This Is How I Became a Chaebol

116 : A work of genius

28 Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland.

When I came to Winterthur, it was an industrial complex.

I thought there would be no chimney industry in clean Switzerland, but that must have been my prejudice.

As I looked around to find the Schultz brothers machine shop, the sour smell of sharpening iron wafted around every corner of the alley.

It was new to me that someone was enjoying a vacation at the Alps ski resort, and someone was continuing their lives by cutting metal like this.

People live. Is there any difference between Europe and Korea?

At any rate, this kind of scenery will soon disappear in Switzerland. Switzerland is shifting its national focus from heavy industry to precision machinery and tourism.

This is the reason why Schulz, the two major mountain ranges of diesel engines, is being acquired by the Finnish company Wartsila.

From the 1970s, Schulz, with its history and tradition, began to lose its price competitiveness to Germany’s MAN and Japan’s Mitsubishi.

Since industrial complexes began to disappear in Switzerland, even Schultz could not win the competition.

Heavy industry is competitive only when it is supported by strong subcontractors. No matter how good I am, I cannot make all the parts cheaply and with high quality by myself.

「Sulzer Brothers Machine Works」

“Finally found.”

Unlike the old-fashioned name of the Schultz Brothers Machine Shop, it was a high-rise building.Read at readwn

Judging by the polished outer walls, it was a new building that had just been built.

I could see another reason why Schultz was acquired.

Switzerland’s industrial policy changed rapidly, but Schultz expanded his business at this time.

It seems that they fell into abyss after going through an oil shock.

“Excuse me.”

“What did you come for?”

I headed to the information desk at the entrance of the building.

“I’m here to find Mr. Sim. My name is JH Sim, and I am Korean.”

“JH Sim? ah! That artist trainee?”

“Yeah, you’re an artist?”

“There it is at the training center. Go there. You will find it right away.”

“Education center? Oh, thank you.”

It was strange that Jaehong was at the Schulz training center, but I decided to go.

「International Development Association Technical Trainee Training Center」

Turning around the building, a shabby building came out.Read at readwn

Judging from the fact that it has a rather large empty lot, it seems that this building was originally the Schulz brothers’ factory.

It was to recycle an old building into an education center.Read at readwn

Judging by the UN mark, it was an international program that gathered and educated talented people from underdeveloped countries.

Schulz’s participation in these training programs would be in terms of expanding potential customers.

It didn’t seem like he cared too much about it. There were no security guards guarding the education center, so I looked inside the building through the window.

A person who appeared to be a lecturer was talking between the trainees, and the trainees with youthful faces were working diligently on machine tools, sometimes nodding their heads and taking notes.

Black hair stood out among the blonde, brown, and red hair.

Seeing him extending and turning his left arm once in a while while handling the machine, I was sure it was Shim Jae-hong.

“You’re eager, Mr. Jaehong.”

how long did you wait

At some point, the practice ended, wow! With cheers, trainees poured into the yard.

Looking at the atmosphere, it seemed that the morning class was over.

Others were smoking in the garden or chatting in groups of two or three, but Jaehong still did not leave the machine tool.

“Mr. Jaehong!”

“uh?”Read at readwn

Jaehong, who looked back at the sound of my call, froze.

“Hey, say something. I’m glad.”

“Ah, boss! What are you doing up to here?”

Mr. Jaehong came running as if he was about to fall down and bowed his head and said hello. I was glad to see him and shook hands.

I felt hard calluses on my palms.

“How is your left arm?”

“it’s okay. Now I also wash my hair with both hands.”

“I’m glad he looks good and healthy. What the hell, in Switzerland… Or rather, why did you return the company’s subsidy? How worried was Lee Sam-bok?”

“Hey, I get lodging and living expenses here. You should use that money to support other employees as well.”

No, are you worried about the company?

Why do people like this worry about something they shouldn’t do?

“No, that’s the money to support Mr. Jaehong, why?”

“It is undeserved that a bastard like me went abroad. And the prices here are so expensive, even if you save up a little bit of support, it will turn out to be quite a lot of money when you go to Korea. I am doing well. ”

No, that’s why prices are high, but in order to save even a little bit, you have to eat and not wear, Mr. Jaehong.

“Ah, so the subsidy… But how did you come to this place? It seems like a program hosted by an international organization under the UN.”

“It was lucky. While I was looking for a place to learn mechanical engineering in the United States, the US Corps Engineer Mechanic Examination Supervisor recommended this training program.”

“A test proctor? You mean the proctor in Quy Nhon?”

“Yes. He asked me to show the chess piece I had cut to the interviewer, so I did as he said and was selected.”

hey, that’s great

A few people are selected from all over the world, but isn’t it that I was selected as one of them?

Well, if you look at Jaehong’s chess piece, it’s an art.

Not only the supervisor of the US Army Corps of Engineers exam, but also the interviewer who picks up the trainees here must have been fascinated by it.

“Good job. You did really well.”

“I didn’t do much. Employee Joo Young-gil helped me a lot.”

“Professor Joo Young-gil, no, did the staff help?”

“Yes, I was busy with my own work, but I received help from filling out application documents and interpreting for interviews.”

That’s right, Professor Zhu was originally kind to students.

It’s because the grades are tight.

“It’s nice to see peers taking care of each other. What did you learn here? You should use it when you return to Korea.”

I wondered what Jaehong had learned.

Since the machinery industry is premature, it will be possible to give Mr. Jaehong sufficient training time.

“I am learning boilers and diesel engines, the main products of Schultz. I also want to make a diesel engine someday.”

uh? Does Schultz make boilers too?

It must have been overshadowed by the popularity of diesel engines.

It looks like the boiler business is going to be closed as the business is going down.

Well, Schultz was torn apart and merged, so maybe I didn’t know.

Anyway, right now the boiler is more interested than the diesel engine.

Because the main engine of the tanker I will build is not a diesel engine, but a combination of a boiler and a steam turbine.

At this time, tankers operated by turning steam turbines with high-temperature, high-pressure steam generated from boilers.

This is because steam turbine engines are easy to enlarge, and in oil tankers, boilers are needed to heat up sticky bunker C oil and burn it as fuel, or to raise the temperature of storage tanks to transfer thick crude oil to pipes.

In the 21st century, except for some LNG ships, most steam turbines are replaced with diesel engines, but even in the 21st century, boilers are used in power plants and various heat treatment facilities, which cannot be ignored.

“It’s a diesel engine, so it’s cool. How did you teach here? When I return to Korea, Mr. Jaehong should teach the juniors.”

“A guy like me is a junior? Anyway, here, the theory class and practice are combined, but I couldn’t understand the teacher’s English well, so I studied the drawing in the form of intensive practice during practice.”

It seems that the nobles who teach here are kind.

He explained by drawing a schematic diagram.

“That’s why you’ve been clinging to the machine tool all along.”

“If you don’t have a head, you have to work hard. It’s still incomplete, but would you like to see my practice assignment?”

“Haha, let’s see.”

It’s Jaehong’s work, so I can’t help but look at it. Out of curiosity, I decided to take some of his break time.

“This is a private practice space.”

There were shelves and various tools all over the small space.

Like Switzerland, it seemed that trainees were also provided with private practice rooms. In fact, it will be a space provided for each team, but there will be few people like Jaehong who take time to practice.

“Ah, is this Jaehong’s work?”

“Yes that’s right.”

I removed the cloth covering in one corner.

It was the size of a sewing machine, so I did something…

“Ugh…”

I was speechless when I saw the work in front of me.

In life, there are times when you see something that combines genius talent with outrageous effort.

Whether it’s a text, a painting or a machine… we call it a masterpiece.

I faced the best work that moved me more than art.

There was a marine diesel engine reduced to one hundredth in front of my eyes.

It was an elaborate cutting and perfect finish that seemed to show the condensed time.

“I was told to scale it down after measuring it accurately, but it only moved the first few times and then stopped. Looks like there’s still a lot to fix. It is my goal to complete it by the end of this training.”

Of course it doesn’t work.

This is because when the engine is scaled down linearly, the explosive force applied to the pistons is reduced by the square.

The piston is too heavy for the explosive power.

“Haaa…”

I struggled to hold back the tears that were about to spill.

How long did it take to make such an elaborate product without blueprints?

How many times did he repeat the process of tearing apart, measuring, cutting, and assembling parts?

While I was being educated, I wondered if I had slept properly to make something like this.

“Oh, how… how…”

I let out a sigh of sadness.

I had this person as an employee and went sightseeing. My colleague still had a long way to go, but I was excited like I was already rich.

I was ashamed and wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

“Sorry, boss. I just showed you that I don’t even move.”

“Oh, no. no. So it’s not a sigh. I am admiring it. I mean it.”

I couldn’t bear to cry in front of Mr. Jaehong, so the words got too long for no reason.

“Boss… but why… the expression…”

“It’s so great. I want to know how hard they must have suffered in a foreign country.”

I took a deep breath and patted the back of Jaehong’s hand.

“Jaehong, have you shown this to anyone other than me?”

“no. It’s the first thing the boss sees. It’s still unfinished and it’s not even an assignment.”

It was a million bucks.

“Jae Hong has done a great job now. When you cut this, you worked while reducing the size, right? Where are you?”

“Yes, here it is.”

Ironically, Mr. Jaehong took out a notebook from the common desk drawer.

Four or five notebooks were filled with drawings and measurements of various parts.

What’s even more amazing is that it may have gone wrong during assembly, so several measurements were taken for some parts and the average value was obtained.

‘It’s like investigating the gap.’

It seemed that if I enlarged this model again, obtained the optimal tolerance, and added my 21st century knowledge, I could make a domestic diesel engine.

My hands trembled in excitement.

“Boss, did I do something wrong? I just heard rumors that the boss was happy to get the engine out of the Mekong River… I was trying to help him… I’m sorry.”

My expression now seems to cause some misunderstanding.

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong. Rather, this training… When will it end?”

“It ends this year.”Read at readwn

Just over a month left. It was just right.

“Take this money. I will return home immediately after training. Buy books, machines, tools, or whatever you want to buy here.”

I took out a bundle of bills and handed it to Jaehong.

“Uhh, such a large amount of money… Boss, is my study abroad over?”

“No, this is a start. Once I return to my home country, I start by helping with my work, and when my work is stable, I officially get my degree. I will help.”

“What degree does a guy like me have? I didn’t even go to school properly.”

“If Jaehong doesn’t pick it, who will pick it? There must be many people in the world who have learned, but it will be hard to find someone who has worked harder than Jaehong.”

Doing your best is never easy.

Most of them do it moderately or stop at the level of being good at it.

Looking at it that way, it seems that the best opposition is not the worst, but rather moderate.

Could it be that our country is prosperous because it is a nation where people do not understand how to do things in moderation?

“No way…”

“I promise. I will make sure that Mr. Jaehong becomes rich. It was a lot of trouble.”

“……”

It was only then that Jaehong seemed to guess the size of the matter.

“Here’s this note, if someone else sees it, it’s a big deal, so I’ll take it. Cut this model into parts and send it to the company. Let’s reassemble at the company.”

“Yes, boss. Then when I go back, can I shave the engine next to the boss?”

“Not right away, but sooner or later.”

“soon! all right.”

It is not possible to change the main engine to a domestic diesel engine right away, but after a few years of hard work, it will be possible to localize an auxiliary engine for a ship generator.

And if you do research to increase output step by step, you will soon be able to replace the main engine with a domestic one.

“Don’t tell anyone that I’ve been here. Just in case.”

“Yes, I understand. president.”

“See you in Korea. Let’s eat rice cake soup together.”

“Yes, boss.”

It was an act of copying the engine in 3D, so I asked Jaehong one last time just in case, and left the training center.

My heart swelled.

There are two geniuses by my side right now.

One was Mr. Hwang, and the other was Mr. Shim Jae-hong.

All in all, they were both geniuses.

***

Due to unexpected luck, I couldn’t go back like this.

Isn’t it different from getting the blueprints of the Schultz diesel engine?

“You have to sign a comprehensive license agreement.”

I took a deep breath and entered the main building.

It might be easier to get a license now, when nothing is known about me.

Even I had no intention of signing a license with Schultz, so what about the president of Schultz?

If you approach the boiler as an excuse, the president of Schultz will think that a kid from a developing country who doesn’t know anything climbed onto the palm of his own feet.

Isn’t there also a down payment from Livanos?

Looking toward the main entrance, it seemed that the information desk in the main building was also on shift.

The employee who gave me Jae-hong’s location was just waving his hand and leaving the door.

Heaven seemed to help me.

I mean, go stab it.