The Industrial Giant Reborn.

Chapter 434 Delphi Battery

The battery industry can be said to be one of the most important industries in the world in the next few decades. Its importance is no less than that of chips. Even this is not only an economic issue, but also an environmental issue. Global warming is already exerting extraordinary effects.

As long as you are a mainlander born in the 80s, you can actually feel it. For example, near the Yangtze River Basin, many rivers were walkable when I was a child, and winters were also very cold. But in the 21st century, there is basically not much ice in winter. Even with sub-zero temperatures, a winter may last only a few days, and it's still early in the morning.As for summer, it is getting hotter and hotter, especially in 2022.

To solve environmental problems, many problems need to be solved, but battery technology is definitely an important part of it. Even if nuclear fusion comes out one day, batteries will not be eliminated.

In terms of technical difficulty, the technology of batteries is much lower than that of chips. When BYD started its business in later generations, a small factory with only a few dozen people could achieve the top few in the world, let alone King Ning.

Of course, it is still far away from the era of lithium batteries or electric vehicles, but the next market that is about to explode is the notebook computers and mobile phones that will appear soon, and even non-lithium batteries also have a large market, such as various portable electronic products. Battery life is also the market foundation for the rapid development of batteries.

In fact, the development of technology also depends on the market. Only by relying on mobile phones to drive the battery market, and then iteratively upgrading, will there be the possibility of electric vehicles. Otherwise, battery technology will never develop.

As a large group, Midea must make long-term considerations. It is the best development strategy to focus on a market that has no giants yet but will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the future.

After all, today, when the computer market has not exploded, the software market is also unable to develop. The only advantage of Midea at present is games, and games are very profitable. Part of this money will be used for some profiteering investments, and the other part, It must invest in research and development and enter the high-tech field. Only in this way can it truly gain a foothold in the future, just like Samsung, which almost monopolizes chips and LCDs.

In the battery industry, Western countries are unlikely to implement technical bans, because they do not have the technology themselves, and the zz factor is very safe.

"As for the battery industry, if we want to enter, we can cooperate with the mainland. However, if we want to develop rapidly, it is better to acquire an existing company as before." Lei Shengli thought for a while and said.

"Oh, what good goals do you have?" Chen Zhiwen asked. In fact, he also knew that acquiring a battery company that already has a certain foundation is the best way to develop. However, for a time traveler from the 21st century, There is no prophetic advantage, because he does not know which company has better battery technology.

To be precise, the battery industry developed very slowly in the past hundreds of years. Batteries were only needed in a few places. The most common ones were probably flashlights or starter batteries in cars. They were essentially batteries, prepared for objects that needed to be moved. , because it doesn’t need to be moved, you can just find an outlet.

As long as after 85, electronic products exploded, the demand for batteries also followed the technology and developed exponentially. As a result, a number of battery giants were born in the future, and the ones Chen Zhiwen knew were all in China, Japan and South Korea, and they were similar to the current ones. It's so old that it has no reference significance.

It can be said that the current giants in research and development in the battery field are all electronic giants under the Japanese consortium, such as Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Canon, etc. These companies also regard battery technology as a strategic development direction. Chen Zhiwen cannot buy it even if he has money. .As for South Korea and the Mainland, it’s still early days.

"There is one company." Lei Shengli said: "Our handheld consoles sell tens of millions every year, and due to internal regulations, when they are sold, there will be 4 dry batteries in the package, so our dry battery purchase volume is also very large. Large, many battery manufacturers around the world have approached us, and we will naturally test these batteries.

There is a battery company in the United States called Delphi. Their batteries are of very good quality. They are the same size and have a battery life that is almost 15% longer than other brands on average. However, the price is too expensive and they were eventually eliminated.

And I know that this company is currently in a difficult situation in the United States. Its market is being robbed by its Japanese counterparts through price wars, and it cannot compete with its Japanese counterparts. In addition to dry batteries, this company is also a battery supplier for many global automobile brands. If it can The acquisition will also be helpful to our group's development in the automotive field. "

"In other words, they have the technology, but they can't control the cost? Is it because labor in the United States is expensive? Or is it simply that the technology cannot be low-cost?" Chen Zhiwen asked. This is very important. In fact, low-cost is one of the most cost-effective. Difficult technique.

"I'm not sure about this. If I need to investigate, I need a little time." Lei Shengli said with a smile. He had only contacted her twice, and it was considered an acquaintance. He didn't know too much about her. secret. "Okay, let's go check it out. Also check out other battery manufacturing companies in the United States or Europe. If there is a suitable one, we will buy it. But we must ensure that we can bring all their technologies to Asia." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, Although there are no restrictions on battery technology in theory, if a company supplies batteries to its country's satellites, military equipment, submarines, tanks, etc., it will definitely not work, and it does not need these businesses.

"Okay, I'll send someone to investigate right away," Lei Shengli said.

A week later, Lei Shengli and He Guoyuan came to Chen Zhiwen's office with the prepared materials.

"Sheng Chen, this is all the information about Delphi batteries. I have sorted it out. Please take a look." Lei Shengli handed a folder to Chen Zhiwen. It was not a complicated information introduction, but had been sorted out and could be You can see all the key data at a glance, which is what any boss needs. Big bosses don't have time to read a lot of meaningless introduction materials.

"Let me take a look." Chen Zhiwen took it and opened it and looked at the catalog. All the contents were a brief introduction to Delphi batteries. At this time, Lei Shengli also introduced: "This is a Delphi battery."

In less than 10 minutes, with the help of Lei Shengli's introduction and concise information, Chen Zhiwen had a rough idea of ​​the company's situation.

Delphi was originally a branch of an automobile company in the 20s, when the global automobile industry was just born. At that time, oil truck companies were everywhere, just like when new energy vehicles first broke out in the mainland 40 years later, and for many years after Due to competition, a large number of car companies went bankrupt, as did Delphi's parent company. However, there is always a way out. A subsidiary company that manufactures car batteries for cars actually became prosperous, and then the focus was on development. Car batteries later entered the field of dry batteries, and eventually became the dominant player in the U.S. battery industry in the 60s, ranking at least in the top five.

But in the 70s, Japan began to enter the high-tech field in all aspects, and the battery industry was the same. With low labor and sufficient volume, it beat the United States in terms of cost, and the research and development field was also stronger.

At a time when the most high-end industries such as the American automobile industry and chip industry are being impacted by Japanese cars, Delphi Automobile's automotive batteries and dry batteries have also been greatly impacted.

In the field of automotive batteries, not only has American car production been impacted by Japanese cars, but in order to reduce costs, American car brands have chosen cheaper Japanese cars, resulting in the failure of both lines. Not to mention the field of dry batteries, which are small in size and have low transportation costs. After the popularity of containers, American domestic brands have become even more popular.

In order to reduce costs, Delphi Battery fought with the labor union and moved the factory to Mexico at a great cost. The local labor costs were indeed low, but the quality always had problems. The cost was still not as high as that of the Japanese. The entire company has been continuously After five years of losses, decadence has already emerged.

"It is indeed suitable for us. There are many technologies and markets. Even if we move to Wanwan, the cost can be greatly reduced, and there are also a large number of retail channels within our group, which can help Delphi get a bigger market." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Said, this is the benefit of mastering Costco and Xinghe Trade's extremely cheap and cost-effective strategy to obtain many orders from large supermarkets. Once you want to do something, unless it is some industrial products or service industries, otherwise, the entire retail channel will have Very useful.

"The current market value of Delphi is only US$5000 million. The company's net assets are about US$2 million and its liabilities are several hundred million US dollars. If we acquire it, it won't cost a lot." Lei Shengli added: "And their technology, perhaps It is not as good as those in Japan, but it also has a large number of basic patents, new technologies, and a lot of R&D talents and experience. In terms of production, we just chose Mexico, an inappropriate place. After we acquired it, we moved the factory to the Gulf or the mainland. , then invest in them for research and development, and license some technologies to the mainland, so that both sides can research and develop together, and the starting point on the mainland will be very high, which can save us a long time."

"Well, I have cooperated with Morgan Stanley a lot in acquisitions in the United States. You can go to them and negotiate a suitable price to acquire this company. We also need some of their resources." Chen Zhiwen said decisively He made a decision and said.

As long as you develop in the battery market, which is a big market in the future, you will definitely not lose money. No matter how much money you spend now, it is worth it. It is of great significance to be able to buy technology and save time.

And this kind of acquisition involving less than [-] million US dollars can be handed over to his subordinates. He doesn't need to pay special attention. If there is progress in the follow-up, he can just speak again.

(End of this chapter)