2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 181 Cooperation and Mutual Benefit
In the export development zone, apart from one workshop that is half-finished, the rest is still empty for the time being. It's a new factory being built, so everyone can understand.

After taking a few photos and asking a few questions, the group headed straight for the old factory in the Xiapu Industrial Zone.

There seem to be quite a few leaders here today. In addition to the top leaders, Tan Jincheng is familiar with Leader Gu and his secretary Zhao Jinsheng. There are also a few others who look somewhat familiar, but I don't recognize them.

"Looks like I'll have to watch the local news broadcast more often from now on, and also subscribe to a few more newspapers."

Before today, Tan Jincheng had not actually had much contact with leaders. Apart from the leaders of his direct departments, he had only occasionally met with people from the street office. He was really not familiar with the formalities of the situation.

However, after today, we need to strengthen our understanding of this.

Businesses shouldn't be too close to the local area, but they also shouldn't be completely isolated, especially for manufacturing businesses. They inevitably need to interact with the local community, and their assistance can often make all the difference.

Over the past few months, Tan Jincheng has summarized his interactions with various departments and found the overall situation to be quite good. Most of the time, everyone is in a mutually beneficial relationship: you operate legally and compliantly to make money, and I can also achieve some results to improve my own future.

As for other contacts, such as donations or sponsorships for events, although they exist, they are generally within an acceptable range, which is much better than back in my hometown in mainland China.

Tan Jincheng had considered taking the business plan back to his hometown to set up a factory, since setting up such a large factory in his hometown would be quite impressive.

However, two issues made him hesitate. One was the supply chain problem. His hometown had a weak industrial base and an incomplete supply chain. If he really went back, he would either have to increase business operations to improve the supply chain from other provinces or cities, or he would have to build a complete supply chain locally.

Neither of these two options is acceptable to Tan Jincheng. The first option increases operating costs, while the second option is not only time-consuming and laborious but also prone to pitfalls, and may not be completed even after several years.

Secondly, they don't want to deal with overly complicated environments. No matter how capable you are or how big your factory is, your age and family and social relationships are still there.

At 20 years old, surrounded by your elders, you're treated like royalty. If someone comes to your door through a relative, you're expected to receive them.

That would be too unbearable. It's better to live elsewhere. Transportation is inconvenient now. If I don't want to see you when you come to my door, I can just make up an excuse to go on a business trip.

If you don't get results after a few days, you'll naturally leave.

The situation is different in Beicang. Tan Jincheng, who is now free from burdens, can develop slowly even if he doesn't manage to acquire 150 mu of land this time. At the very least, he can continue to develop at the current scale and save enough money to expand the scale in 2007.

Given the positive economic climate, the upward trend in various industries, and a favorable business environment, it is entirely possible to achieve this.

The group set off from the export processing zone, and several vehicles quickly drove towards the Xiapu Industrial Zone. They arrived in less than 20 minutes. There was also a welcoming procession at the old factory area, led by Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping.

Before setting off, Tan Jincheng had already informed the two men. These two had, after all, worked within the system, and they had provided Tan Jincheng with a lot of advice over the past few days. It was they who suggested these welcoming ceremonies.

Isn't it strange that there are so many people?

Although the old factory area was packed, the area was only so big. I looked around a few workshops, toured the production line, and asked the workers a few questions about their benefits and wages.

The top leader seemed to be in a good mood. While visiting the inspection area, he even had a battery installed on a small electric scooter that had just passed the inspection, in preparation for a test drive.

This caused the accompanying reporters to frantically press the shutter button.

"Quickly arrange for someone to take pictures," Tan Jincheng whispered to Zhang Xuhui.

Zhang Xuhui then realized what was happening and hurriedly went to grab his camera; Damn it, this assistant is still useless, he didn't even know to bring a camera with him at such an important moment.

Never mind, I'll just take two pictures with my phone first, then give the reporters some red envelopes and ask them for the money.

These are all promotional materials for when we succeed in the future. Look at Old Ma, he can even find photos from the 1990s and use them for publicity.

Failed? It's okay if you fail. You can show it to your children and grandchildren later and brag about it.

"Your grandpa here, I had my share of glory back in the day, and look at you all, blah blah blah."

Hmph, but I have to show it to Old Tan first.

Two minutes later, the message showed that the MMS sent to "Dad" was successfully sent.
Don't recognize him? No problem, your son will explain it to you after the news comes out. The person riding the bike is two years younger than you.

"Not bad, it has plenty of power, and the riding experience is quite good. Mr. Tan, your company's products are pretty good. How much did that bike cost again?" the senior leader said with a smile after riding around.

"The one you just rode is our company's top-of-the-line model, which has a market price of 2299 yuan. We also have a slightly lower-spec model, which has a market price of 1999 yuan. However, apart from the battery, the other configurations are exactly the same. We are doing this so that ordinary people can buy suitable products at a cheaper price."

"2299 and 1999 are much cheaper than mainstream electric vehicles on the market. With the company's profits guaranteed, is there any problem with safety?" "Of course, there is absolutely no problem with safety. After all, it is a means of transportation, and safety comes first. As for the low price, we are a new brand and we want to open up the market with a low-profit, high-volume approach. We will develop more models in the future."

"Yes, the safety of transportation must be guaranteed."

"Okay, we will keep the leader's teachings in mind. Even if we don't make money, we cannot produce products that are not up to standard."

"You young man," the leader said with a smile, pointing at Tan Jincheng.

"Then, boss, shall we go to the office building and take a look at our R&D team?"

The test drive was not originally planned, but it's a good thing that it's included now. Next, we'll visit the R&D department, followed by a meeting.

There's not much to see in the R&D department. Some potentially confidential documents, including information on several newly developed products, have been hidden away. Their job today is easy; they just sit in front of their computers and pretend to be working.

The tour itself will be omitted, as everyone was short on time and headed straight to the meeting.

There were only a few people who could attend the meeting: a few leaders and their secretaries. From FlashTech's side, there were only Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xuhui. Zhang Xuhui was responsible for serving tea and water and taking meeting notes, while Tan Jincheng was responsible for explaining and answering questions.

As for the others, Lin Yumin and Wu Zhenping will be in charge of receiving them. The reporter will also conduct some random interviews, but the questions have already been determined, so Tan Jincheng doesn't need to worry about that.

They are all legitimate media outlets in the district; none of them dared to cause trouble.

"Let's not stand on ceremony, let's begin. Tell me about your 150-acre industrial park plan." As soon as Fang sat down, Leader Gu looked at Tan Jincheng and said.

"Okay, leaders, please wait a moment."

Tan Jincheng dared not slack off. He connected the computer and projected the PPT onto the large screen background. Such a large project could not be approved with just an application; a project plan was definitely required.

What do you plan to do with this 150 acres of land? How will you use the 2 million yuan investment? What will the annual investment be? What is the company's future production capacity design? How many jobs can it create? You need to make all of these things clear.

Although the leaders have already made their decision, they still need to test your mettle.

"Dear leaders, our company is a two-wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer. Currently, we mainly focus on independent design and complete vehicle assembly. Although we have not been established for long, we have already achieved certain results by combining marketing methods. This year, we expect sales to reach around 4 vehicles."

"Since its launch, our company's Flash series has been very popular in the market due to its excellent cost performance and controllable quality. In recent months, it has even been in short supply."

"In terms of brand operation, we are not that far behind the current leader, ChipSun Group. The only thing we lack is the ability to increase production capacity. Therefore, our company has the idea of ​​building our own industrial base."

"The 150-acre industrial park plan will be divided into two phases. In the first phase, we will focus on building an automated assembly line factory. In the second phase, we will build a 2-square-meter R&D factory for batteries and electrical appliances, and strive to attract more talent to achieve full independent R&D of appearance parts and important components such as batteries."

"2005 was a year of great development for the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry. Production capacity doubled compared to the previous year. In addition, according to experts inside and outside the industry, the electric vehicle market will usher in even greater opportunities in 2006 and 2007."

"In the future, our Guojia electric vehicle brand will enter thousands of households and become an important means of transportation for people's daily travel. It can even be sold at home and abroad. This is an opportunity for the electric vehicle market, and also a major opportunity for our company."

"With the help of the district government and various leaders, our company hopes to usher in a new era of development. This is the expectation of myself and all employees of our company."

"This concludes my analysis of the project plan. If there are any inaccuracies, please feel free to point them out."

After a half-hour explanation, it was time for questions. These questions inevitably touched on specific business management issues such as funding, land resources, and how to deal with industry competition. Tan Jincheng answered them all one by one.

In addition, Tan Jincheng also revealed in advance that the company has signed a wildly popular celebrity to promote the operation of the new product. While ensuring quality and investing in research and development, the company will promote the product nationwide in one go.

After all, Liu Yifei's side will be releasing a press release in a few days, so there's no point in hiding it. Flash's previous success was largely due to its publicity, which is a core skill that can't be lost.

Sure enough, as soon as the news was announced, everyone nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that this young man was not just talking; he was going to do whatever the district decided.

Moreover, during the explanation and Q&A session, this young man was clear and articulate, and responded appropriately, rattling off some numbers off the top of his head. He had clearly prepared thoroughly, so there was no need to waste any more time.

The top leader and Leader Gu exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

Leader Gu began, “Our district is very interested in President Tan’s proposal, and we are also very fortunate to see such an outstanding young man as President Tan dedicating himself to industry.”

"I wonder if Mr. Tan would be willing to cooperate? Let's work together to achieve a win-win situation?"

(End of this chapter)