came to partner with him.
Lishan also studied mechanics, but after working as a mechanic for a few years after graduating from college, he was persuaded to quit the low-wage and high-intensity profession and switched jobs to work as an intermediary in a real estate company. He has considerable experience in persuading people to invest.
The bidding in Guangzhou was successfully completed this time, and both of them felt very excited. Firstly, the textile industry has developed greatly, and its voice will also increase; secondly, all kinds of old equipment in the factory can be eliminated. As part of industrial upgrading, Zou Biao has been planning to install new looms in recent years.
In order to welcome the sponsors, starting three days ago, the demonstration textile factory took turns to stop work by region and production line for cleaning, wiping and repairing equipment. It was busy from top to bottom. The two visited back and forth several times and roughly drew a tour route that would allow the sponsors to fully understand the entire production process of cotton textiles.
After the last inspection, the two of them dragged their sore legs back to the office.
The office was originally reserved for Zou Biao, but after Li Shan arrived, he crowded with him to make it easier to discuss things.
A sharp whistle sounded outside, and Zou Biao subconsciously looked at the clock on the wall: 7 p.m.
In one hour, the day shift workers will get off work. The night shift workers who live in the factory dormitory area will get ready to go to work when they hear the whistle.
He glanced at the latest monthly factory injury report and sighed secretly. Although textile factories are safer than other industrial enterprises, the rates of work-related injuries and occupational diseases in demonstration factories are still too high by the standards of old time and space. The truth is self-evident. Working for twelve hours in a workshop full of noise and moisture is too labor-intensive and exhausting mentally and physically.
The current schedule of the demonstration factory is that each team works 12 hours in two shifts. There is a 30-minute meal time and a 15-minute break every 4 hours, so the actual working time reaches 11 hours.
Initially, the demonstration textile factory did not arrange shifts. Stop production before dark. The reason is that there is a lot of cotton dust in the textile factory, and once it catches fire, it may cause a large fire. The dangers of using gas lamps for night lighting are too great. Later, after the power outlet was able to produce electric lights, the Planning Institute changed the textile factory into a two-shift enterprise. Conduct 24-hour production.
Zou Biao has been complaining about the Planning Institute: Since most of the current cotton production is for "special use" and is a price-insensitive product, why should we adopt such radical cost-cutting measures? It itself is not a product that must be continuously produced. Moreover, the cotton textile industry has never been the main development industry, and there is no need to reserve workers through multi-shift systems.
But complaints are complaints, and in a state where industrial enterprises in the Senate generally adopt a two-shift production model, he is no exception.
"Old Zou, what do you think of this arrangement?" Li Shan handed him the reception form. Zou Shan is already over fifty, and it is Lao Zou who is serious.
"We have studied these things many times. Do we need to think about it further?" Zou Biao pushed the document away, "We still study how to sell all the backward production capacity tomorrow..."
"You really can't lower the price of your two- and five-ring spinning?" Li Shan asked. Ring spinning has great advantages. First of all, the floor space is much smaller. The key is that the efficiency is much improved.
"It's really not possible. The two- and five-ring spindles are mechanically powered. The main body of the spindle is okay. In the past, it was made of Quercus eucalyptus. If you don't have eucalyptus, you can find substitute materials. But the spindle shaft, rollers, and yarn guide hook parts must be made of iron. , otherwise the wear and tear will be too serious, and the mechanics of the textile factory will be scolded. It’s okay for us to use it ourselves, but we can use it in exchange for Lao Cai. Their own machine repair skills are poor, and the machine breaks down every three days, why should they go crazy?”
"The current steel quota has gone up, but the price is still too high to be honest." Li Shan frowned, "I'm afraid the rich people won't be able to accept it."
"It's not impossible if you insist on using wood, but the loss rate will go up." Zou Biao said, "I have also considered similar problems, or we can do post-maintenance only to replace but not repair. This can be a big problem This greatly reduces maintenance pressure and reduces downtime. However, this also involves changes in machine design and increases in maintenance costs."
"In my opinion, the big players are fooled first. As long as the cost they invest is high enough, they won't be able to get off the pirate ship when they find out - the sunk cost is too high for them to bear. And as long as they can be put into large-scale production, they will immediately If they can kill Song Jiangbu, they won't have to worry about making money. Once we can make money, we'll trick them into upgrading." Lishan gestured like a profiteer,
"I hope it's as you said. I don't think those big companies are easy to fool, otherwise Hainan has been there for so many years and the mechanization of private factories is still the same." Zou Biao said helplessly. At the beginning, the promotion of the machine was still in a half-promoted state, which was equivalent to a certificate of investment for a large local company in Hainan. However, after a long time of promotion, the scale was like a snail. Until now, most private enterprises are still handicrafts and use a small amount of machinery.
"How can people be willing to let the horses run and not eat grass? The machine is expensive and they can't get the core, so it's strange that they would be willing!" Lishan was really convinced: when he came over to take a look, the yarn spindles of the mule machine were all The tablets actually sell for 2 Australian dollars, only a ghost would buy them! This is like using the technology of building a rocket engine to build a gas stove. It is impossible for the market to accept it, and I don’t know who proposed to build such a machine. This time, he and Zou Biao worked together to reduce the cost of a set of machines to one-third of the original cost by downgrading various technologies and making parts into wood. As for the price, just sell it at a loss. Find a way to fool the big players into buying the machine first. As long as you buy the machine, you will get a lot of maintenance supplies and various trainings.
"Our complete set of hydrospinning equipment will lose money if we sell it at cost." Zou Biao felt somewhat heartbroken.
"Loss money is also the business of the Planning Institute. Let's just sell the machines and keep the factory running."
Early the next morning, Wu Yijun and his party were ready to set off for a factory visit. The place they were going to was the Textile Industrial Park in Lingao.
The park is located in the southern mountainous area of Lingao, and the place is very remote. You need to take the urban rail to Nanbao Town first, and then transfer to a horse-drawn carriage.
The main reason why I chose the southern part of the county was that it was close to Li District. A large amount of kapok, straw cotton and hemp resources in mountainous areas can be obtained nearby. It can also radiate to Lebanese areas and attract people's employment. The southern part of the county is also rich in water resources and low-quality coal that can be used to burn boilers - these are necessary for textile companies.
Led by Chen Xiaobing, the group took the city railway at Bobu and headed south to Nanbao at noon. Had lunch at Nanbao. At this time someone came to report that the carriage from the demonstration textile factory was already waiting in the town.
Without further delay, board the car and set off immediately. The textile factory sent a Dongfeng official carriage with an elegant and solemn appearance and a comfortable interior. It was the first time for these people to ride in this kind of carriage that they had only seen in pictures before. It was very refreshing. Chen Lin still has a somewhat youthful mentality, looking here and there. Said: "Cousin! Why don't you buy one in Guangzhou? It's stylish and comfortable. Wouldn't it be nice to use it to pick up and drop off guests? It's much more luxurious than the small sedan we use at home!"
Wu Yijun laughed loudly: "How can I afford this carriage? Just these two horses can cost more than a dozen people for a year! Not to mention that this carriage can't run in Guangzhou. It's just like this on the road." Duoqiao, how do you get this car?"
(End of chapter)
