The Industrial Giant Reborn

"Okay, no problem." Zeng Zixing nodded in agreement.

"Come on, go on, boss, two more cold beers and Sprite." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

Zeng Zixing suddenly talked about the Canton Fair, which reminded him that since countries like Indonesia can make paper, there is no reason why the country can’t do it now. As long as there is this industry, there is no reason for his orders to be cheaper to outsiders. You must know that the order volume is not small. The demand for toilet paper has reached a point that many people in Asia cannot understand. In a few years, Costco will have more branches, and with the possible cooperation with Wal-Mart, it will not be a problem for orders in this field to break through tens of millions of dollars.

After eating the spicy set meal, Chen Zhiwen broke out in a sweat. After saying goodbye to Zeng Zixing, he went to his nearby villa to have a mandarin duck set meal.

A few days later, when the sage's time came, Chen Zhiwen put himself into work again, but it was not the operation of the head office, but followed Midea's R\u0026D team to gain a certain understanding of the R\u0026D of inverter air conditioners.

Compressors, temperature control sensors, controllers and other core components are purchased from imported brands. The only thing that needs to be operated by Midea’s R\u0026D team is to perfectly match these components together. It is also necessary to compile a control software and be able to carry this software. Operating hardware motherboard.

"That is to say, the number of chips still cannot be controlled?" After listening to the technician's explanation in the simplest language, Chen Zhiwen probably understood the meaning.

"Yes, our team's design requires 7 chips to control this system, but the cost is too high. The price of this chip is 20 US dollars." Lei Shengli said with some embarrassment. But for less than three or four hundred dollars, their chip price cost accounts for almost half, and there is no market at all.

"For the chip and software, after Woz designs the arcade machine, ask him to deal with it. In addition, it is a rare opportunity for your people to learn more." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Woz's ability in chip motherboard design is not ordinary. After Jobs got the design of the brick breaker, Jobs brought the motherboard back to Atari. Atari's engineers first designed the 44 chips directly. Impossible. After Jobs started the game, these engineers faced the reality and began to study Woz’s design, but after a week or two of research, they did not figure out the principle. Later, Atari executives couldn’t wait, so they The factory was arranged to produce according to the gourd painting. It was rumored that it took more than three months for Atari's team to fully understand Woz's design, but they were also unable to imitate his design and use it in other games.

At that time, Jobs kept concealing the person behind the design of this motherboard. Atari executives wanted to know and hire this expert through Jobs, but Jobs refused to disclose any information, and finally nothing happened.

Only Jobs discovered the great value of Woz. Even Woz himself did not know how valuable his design ability of reducing the number of chips is in the current era where performance can only be improved by stacking chips.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements then." Lei Shengli nodded and said.

Looking at a group of designers who seemed embarrassed, Chen Zhiwen said with a smile: "Lao Lei, don't think too much. The design capabilities in Hong Kong are indeed far inferior to the professionals in the United States. The road has to be taken step by step. In the future, a more professional R\u0026D team will be established in the United States, and Hong Kong can often go to communicate and learn more.”

"Yes, there is a shortage of electronic products in Hong Kong!" Lei Shengli nodded and said.

"In terms of technology, you formulate a talent training plan, invite various engineers from electrical companies in Europe, America or Japan to give lectures in Hong Kong, and make long-term phone calls to ask them to be consultants. If you have any questions, you can ask them at any time. In terms of funds, it will be much better next year." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Unlike those domestic companies in the later generations, Midea does not have any potential market in Hong Kong. It is basically impossible to carve out a way out in the mature European and American markets. Fortunately, Chen Zhiwen's layout in the US retail industry, Let yourself have a sales channel that you can absolutely control, and even the cost of after-sales can be greatly reduced. In the future, even if you can't get along well and grab the position in the mainstream market, it will be enough to survive successfully. Wait until the mainland is opened again. You can use the low-cost labor in the Mainland to further reduce costs and obtain more opportunities, but the premise is that there must be related products.

Regardless of how high-tech it is, Midea's future products must have at least a little of its own technology, so it must invest in research and development and technology. This is an investment that may not have a direct return for several years or even longer, but it must be done. In the field of semiconductors and liquid crystals, later generations of Samsung directly poached people from Japanese semiconductor companies. These people were in South Korea from Monday to Friday, and returned to Japan on weekends. All expenses were reimbursed by Samsung, and a huge amount of money was invested to create the future Samsung Electronics Empire. .

Naturally, the current Midea does not have this ability, and the Japanese industry and electronics industry are still at their peak. It is impossible to recruit too many people at present, so they can only take other routes. It is not a problem to invite them to work part-time. The efficiency is too low, and many things may only be contacted by telegram, and then by phone.

"Understood, Chen Sheng." Lei Shengli said.

"Okay, you guys go ahead, I'm leaving." After Chen Zhiwen understands the current progress, it will be fine. The research and development cycle of this new product is in units of months, and it may take several years if it is long. It can be profitable, and the increase in capital investment can speed up a lot.

The investment in technology research and development has just begun, but the determination in this area is definitely permanent.

After leaving Midea, Chen Zhiwen returned home. Chen Tianfu was tinkering with some couplets for the Chinese New Year. His calligraphy was good, and he wrote all the couplets.

"Come on, Ah Wen, help me." Chen Tianfu called out immediately when he saw his son.

"Okay." Chen Zhiwen stepped forward, pressed down the couplets, and looked at the other small couplets on the table. The word "福" inside had already been written, and it was really similar to the fonts bought in the market.

With the help of his son, Chen Tianfu wrote the couplet like a master, and he finished the couplet in a short while, and said with a smile: "Okay, just post it on the door during the Chinese New Year."

"You can buy things for a few dollars from the hawker, but you have to spend half a day, and you have nothing to do." Mom Wu Xiuling said a little puzzled.

"It's fun. The handwriting you write yourself has the flavor of the year, doesn't it, Ah Wen." Chen Tianfu said with a smile: "You also practice brush calligraphy, and you can write next year."

"Forget it then." Chen Zhiwen shook his head hastily, coming from the era of the Internet and smart phones, he can't even write with a pen, let alone a brush.

"The culture of our ancestors is almost gone." Chen Tianfu shook his head helplessly, and then the two put away their things together.

"Ah Wen, everything is almost done in your company?" Wu Xiuling asked.

"It's almost there. I don't think I need to go before the New Year." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "I'm going to buy a half-mountain villa. What do you two think is good?"