Reborn since 1993

Chapter 636 Don’t let the wealth go to outsiders

Li Dongling and Zhang Xiaocheng came to the technical department of Torch Group together. Li Dongling came here more than once or twice and was quite familiar with the place.

Li Dongling, Zhou Wenyan, Zhang Xiaocheng and others are all old acquaintances, so they don't have to worry about what they say. As they walked inside, Zhou Wenyan said to them, "This year, Torch Group should be able to have a good year!"

By entering the old European disposable lighter market, Torch Group will be able to have its own base overseas, and can take advantage of the situation to enter the markets of Japan, South Korea, America and so on.

With the model of the old European lighter market, it was much easier for Torch Group to enter the American market.

We can use courtesy before force with the disposable lighter manufacturers in America. If we allow Torch Group to join the market, then we can all have something to talk about and share the benefits.

If Torch Group is not allowed to enter, then don't blame Torch Group for turning the table over. Build a black label lighter sales company in Mexico and start reselling black label lighters into America. Let's see who can't stand it!
"However, the production capacity needs to be improved. The current production capacity of Torch Group is struggling to supply the domestic and old European markets!" said Zhang Xiaocheng.

"If we want to increase production capacity on a large scale, Torch Group needs to introduce some semi-automatic equipment..."

Zhou Wenyan suddenly stopped talking here, and Zhang Xiaocheng also became silent.

It may not be obvious now, but in the future, sooner or later there will be a question facing Torch Group, that is, whether to introduce an automated production line.

The production lines of Torch Group now have a great demand for manpower because the technology for automated production lines is insufficient and production capacity can only be expanded by manpower.

But when Torch Group really takes over the disposable lighter markets in old Europe, America, Japan and other places in the future, the disposable lighter markets in these regions will become the basic base of Torch Group.

At that time, Torch Group's annual shipments would need to reach 10 billion or even more than 15 billion units to meet domestic and overseas demand.

At that time, if you want to increase production capacity, it will be impossible to simply increase the number of people. Even if the staff size of Torch Group is expanded dozens of times, it will be difficult to achieve the production capacity.

Moreover, the domestic salary level will continue to increase in the future. We can see it from Pingyang now. The average monthly salary in the country this year is about 500 yuan, while the monthly salary in Pingyang is about 800 yuan!
The monthly salary of Torch Group is basically low in Pingyang, only five or six hundred yuan, but the advantage is that there are not many requirements to get in. To put it bluntly, anyone can do it, and there are no requirements for household registration, age, education, technical requirements, etc. This has led to a large number of people flocking to Torch Group.

When Torch Group was founded, its positioning was to become an employment reservoir in Hanxi Province, solving a considerable part of the employment pressure in major cities in the province.

But in the future, as Pingyang’s salaries continue to rise, Torch Group’s cost pressure will become greater and greater. Even young people may not choose to join Torch Group because of its low salaries.

This scenario will not happen within a few years, but it will definitely happen in the future. In order to maintain production capacity, Torch Group also needs to continuously introduce automated production equipment to replace manual labor.

But if automated production equipment was introduced, what would happen to the tens of thousands of employees in the Torch Group Industrial Park? This was also the reason why Zhou Wenyan suddenly stopped.

Li Dongling listened to Zhou Wenyan and Zhang Xiaocheng's words, but he didn't worry about anything. "If it's time to put the automation equipment into operation, then we need to put it into operation!"

"The Torch Group also needs to plan ahead and not get caught in its own trap. Otherwise, sooner or later, it will have to pay the price!"

After arriving at Zhou Wenyan's office, Li Dongling said frankly that everything has its pros and cons. It is impossible to say that there are only advantages and no disadvantages. That does not exist in the real world.

Similarly, technology can increase productivity, reduce physical stress on the production line, etc., but it is also replacing jobs, and these are all facts.

But if we are concerned about its shortcomings and do not use the technology, then it will be no different from the Qing Empire, which hid the Maxim guns, muskets and cannons in warehouses for fear of increasing the military strength of those who opposed it.

In the end, the Qing Dynasty deceived itself and forced its Eight Banners disciples to ride horses and hold machetes to fight against the foreigners' artillery positions...

In the previous life, the most magical thing was the docks in America, which almost became a hereditary system.

For those working at American terminals, the median salary reaches $60 per hour, or $15 per year, which is higher than the salary of graduates from Ivy League universities.

In order to prevent their jobs from being replaced by automated equipment, American dock workers refuse to allow all kinds of equipment to enter American docks, and they still rely mainly on manpower, which makes American warehouses filled with containers all year round.

If Torch Group does not want such magical things to happen in the future, it must make preparations in advance.

"Of course, Torch Group will also need to slowly transform and launch new products and projects, allowing employees to gradually transfer to other projects!"

Li Dongling said that Torch Group would definitely not do something like that, where a middle-aged person who had worked in Torch Group for more than ten years was asked to pay a few months' salary as compensation and then was kicked out.

This requires Torch Group to start preparations in advance, and slowly transfer personnel to other projects when disposable lighters start to improve the automated production line. Zhang Xiaocheng listened to Li Dongling's words and nodded. He now felt the position under his buttocks, which was really difficult to do.

Now they are worried that Torch Group’s production capacity is insufficient and they need to recruit more people to produce lighters.

But they are also worried about what to do with these people recruited after Torch Group's automated production in the future. They need to find a way out for them. These are things that Zhang Xiaocheng has to do and he needs to solve them.

Of course, if he was more conscienceless and just threw people away after using them, Zhang Xiaocheng wouldn't need to worry about this, but he is not that kind of person.

When the Shangguan Town Component Factory, the predecessor of Torch Group, had no orders, he would rather not collect salary himself and distribute the money to the employees. He risked his life and property to take out loans to get orders. You can see what kind of person Zhang Xiaocheng is.

However, it was because of Zhang Xiaocheng's loyal character that the old employees of the component factory believed in him unconditionally when he was producing satellite dishes. Even without receiving their wages, they continued to produce satellite dishes for Zhang Xiaocheng.

"How are the research and development of those two projects going? If these two projects can be completed, Torch Group can start its transformation!" Li Dongling asked Zhou Wenyan.

Zhang Xiaocheng also knew what the two projects Li Dongling were talking about. Li Dongling had mentioned them to him before, namely the Zorro lighter and e-cigarette projects.

If these two projects are completed, Torch Group will have its own base, and can then use Torch Group's constant flow valve technology to develop a number of products such as flue gas stoves, gas water heaters, gas tanks, and sanitary ware.

Once these projects are completed, they will be enough to help Torch Group complete its transformation and accommodate those who have transferred from the lighter business and provide them with a livelihood.

These jobs also require a certain level of physical strength. Whether or not they are willing to do it is their own choice. Anyway, Torch Group has provided them with opportunities and they have done everything they should do.

"The Zorro lighter has basically been developed and is now undergoing adjustments to the production process, as well as some performance tests!"

Zhou Wenyan took out a Zorro metal lighter. Compared with the Zorro used by Li Dongling, the color of the lighter was slightly darker and had a more "historical" flavor.

This is also the improvement proposed by Li Dongling. Sometimes, people who buy this kind of metal lighter do not like colors that are too bright. Instead, they like colors with a slightly aged feel, which are more attractive to users who like to show off.

"click"

With a crisp sound, the Zorro in Li Dongling's hand lit up. The sound made when the lid of the Zorro lighter was opened was a little like the sound of a Zippo lighter.

Compared with before, Li Dongling clearly felt that the internal parts of the Zorro lighter, such as the fire adjustment ring, sponge, and suction rod, were better run-in and the flame was relatively stable.

“What about windproof and waterproof performance?”

Li Dongling played with the Zorro for a while. He was not an expert in fancy plays with lighters, so he couldn't do so many fancy moves, but the Zorro in his hand felt pretty good.

“The windproof performance is currently at the average level on the market, and the waterproof performance is also the same!”

Zhou Wenyan thought for a moment and said, "The first generation of Zorro lighters is priced at around fifty dollars. We need to control costs in terms of craftsmanship and materials!"

As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. No good person would sell something worth two hundred dollars for fifty dollars, even in a rotten warehouse.

There are countless stories like the Zippo that was praised to the sky for being able to block bullets and save lives, and that could still light a fire after being taken out of a fish's stomach, and there are also antiques from decades ago that can still light up when picked up.

Can lighters have these functions? Some of them can, but those are not the functions that a lighter costing dozens of dollars should have. Metal lighters costing hundreds or thousands of dollars must have exquisite workmanship, but don’t count on lighters costing dozens of dollars. Just listen to them.

After playing with the Zorro lighter for a while, Li Dongling said to Zhang Xiaocheng, "You can appropriately allocate some resources and funds to the Zorro lighter project and start promoting the Zorro lighter!"

Zorro's goal is to sell to the mid-to-high-end metal lighter market, with a starting price of fifty US dollars, equivalent to four hundred RMB. At this price, it is not impossible to sell it domestically, but the majority of it will definitely be aimed at overseas markets.

For products that are somewhat similar to luxury goods, we need to start advertising and promoting them.

"Let Focus Media handle the promotion of Zorro's advertising!" Zhang Xiaocheng also reciprocated.

Focus Media, like Torch Group, is nominally a company of Dongling Hi-Tech Group, so at this time, they must pay attention to keeping the benefits within the family.

(End of this chapter)