Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 83 A Small Character - Chen Mo
At the Ningde factory, on the trial production line for gaseous lithium batteries, a wave of heat, carrying the smell of engine oil, hits you like a scalding tide.

Chen Mo pushed open the door to the production line manager's office. Instantly, a cool breeze carrying the scent of printer toner wafted in, completely shutting out the heat and oil smell behind him.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Chen!"

Chen Mo stared at the "Strive for Excellence" slogan on the office wall, sat on the sofa in the reception area, and held onto the edge of the coffee table with one hand.

"Gulu~"

The production line manager twirled the thermos cup, and the goji berries at the bottom of the cup rose and fell with his shaking.

"Mr. Chen! We really aren't trying to hold you back by adding a new production line."

He took out the blueprints and traced a few lines on the production line diagram with a pen.

"Only 30% of the equipment in the gaseous lithium battery production line (such as slitting machines, injection machines, and testing instruments) is compatible with that in the liquid lithium battery production line; 70% of the core process equipment needs to be completely rebuilt."

The production line manager blew on the thermos and took a small sip.

"Unless you can guarantee 300 million yuan in orders every month, who will bear the cost of increasing the production line?"

Although Professor Lin had given instructions, Ningde would never allow itself to work as a subcontractor at a loss.

"Gulp~ This."

Chen Mo's Adam's apple bobbed, he pursed his dry lips, and finally could only manage a dry smile.

"I understand! I understand!"

The atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment, and Chen Mo didn't know how to persuade the other party to increase production.

Orange Technology's small workshop still has 15 units of orders piling up.
The contract manufacturers, who were still waiting for the batteries to start production, forced Chen Mo to overcome his unusual emotions and bite the bullet to speak again.

Outside the door, a faint humming sound came from the robotic arm of the production line.

When Chen Mo first arrived, General Manager Zheng's very "enthusiastic" words, which made the production line manager "fully cooperate," still echoed in his ears.

At this moment, however, it transforms into the cold light behind the production line manager's glasses.

Chen Mo, an engineering student, has a very straightforward personality and naturally didn't understand these deeper social niceties before.

Now that he realized what was happening, he understood that President Zheng was probably just being polite to him, a "small fry."

It was just a small order with a monthly processing fee of a few hundred thousand yuan. For Mr. Zheng, who was worth billions, to take time out of his busy schedule to meet with him was already giving Director Lin a lot of face.

After all, in Ningde's current business landscape, the monthly revenue of a small workshop like Orange Technology, which sells a hit smartphone, is not even a fraction of the daily R&D funding of the power battery department.

Chen Mo came in person today. General Manager Zheng only came to receive him out of respect for Director Lin and curiosity about the gaseous lithium battery developers.

Ningde had no demands on Orange Technology, so the production line manager simply followed the normal OEM process.

Mr. Zheng has his own channels of knowledge that the core catalyst of gaseous lithium batteries has been listed as a Class A controlled substance.

The higher authorities directly and explicitly approved Ningde's application for procurement authority as Permission IV (prohibition of procurement). This means that the vertical market of gaseous lithium batteries has been tacitly approved by the higher authorities as a unique product of Orange Technology.

This means that in the short term, Orange Technology will be the only company to pursue the path of gaseous lithium batteries.

Unless a second battery company can bypass Orange Technology's ideas and patents and develop a different route for gaseous lithium batteries.

Another point is that they would rather not use the other party's technology in their own advantageous lithium battery market.

Catalysts can effectively increase the energy density of liquid lithium batteries by 3 times, but the volume needs to be increased by 9 times.

This has no practical value for electronic products that have very strict requirements on battery size.

Therefore, without any conflict of interest, Mr. Zheng's willingness to help Chen Mo build a production line from scratch for contract manufacturing is more than enough.

This was partly due to the fact that the other party's teacher was their own technical advisor, Professor Lin. You can disregard the face of the technical advisor and Vice Dean Lin, but you'd rather the new liquid lithium battery eventually be launched.
You should take a look at the National Standards and Energy Storage Committee and see if they need to examine your technical standards and qualifications more carefully.

Today, Chen Mo came in person, and General Manager Zheng, despite his busy schedule, personally and "warmly" received him, and also instructed the production line manager to "fully cooperate" with him.

These were the words General Manager Zheng said to the production line manager.

To put it simply: within your responsibilities as the manager of the gaseous lithium battery production line, fully cooperate with the other party.

The resources that the other party can mobilize are limited to this pilot production line for gaseous lithium batteries.

"Mr. Chen! There are other ways to increase production!"

The production line manager suddenly put down his cup and poked the production schedule with the tip of his pen.

"If we could loosen the battery error rate to 10%, we could switch to a three-shift system and conduct maintenance every three days!"

Because the process is unstable, this new trial production line operates on a 16-hour shift system with two shifts. The remaining 8 hours are for maintenance and calibration to ensure that the batteries have an 8% error rate, and the products produced are considered high-quality.

Chen Mo hesitated instinctively; the quality of this battery was going to be compromised!

If possible, he would prefer his Orange 1 to be perfect.

The production line manager raised an eyebrow slightly when he didn't immediately agree.

“Mr. Chen! The national standard has a 15% error margin. If yours is 10%, it can actually be considered a good product. Such a small error is imperceptible to users.”

Currently, with two shifts working 16 hours a day, the production capacity is 3 units. If it were changed to three shifts, with 8 hours of maintenance over three days, the average daily production capacity could be increased to 4 units.

We're receiving around 50,000 orders a day right now, and the batteries are clearly not enough. It's an extra 10,000 yuan, but it's better than nothing.

If the order is delayed, the penalty for breach of contract could bankrupt Orange Technology, a small workshop.

Orange Technology seems to be thriving, but in reality, it's pushing inventory to the limit and its cash flow is very tight.

Apart from the one-time patent compensation of 500 million yuan in cash in Chen Mo's personal account, Orange Technology's corporate account did not have much cash flow.

The office overhead light cast a small shadow on Chen Mo's face, who was slightly bowing his head.

He thought of the 15 backlogged orders waiting for the battery manufacturers to start production.
Finally, Chen Mo gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table.

"Then let's do it that way! I'll need you to reschedule tonight, the first batch of batteries must be loaded onto the truck tomorrow morning!"

Although he understood why the other party did this, Chen Mo still felt somewhat uncomfortable with the production line manager's attitude.

"Then I'll take my leave first!"

As he turned to leave, his trouser leg "accidentally" brushed against the corner of the table, knocking down several equipment parameter sheets.
Half an hour later, Su Yu, who was highly regarded by General Manager Zheng and rumored to be the technical director of the newly established new energy company, rushed into the office.

"Why did Chen Mo leave so angrily? We clearly agreed to come to the lab to discuss nitride solid-state batteries!"

His white coat had some shimmering, sky-blue condensate stuck to the hem.

The production line manager blew on his thermos and said nonchalantly, "What's so strange about that? Once the deal was settled, they naturally left!"

Su Yu stepped forward and grabbed the production line manager by the collar: "Didn't President Zheng tell you to cooperate fully? How have you been cooperating with him!"

The manager brushed his hand away and sneered, "So your R&D department wants other people's technology, so you use our production line as a favor, is that it?"

"This is the production department, not some R&D department's place to run wild!" He grabbed the blueprints and slammed them on the table. "If you're so capable, get General Manager Zheng to sign off on it, and I'll open ten production lines for him tomorrow!"

Su Yu stared at the blueprints, then suddenly deflated: "I'll go find General Manager Zheng!" But he hadn't given up hope.

(End of this chapter)