Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

In the Qinghe loader factory, there is a happy atmosphere.

Fifty loaders is a big deal for the loader factory. After the deal is completed, although it will not be popular and spicy in the next few months, there is definitely no need to worry about wages.

For the employees of the loader factory, it is already very satisfying to receive business and pay wages on time. This means that the factory has finally come back to life from the brink of death, and everyone has hope.

After all, the loader factory was restructured from a state-owned enterprise, and its employees were all former state-owned enterprise employees. Although the old-age insurance system has been established, in the consciousness of state-owned enterprise employees, the enterprise can manage things for a lifetime.

If the company collapses, then I have no hope for the rest of my life. On the other hand, if the company survives, then the rest of his life will be guaranteed.

Li Weidong takes a longer-term view. He knows that the order for these fifty loaders is not even an appetizer. The next road construction in the province and even across the country will require tens of thousands of loaders. With such a large market, of course, you have to eat as much as you can.

In the production workshop, Li Weidong said while strolling: "The quality of production must be guaranteed, but the research and development of technology must not stop! We have obtained so much information from Russia, and we must digest it as soon as possible and convert it into our own technology. .

Once we fully master these Russian technologies, our engineering equipment can at least reach the international average level, and maybe we can export engineering machinery by then! "

Li Weidong said, looked at Zhang Tao, and continued: "Director Zhang, recently, the loader factory will give it to you, and the dog electric appliance will welcome the American delegation. I may not be able to open it. I cannot take care of both sides.”

Zhang Tao smiled and nodded: "Chairman, you can go about your business with confidence. I will personally watch the production of these fifty loaders! There will definitely be no mistakes."

Zhang Tao is a very self-aware person. He was originally the leader of the loader factory. After the loader factory was restructured, he became the second leader. Although he was downgraded, he didn't do anything. Second in command.

This is mainly because Li Weidong is willing to delegate power to Zhang Tao.

In addition to major decisions and personnel appointments and removals, Li Weidong is still handed over to Zhang Tao to manage all matters in the factory. Some small financial expenses can be reimbursed by Zhang Tao's signature.

Zhang Tao has been the factory manager for many years. Although his ability is not very good, he still has management experience. Li Weidong also needs Zhang Tao as the factory manager to calm down the situation and stabilize people's hearts, so he might as well give Zhang Tao some power.

As long as the right to appoint and remove personnel is still in Li Weidong's hands, Li Weidong is not worried about Zhang Tao's trouble.

As for the signing and reimbursement of small funds, it does not affect the overall situation. Even if Zhang Tao will gain some benefits from it, it is within the acceptable range of Li Weidong.

After all, when the water is clear, there are no fish. Enterprises are not government agencies or institutions. Sometimes, if you want people to work for you, you can't be too concerned about money.

Although a clear, explicit and strict financial management system is the foundation of an enterprise, if financial management is too tight,

Facts are all-inclusive, but will affect the normal development of enterprises.

Zhang Tao is also not the kind of leader with great ambitions, otherwise the loader factory would not have almost closed down.

For Zhang Tao, who is in his fifties, even if he is still full of pride and ambition, he has more than enough energy and no energy to toss.

Moreover, after the restructure of the loader factory, Zhang Tao is still the factory director, and he still has the status he deserves, and he can also be reimbursed after signing. As long as the signature can be reimbursed, the words will work. For Zhang Tao, this is already very satisfying.

Not being the top leader, you don't have to take responsibilities, and you still have a little power in your hands. It's Zhang Tao's biggest dream to stay like this until he retires.

Zhang Tao, the former leader, did not take the lead in the rebellion, and other cadres and employees also honestly followed Li Weidong's lead.

After Li Weidong took over the loader factory, he first gained a wave of people's hearts by purchasing shares.

The employees of the loader factory have earned at least 3,000 yuan in the share price difference. Naturally, no one will boycott Li Weidong, the chairman.

No one can get along with money, and those who can benefit themselves should not give it well! The so-called “no food” is probably because the food is not good enough, so try it with abalone, ginseng and winged belly?

Immediately afterwards, Li Weidong brought in technology and equipment from Russia, as well as the old Maozi engineer. In an instant, the employees of the loader factory realized that this new chairman is not only rich, but also capable! It is possible to get advanced technology from abroad.

Although the Soviet Union has disintegrated, people have been the big brother for so many years, and his status in the eyes of ordinary people is still very ingrained. Russia is still the big brother of the year.

Capable people can often establish their own prestige, and now the order for these fifty loaders has made the loader factory convinced of Li Weidong.

In just a few months, Li Weidong has established a prestige in the loader factory.

...

Whirlpool's delegation finally arrived at Qinghe.

Li Weidong's Puppy Appliances is not the first stop of Whirlpool's inspection. Previously, Whirlpool's delegation had been inspecting the Snowflake Refrigerator Factory in Beijing, and the Puppy Electric Appliances was just for the occasion.

At this time, Whirlpool began to plan to enter the Chinese market, and Whirlpool first chose to cooperate with the Snowflake Group Company. Two years later, Whirlpool will establish a joint venture with Snowflake to produce refrigerators.

The predecessor of Snowflake Refrigerator Factory was the Medical Equipment Factory, which mainly produced medical refrigeration equipment. It once produced the first refrigerator in China.

After the reform and opening up, Snowflake changed from medical to civilian use, and introduced production technology and equipment from Philips in the Netherlands. Snowflake refrigerators also entered the most glorious era, with a market share of 60% in the country. At that time, if I wanted to buy a snowflake refrigerator, I had to find an acquaintance through my relationship.

Later, domestic refrigerator companies emerged together, especially after Haier smashed refrigerators, they began to focus on quality, and the failure rate of Snowflake refrigerators was much higher than that of Haier, so Snowflake fell into a predicament for several years.

The emergence of Whirlpool has obviously become a life-saving straw for Snowflake. However, the annual output of domestic refrigerators at that time has reached millions of units. Coupled with the management and distribution methods of Americans, there has been serious acclimatization in China, resulting in Snowflake. It is difficult for refrigerators to gain a foothold in the market, and Whirlpool has also lost the Chinese market.

The lack of understanding of the changes in the Chinese market is the biggest problem for Whirlpool. Take Snowflake refrigerators as an example. At that time, domestic manufacturers had already started to produce fluorine-free refrigerators, while the joint venture between Whirlpool and Snowflake was still producing refrigerators with fluorine. Not accepting it is a matter of course.

Americans have been sitting in the No. 1 position in the world for too long. They instinctively feel that the economies of all countries in the world should operate in accordance with the economic rules and economic order of the United States. The American-style management and distribution methods should be suitable for worldwide.

It is precisely because of this arrogance that Whirlpool has failed in the Chinese market.

...

Li Weidong originally thought that the American delegation would be surprised by the militarized management of the Puppy Electrical Appliance Factory, but what Li Weidong did not expect was that the Americans were not interested in the operation of the electrical appliance factory.

What Americans are interested in is the offer for the orange juice machine, and American negotiators have also focused their attention on how to lower the offer.

After two days of talking, Li Weidong understood that the Whirlpool delegation was completely out of the Puppy Electric Factory. After all, their main task is to discuss joint ventures with Snowflake refrigerators, not to discuss OEM with Li Weidong.

On the Snowflake refrigerator side, once the joint venture is negotiated, Whirlpool will invest at least 50 million US dollars, and Li Weidong's side, even if Whirlpool ordered 200,000 to 300,000 units, it would only be five or six million US dollars. Whether it is heavy or light, it is clear at a glance.

In the end, Li Weidong offered an ODM OEM price of $25 per orange juice maker, and Puppy Electric OEM produced orange juice machines for Whirlpool, and Whirlpool did not have to pay any patent fees.

Whirlpool will definitely make a lot of money from this deal. After all, if the orange juice machine is sold in the US market, the price will definitely exceed $50. This does not include the brand value of Whirlpool. If the brand of Whirlpool is included, the product can still be sold. more expensive.

Next, I waited for Whirlpool's head office to approve the price, and then Li Weidong went to the United States to sign a contract with Whirlpool.

If it is at the Canton Fair, the foreign trade department will follow up on signing a contract, and the contract can be signed on the spot. But now Li Weidong brought the business himself, so naturally he had to travel all the way to the United States to sign the contract.

After the business negotiation is over, the next step is the usual time for sightseeing.

Foreigners have finally come to China with great difficulty, and they are big customers. Naturally, they want to let people eat and drink and have fun. If there are attractions, go to the scenic spots. Mom doesn't know.

In the large private room of the hotel, under Li Weidong's constant persuasion, a few foreigners quickly started drinking.

Li Weidong was not drunk. He took a few foreigners to a new karaoke bar in Qinghe and asked for a private room. There were no videotapes of English songs in the karaoke room, so Li Weidong brought a few English videotapes and stuffed them into the VCR.

Soon, a few foreigners took the microphone and began to let go of themselves.

Li Weidong took this opportunity to inquire about the news.

Whirlpool's negotiator, Michael Francis, is of Jewish descent and usually has a stern look, but after drinking, he is a completely different person, with no door at all.

"Li, your luck is very good. If it was in the past, Whirlpool would definitely not hand over the products to other manufacturers for OEM." Francis said.

This is a topic of interest to Li Weidong, so Li Weidong asked, "Michael, why do you say that? As far as I know, you have invested in dozens of factories around the world, right?"

"Investment is investment, OEM is OEM, and Whirlpool's overseas investment will never produce the latest styles." Francis said with a hiccup.

Li Weidong nodded silently. This is in line with Whirlpool's urination. It is like the cooperation with Snowflake refrigerators. The refrigerators produced are still fluoridated. The technology comes from the United States, but it is one generation behind the domestic brands. How could there be market!

...

Half a month later, Li Weidong received a notice to go to Whirlpool headquarters to sign a contract.

Whirlpool Corporation is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

As the world's top big company, Whirlpool's headquarters does not look very imposing, but has an American suburban style.

After walking into Whirlpool, Li Weidong was first taken to an exhibition hall to visit the history of Whirlpool.

In the exhibition hall, there are photos and exhibits, which record every critical moment in the development of Whirlpool Corporation.

"It's just different for a century-old company. It also has a special exhibition hall, which is like a museum! When my company is established, I will also have such an exhibition hall!" Li Weidong thought to himself.

Li Weidong strolled around the exhibition hall. It was the first time he saw what a washing machine in the early 20th century looked like. It was a square basin with a motor underneath. The motor was still exposed, and it looked very simple.

In addition, there are products produced by Whirlpool in various time periods, such as the first-generation refrigerators, air conditioners, automatic dehydrators, and so on.

In addition, Li Weidong also saw anti-aircraft machine guns, small fighter wings, aircraft propellers, mortars and other weapons in the exhibition hall.

During World War II, Whirlpool was once transformed into a military industrial enterprise to provide weapons for the US military; later, when Apollo landed on the moon, Whirlpool also participated in the research of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

There are not many companies with such a profound foundation in the world, so Whirlpool does have proud capital.

After visiting Whirlpool's showroom, Li Weidong was taken to the lounge and drank coffee for more than an hour before Li Weidong met an executive of Whirlpool, his name was Smith, who was responsible for signing the contract this time.

As for the details of the contract, Li Weidong and Francis had already negotiated the content of the contract, and the lawyer had also confirmed it. Both parties only need to sign the contract.

After signing, Smith politely extended his right hand to Li Weidong: "Mr. Li, I wish us a happy cooperation!"

"Pleasant cooperation." Li Weidong shook hands with Smith and continued; "Mr. Smith, I want to delay you for another ten minutes and talk to you about other business."

Smith hesitated for a while, he looked at his watch, and then settled his head: "Mr. Li, please sit down."

After the two sat down again, Li Weidong said straight to the point; "Mr. Smith, the production cost of our Chinese OEM is very low. I wonder if Whirlpool is interested in transferring the production of other home appliances to China?"

Smith did not answer directly, but asked, "Mr. Li, what are the other appliances you are referring to?"

"For example, microwave ovens!" Li Weidong continued: "My factory has the ability to produce microwave ovens. When Mr. Francis came to visit, he also saw my microwave oven production line.

If Whirlpool is willing to hand over the microwave oven to me, and I will manufacture the microwave oven for Whirlpool, then the cost of Whirlpool will inevitably be greatly reduced, and Whirlpool's microwave oven will also be more competitive! "

Smith just nodded, but did not speak, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Li Weidong went on to say: "I have done market research on microwave ovens. The cost of assembly alone is as high as $50 for each microwave oven produced in the United States. If Whirlpool is willing to hand over the production line to me, every microwave oven will cost me $50. Only $15 OEM fee!"

The strange color flashed in Smith's eyes, and it was obvious that the number of $15 made him a little moved.

After pondering for a few seconds, Smith said, "Mr. Li, your suggestion is very tempting, but we at Whirlpool have no plans to move the production line out of the United States.

Although the manufacturing cost in the United States is higher, as an American company, the American market is our foundation, so we still insist on American manufacturing, which is also our company's philosophy. "

Li Weidong then persuaded: "Mr. Smith, it is precisely because the American market is the foundation of Whirlpool that I strongly suggest that Whirlpool transfer the microwave oven production line to China and give it to me to do the OEM!"

"What is Mr. Li's opinion, I'm all ears." Smith said.

"Who is Whirlpool's biggest competitor in the US market? There is no doubt that it is the Japanese home appliance brands such as Panasonic and Nishiba." Li Weidong asked himself.

Smith did not speak, which was regarded as tacit approval of Li Weidong's statement.

Since the 1970s, the American market has been flooded with all kinds of Japanese-made products, and in the field of home appliances, Japanese brands have not lost to American brands. .

Today, the biggest competitors facing American home appliance companies are Japan's top five home appliance brands.

Li Weidong went on to say: "According to my investigation, the assembly cost of each microwave oven produced by a Japanese company is about 30 US dollars, which is more than a dozen US dollars cheaper than the microwave oven produced in the United States.

Therefore, in the retail market, the price of Japanese microwave ovens is also more than ten dollars cheaper than that of American microwave ovens. Consumers like to buy cheaper items, which is why Japanese microwave ovens can continue to eat into the US market.

If Whirlpool handed me the microwave oven to do the OEM, since my OEM fee is only $15, which means that each microwave oven, Whirlpool can be cheaper than Japanese microwave ovens by $15.

American consumers choose Japanese brands because Japanese brands are cheap, and if American brands are the same or even cheaper than Japanese brands, I think American consumers will definitely choose American brands!

At that time, Japanese products will be driven out of the American market. In the American market, there are only American products. Isn't this a good thing for Whirlpool? "

Li Weidong's logic immediately moved Smith a little, and being able to drive Japanese products out of the American market is indeed a big temptation for Whirlpool.

From the 1980s to the mid-1990s, Japanese products were the biggest rivals of American manufacturing. In that era, American manufacturing was politically correct for Japanese products.

The home appliance industry is also the field with the most Japanese products. For white goods such as air conditioners and refrigerators, Japanese products are on a par with American products, while emerging products such as Walkmans and game consoles are even better.

What's more, for the consumer goods industry, the importance of seizing more market share is self-evident.

Therefore, when Li Weidong brought up the topic to grab the market with Japanese products, Smith was immediately moved.

I just heard Smith say: "Mr. Li, your suggestion is very constructive. Well, at the next company management meeting, I will introduce your suggestion to other executives, and then we will give you a Answered!"

...

What Li Weidong really likes is not the order of orange juice machine, but the microwave oven production line of Whirlpool.

After Xizhi Electric refused to move the production line to China, Li Weidong decided to look for OEMs in European and American countries.

The manufacturing cost of European and American countries is definitely high. Take a microwave oven as an example. The assembly cost of a microwave oven is 30 to 50 US dollars, and Li Weidong's OEM fee of 10 to 15 US dollars is enough to impress European and American manufacturers to move their production lines to China. .

And the labor cost in China is too low. For Li Weidong, even the OEM fee of $10 per microwave oven is still a huge profit!

Once the manufacturing cost of microwave ovens from European and American manufacturers drops, the price will also drop, and they will snatch the Japanese microwave oven market.

The assembly cost of Japanese microwave ovens is about 30 US dollars. In the face of cheaper European and American brands, if you want to survive, the only way is to find Li Weidong as an OEM, so that in terms of cost, you can be on the same starting line with European and American countries.

At that time, Li Weidong will be able to take over the microwave oven production line of Japanese microwave ovens.

...

Li Weidong felt that his plan was perfect. The OEM price of $15 would definitely make Whirlpool excited. Now he is just waiting for good news from Smith.

Li Weidong waited for five days, and finally there was news from Smith.

"Mr. Li, I regret to inform you that your proposal was rejected by our executive meeting," Smith said.

"Mr. Smith, can you tell me the reason? Could it be that the OEM price I gave is not satisfactory to you?" Li Weidong asked.

Smith shook his head: "It's not a matter of price. Most of our company's management is conservative and prefers manufacturing in the United States."

Li Weidong sighed helplessly: "I understand."

Whirlpool is a century-old company with a long history. The decision-making team will definitely not be very young. If there are fewer young people, they will lack motivation and tend to be conservative in decision-making.

To put it simply, they are all rulers of success, and there is no master of pioneers.

The conservativeness of Whirlpool's decision-making team can also be seen from its strategy towards the Chinese market.

Japanese home appliances have entered the Chinese market as early as the 1980s, and Whirlpool waited abruptly until the mid-1990s, and it was long overdue, and it brought technology that was a generation behind.

But no more aggressive manager will adopt this strategy in an emerging market.

There is no doubt that Whirlpool is still superstitious about American manufacturing, and its thinking is still stuck in the era when American manufacturing is invincible.

After walking out of the Whirlpool building, Li Weidong subconsciously looked at the huge Whirlpool logo on the lawn in front of the building.

Then Li Weidong muttered to himself: "Isn't the OEM fee of 15 dollars delicious! Hey, I wanted to be a good person, but I had to force me to do bad things!"