I'm a Master in India

Chapter 281: Export Preparations

Sur Electric's land in Jamnagar is located near the airport, with convenient transportation due to its proximity to the state highway and its short distance from the western pier.

This port city has just entered the fast lane of development, with busy scenes of reconstruction everywhere.

Ron entered the market very early and was fully qualified to be selective; his Sur Electric would be the largest enterprise within a few hundred kilometers.

For such a super-rich patron, the local government provides whatever is needed.

It is no exaggeration to say that the future Sur Electric will be the core pillar of Jamnagar.

The entire city's GDP is tied to him alone; perhaps in a few years, Ron's words will be more effective than those of local officials.

Of course, that's just a fantasy; his Sur Electric hasn't even started construction yet.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for next week, and political dignitaries from Gujarat and local magnates will attend.

These past two days, Ron has been wandering around the warehouse district, where Sur Electric's temporary factory is located.

He couldn't wait; the two-year first phase of the project was too long, and by then, the opportunity would be gone.

To expand the market as much as possible, he directly leased several warehouses here and converted them into factory buildings.

This process was much faster, taking only two months to complete.

Only six assembly lines have been temporarily moved here, including 14-inch and 18-inch black-and-white and color televisions, focusing on a complete range of products.

The production lines were directly transported from the East, and Jamnagar itself has a port, so installation can begin immediately after unloading.

Most parts are supplied from Mumbai, still by water, and if there's a shortage, the East can provide support.

In short, relying on convenient shipping, the factory here in Gujarat can begin production in just three months.

However, this is only a temporary expedient; in the future, most parts will be locally produced, including core components like picture tubes.

Currently, everything is done to save time; the manufacturing cost here is slightly higher than in the Mumbai factory due to additional shipping fees.

“How is the factory's production capacity?” Ron was inspecting the workshop.

“Many workers are newly trained, and it is estimated that in two months, each model of television will reach a monthly output of 20,000 units,” answered the head of the local factory, an old hand transferred from Mumbai.

“The factories in Jamnagar are all assembly lines; once the workers are skilled, output can be further increased.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Parts transported from Mumbai and the East are inspected upon arrival.

The work of the factory here is assembly, which doesn't require much technical skill. Theoretically, as long as there are enough parts, production capacity can continue to increase.

“Are there any issues with local dealers?”

“No, they have been waiting to pick up goods for a long time. Previously, they had to go to Mumbai, but now they can resolve it at their doorstep, which saves a lot of cost.”

“Good, Sur Electric's production capacity has always been tight; now, there's no need to worry about West India.”

Why did Ron establish branch factories? Besides expanding production capacity, it was also to consolidate new markets and incidentally enhance Sur Electric's brand awareness and expand its influence.

Furthermore, it was to share operational risks; he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket in Mumbai.

If policies in a certain region change, other branch factories can continue to operate.

Of course, costs and taxes were also major considerations; labor costs in Gujarat are much lower than in Mumbai, where a salary of two thousand rupees is already considered excellent.

Tax dispersion is also one of the benefits; it can dilute the total profit in the Mumbai region, allowing for a lower income tax bracket.

The six production lines in the workshop had already started, and thousands of workers were busy, with smiles on their faces.

They might have been clumsy at first, but they genuinely wanted to do their jobs well, and they cherished it.

Sur Electric has a good reputation; it's not a ruthless, exploitative factory, so who could be dissatisfied?

Well, Ron was also very satisfied. He had an agreement with the Indian People's Party that the factory had the right to dismiss employees.

No more bizarre ideas like hereditary positions.

It's fine to trick outsiders, but don't deceive your own people; Ron is not some great philanthropist.

While he was inspecting the workshop, Anil suddenly came in and whispered a few words.

Ron nodded, and soon a sturdy man was brought in.

“Vinod!”

“Ron Baba!”

The burly man tried to perform the foot-touching ritual, but Ron stopped him, holding his shoulders and patting them with satisfaction.

“Staying in Dubai for so long, the sand has made you tougher.”

“That place is actually not much different from Mumbai; whoever has the harder fist speaks louder,” Vinod laughed heartily.

“I can tell you can speak freely there,” Ron led him into the office.

“The travel agency has sent tens of thousands of people out in the past two years, so we can always find some satisfactory hands.”

“Good, that's very necessary, otherwise the Mumbai gangs wouldn't be so polite to us.”

“Ron Baba, do you have a mission for me this time? Don't worry, I know where the Dawood Gang bosses are hiding,” Vinod said eagerly.

“No, it's not about gangs.” Ron waved his hand. “This time it's legitimate business.”

“Legitimate business?” Vinod turned his head and looked around. “Are you saying—”

“How about it, aren't these televisions great?” Ron asked with a smile.

The televisions assembled in Jamnagar are already an improved version. However, the core components haven't changed; the main modification is the overall design.

The casing, knobs, and decorative panels are all produced by Sur Electric itself.

With Ron's aesthetic, by incorporating a few elements from later generations into the design, while also considering local styles,

The televisions designed can completely outshine the crude products on the market.

They are lighter and more agile, a completely different style from the previous sharp-edged, sturdy look.

“I can't quite put my finger on it, but these televisions are beautiful, a kind of comfortably beautiful.”

“It seems everyone has similar opinions. Do you think people in the Persian Gulf countries will like them?”

“Of course, I guarantee it. I've been there for a long time, and I know what they like.”

“This is the business I want to do: export Su'er Television to the Persian Gulf countries.”

“Ron Baba, do you mean to secretly bring these goods onto a ship?” Vinod blinked.

“No, not smuggling; we will do it openly and honestly.”

“You've already settled things with the officials there?” Vinod's eyes lit up.

“Unfortunately, no.” Ron shrugged.

“Ah, then what do I need to do?”

If Ron asked Vinod to deliver bullets to a gang boss, or to uncover their secrets and threaten them, he would do it without a second thought.

But suddenly switching to legitimate business like selling televisions was a bit difficult for him.

He was a rough man; how could he understand commercial operations?

“What you need to do is simple: take a batch of samples there and ask well-known dealers or department stores if they are interested in Su'er Television.”

“Is this to explore the market first?”

“You could say that. Remember to emphasize to them that our goods are cheap enough, only half the international price.”

“Wow, then there's definitely no problem!” Vinod shook his head. “There are many poor people in Arab countries too; after all, there's only one Dubai.”

“That's best. If they show strong interest, then approach their official agencies through regular channels,” Ron handed him a document.

“What is this?” Vinod curiously flipped through it.

“The process for technical certification in Persian Gulf countries, and instructions on how to apply for import licenses.”

“I don't quite understand this…” Vinod shook his head awkwardly.

“I'll send a few assistants to work with you; they'll handle these tasks.”

“That makes it easier,” Vinod breathed a sigh of relief.

Fighting was no problem for him; that was his forte. But dealing with officials was completely beyond him.

“Your role this time is just to lead the work. If there's anything you can't handle, call me, and I'll fly to Dubai myself.”

“Ron Baba, you should have come earlier; the girls there aren't bad.”

“Nonsense, am I lacking those?” Ron waved his hand with a smile.

“Anyway, don't worry, I'll take care of this as soon as I get back.”

Vinod left excitedly; he was now a permanent resident in Dubai, having become a local big shot there.

Ron, of course, had to use existing resources to export televisions to Persian Gulf countries.

Smuggling was out of the question; as such a large enterprise, he definitely needed to export on a large scale.

However, there were too many Arab countries, and contacting them one by one would be too time-consuming.

So Ron prepared to first go through GCC and G-Mark certification (Gulf Cooperation Council); with this label, Sur Electric's products could circulate directly among member states.

Vinod's task was to lead the way, handle the preliminary preparations, and also gauge the local market's reaction to Su'er Television.

The Jamnagar factory still needed to be expanded, and by the time production capacity increased, the export procedures might already be settled.

To accelerate expansion as much as possible, Ron made multiple decisions, moving forward on all fronts.

After staying in Gujarat for another week and completing the signing ceremony for the Sur Industrial Park, Ron immediately flew back to Mumbai without delay.

There was no other way; trouble found him again after only a few days of peace.

Low-price dumping, what a fresh term.

In India, a country where many people can't even afford food, the term “dumping” seems quite out of place.

The anti-monopoly lawsuit was filed by the Mumbai Home Appliance Industry Committee.

Multiple companies jointly denounced, of course, the two main ones being Videocon and Onida.

Ron even knew that the real mastermind was Chandani, the owner of Onida.

In the last Firefly Project, Videocon was the main contributor, and Onida at most only played a supporting role.

In this anti-monopoly case, the other party changed its perfunctory attitude from last time and became very proactive.

The reason was simple: Sur Electric had once again driven down the price of 18-inch color televisions.

Because the price of the joint venture company's color televisions was not much cheaper than Onida's, Chandani had tolerated it.

But what was this new Ultimate Edition color television? 15,000 rupees, which was almost 10,000 rupees cheaper than its competitors!

This was not how price wars were fought; it almost cut into Onida's main artery.

Color televisions were their main product, and the production line imported from JCV was still under construction.

Sur Electric's move essentially crippled Onida's existing market and all future investments.

Chandani was anxious; if he didn't take action, Onida's future days would be difficult.