Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

2001 was an important node in the Huaxia steel market.

In that year, the Huaxia steel market experienced a big fluctuation, which triggered a steel winter that lasted for several years.

At the beginning of 2001, steel prices were still running at a high level.

However, with the bursting of the Internet bubble in the United States and the slowdown of the global economy, Huaxia's steel market began to encounter unprecedented overcapacity and declining demand.

Cao Yang had some impressions of this.

This round of price decline lasted for several years, causing many steel companies to suffer losses and even go bankrupt.

Although in 2001, the Huaxia Iron and Steel market was facing such a severe situation, the production capacity and output of Huaxia Iron and Steel Industry continued to increase.

The blind expansion of the production capacity of various steel mills has led to the long-term existence of a situation of oversupply.

Even if it started to suffer losses this year, it did not change the development path of Huaxia Iron and Steel Industry towards surplus, inefficiency, and low quality.

Just list a few data, and everyone will know the production capacity in 2001.

China Steel, which ranks first, has a steel production capacity of 150 million tons.

Baosteel, which ranks second, has a steel production capacity of 100 million tons.

The steel production capacity of the third oldest Anshan Iron and Steel Group has reached 70 million tons.

Even the old Fourth Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, its steel production capacity has reached 50 million tons

In addition, there are a lot of steel manufacturers behind.

At this time, the United States, the world's largest economy, has a steel production capacity of only 140 million tons, and the second largest, Japan, has only 70 million tons.

Even several other countries with strong steel industry, the combined production capacity cannot compare with Huaxia.

It is conceivable that Guangzhou Iron and Steel and Shaogang, as local enterprises, are under great pressure.

However, regarding the visit of Nanshan, a potential big customer, the attitudes of the two companies are different.

"Mr. Cao, the people of Guangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. are a bit condescending. Although they want our order, they still feel that they are very powerful."

"We find them to cooperate, I don't think it's feasible."

Cao Yang took Pan Jinxing, He Qingquan, Zhang Fugui, Zeng Tingting and others to Guangzhou Iron and Steel to visit today. He originally wanted them to cooperate on a big project.

However, Cao Yang's attitude made Cao Yang lose his interest in speaking.

For this reason, the little secretary also had great opinions.

"Guangzhou Iron \u0026 Steel is considered a big company in Yangcheng. No matter in terms of output value, number of employees, or administrative status, Nanshan cannot compare."

"Those people are still immersed in their own glory, so we don't have to worry about their attitude."

Although the life of state-owned enterprises these days is far from being as easy as that of later generations.

But everyone looks down on the attitude of private enterprises, but it is almost the same.

So although Cao Yang was upset, he couldn't be said to be very angry.

If you can't get along, then you won't cooperate.

We have the world's leading formulations of various special steels such as bearing steel, die steel, gear steel, spring steel, etc., and even have unique insights into related processes.

Afraid of not being able to find someone to cooperate with?

If it weren't for the high-level and large-scale companies such as Sinosteel and Baosteel, Cao Yang would not have gone back to Guangzhou Iron and Steel if he feared that there would be no bones left in cooperating with them.

"Mr. Cao, do we really want to invest in a steel plant?"

"Even if you don't smelt crude steel, you need at least a few hundred million in investment, isn't it worthwhile?"

Although He Qingquan also hopes to solve the problem of domestic special steel.

But he does not agree to let Nanshan invest by himself.

The so-called specialization in technology industry, he doesn't think the improvement of the technology researched by the special steel team of Nanshan R\u0026D Center can be much improved.

As for the so-called exclusive formula, it is even more suspicious.

Even with the help of Shaogang or Guangzhou Iron and Steel Co., Ltd., he still doubts whether it will be able to produce qualified special steel in the end.

"After our output of gearboxes, bearings, and gears increases in the future, the company's annual demand for special steel alone will exceed 100,000 tons, or even exceed 200,000 tons."

"If such a large demand is imported from abroad, it will cost a lot of money."

"And from domestic procurement, there is no way to buy qualified special steel."

"Now that large molds are starting to expose problems, will there be problems if we produce large bearings and large gears later?"

"This is the inevitable answer."

"And the crankshafts of those presses are all purchased from outside now, and the materials are also imported materials, which makes our press cost a lot higher."

"All these mean that Nanshan needs a stable source of special steel. Domestic steel manufacturers can't meet it, so we have to find a way to meet it."

Cao Yang's attitude is very firm.

Special steel is too important.

It is related to a series of development strategies behind him.

Of course, in the fiercely competitive steel market, he has no interest in competing with those puffy state-owned enterprises in the past.

In the brand-new high-end special steel field, there is no domestic rival at all.

"Mr. Cao, the price of steel has fallen sharply in recent months, and the situation of overcapacity is serious."

"A lot of media are talking about policies and will regulate them. Under such circumstances, we may not be able to get approval for our investment in steel plants?"

Today, following Pan Jinxing who participated in the visit, he put forward a point of view ingeniously.

"If you build an ordinary steel factory, or a factory with a production capacity of less than 1 million tons, you will definitely not get approval."

"However, we do not produce crude steel ourselves. We directly buy steel billets or steel coils from outside, and then carry out further processing. Such special steel factories will not only not be suppressed by the policy, but will receive strong support."

"After all, instead of increasing steel production capacity, we have enriched the types of steel."

"Even snatching a part of the special steel market from foreign steel manufacturers will not fail in terms of policy."

Cao Yang once again reiterated his position of building a special steel factory.

We do not engage in a full-chain factory from iron ore to products, but only in the deep processing of post-processes.

This can greatly reduce the investment amount of special steel factories.

After all, after the blast furnace is no longer needed, the pressure on environmental protection has also been greatly reduced.

Of course, whether electric furnace, induction furnace or out-of-furnace refining is used, the demand for electric energy is still relatively large.

There is no way to avoid this.

"Then we can only hope that Shaogang's attitude will be better tomorrow, don't be ignorant."

"According to Mr. Cao's plan, it is simply sending money to Shaogang to earn money."

Before the visit, Cao Yang briefly explained his plan to everyone.

So Zeng Tingting also knew the general plan.

"Now that the steel industry has overcapacity, Shaogang is under greater pressure than other manufacturers."

"Although they only have a production capacity of about 4 million now, at least 1 million of them are rich."

"If we can help them consume 300,000 tons, it will definitely be great news for Shaogang."

Cao Yang didn't want to build a special steel factory in other provinces, because it would require additional costs for management and transportation.

Shaozhou is adjacent to Yangcheng, and the southernmost county is almost the same as the suburbs of Yangcheng.

So Cao Yang is more inclined to cooperate with them.

...

"Mr. Chen, although Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd. is only a private enterprise, their bearings and other products are exported to the United States and Germany. They are a rare technical supplier in the domestic auto industry, and they can be recognized by so many international auto giants."

"This time, their president Cao personally leads the team. I suggest that you also attend to see how they want to cooperate."

Mo Yong, director of the sales department of Shaogang, paid much attention to Nanshan.

Although Shaogang’s special steel production capacity is not particularly large, it has a relatively complete range, including high-strength steel, high-temperature alloys, and corrosion-resistant alloys, which have broad application prospects in aerospace, automobile manufacturing, and energy.

Especially in the thriving auto industry, Shaogang really wants to make a difference.

However, the results in the past few years have not been very satisfactory.

In order to let Shaogang's special steel enter Nanshan, Mo Yong has visited Zhang Fugui several times in Yangcheng.

"Now the company's production capacity is under great pressure. No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat."

"Since their general manager is here, it means that they are sincere in cooperating with us."

"You pull the people in the technical department to prepare well and show our technical reserves in bearing steel, die steel, etc."

The burden on Chen Qingwen is very heavy, and the jobs of more than 15,000 employees are in his hands.

If the management is not good, there will inevitably be large-scale layoffs again, which is something no one wants to see.

"No problem, I have already contacted the deputy chief engineer in charge of special steel and the personnel in the technical department, and asked them to attend the meeting together at that time."

Sensing Chen Qingwen's positive attitude, Mo Yong breathed a sigh of relief.

If these projects do not have the active support of the general manager, there will be much less leeway when negotiating conditions.

...

September 1, 2001.

On the day when most students started school, Cao Yang and his group came to Shaozhou and were warmly welcomed by Shaogang.

Shaogang, which urgently needs to find new customers, has a much better attitude than Guangzhou Iron and Steel.

The general manager Chen Qingwen took Cao Yang to visit the factory in person, and then had a sumptuous lunch in the small dining hall at noon. It was not until two o'clock in the afternoon that the main topic of negotiation began in the conference room.

"Mr. Cao, the special steel used in the automobile industry, such as the bearing steel of Shaogang, is no worse than Anshan Iron and Steel and Baosteel."

"And we have the advantage of distance, the transportation cost is relatively low, the delivery cycle is relatively short, and the after-sales service is relatively timely."

"Can you consider using Shaogang's special steel for your company's products?"

Yesterday Chen Qingwen took a good look at the situation of Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd.

This understanding is really a surprise.

There is actually an industrial park under construction in Nanshan, and many factories in it will be put into operation at the end of this year and the first half of next year. There will definitely be more demand for special steel by then.

So Chen Qingwen's attitude became more positive.

"Mr. Cao, Shaogang's special steel and QCD are very advantageous. The alliance with Nanshan is a strong alliance."

Mo Yong was also looking forward to it, and interjected beside him.

However, as soon as Cao Yang opened his mouth, he immediately diverted their attention.

"Mr. Chen, Nanshan is going to purchase 300,000 tons of crude steel from Shaogang every year, but I have one condition."

During the visit in the morning and lunch at noon, the two sides have exchanged a lot of things.

So Cao Yang didn't go around in circles, and went directly to the topic.

"300,000 tons of crude steel?"

Chen Qingwen was taken aback for a moment.

Then there is ecstasy.

The entire Shaogang now has a production capacity of about 4 million.

Under normal circumstances, it is normal to have a certain capacity vacancy.

So in other words, as long as the capacity utilization rate reaches about 3.5 million tons, basically the pressure on Shaogang will not be great.

The current capacity utilization rate is about 3 million tons. If we can increase the sales volume by 300,000 tons, the pressure will almost disappear.

"Mr. Cao, let me confirm, you just said 300,000 tons of crude steel?"

Although Chen Qingwen was sure that he heard correctly, he still found it unbelievable.

"That's right, it's 300,000 tons of crude steel."

"But we have conditions."

Cao Yang saw Chen Qingwen's expression in his eyes. It seems that Shaogang is under a lot of pressure this year.

The key is that according to the development of the steel industry, the pressure will be even greater in the next few years.

"Mr. Cao, you can just ask for any conditions. If you don't want us Shaogang to do it, you will definitely meet it with all your strength."

Chen Qingwen waved his hand, feeling very good.

For him, it was simply a pie that fell from the sky.

There is such a good thing.

"We hope that Shaogang will help Nanshan build a special steel plant, which will be specially used to produce bearing steel, gear steel, mold steel and other steel for automobiles."

"This special steel plant will directly purchase crude steel from Shaogang, and then process it into the required special steel."

When Cao Yang said this, Chen Qingwen immediately felt the pressure.

Build a special steel factory?

This is definitely not a trivial matter.

As long as the production capacity of crude steel is not increased, he is not worried about the approval.

But this is a big project, and it costs a lot of money, so it doesn't seem to be worthwhile.

"Mr. Cao, to build a special steel factory, even if there is no smelting of crude steel, the cost and cycle can be greatly reduced, but it still requires an investment of at least 100 million yuan."

"Our Shaogang Group sold 300,000 tons of crude steel and earned less than 100 million yuan. There is no way to do this business."

Obviously, Chen Qingwen thought that Cao Yang asked Shaogang to help build a special steel plant for free in exchange for crude steel orders.

"President Chen, you misunderstood."

"The funds for the construction of the special steel plant do not need to be paid by Shaogang. Nanshan can pay this part of the amount."

"We just hope that Shaogang will arrange special personnel to build this factory, and arrange personnel to help operate this steel factory in the early stage."

"Even the salaries of relevant personnel can be paid by Nanshan."

When Cao Yang said this, Chen Qingwen immediately said without hesitation: "If this is the case, then I can answer you now, Shaogang agreed to help Nanshan build a special steel factory."

"And if we can set the general direction today, I can immediately arrange personnel to be responsible for the relevant planning work."

"The blast furnace smelting and other workshops that do not need to support crude steel can be completed by the end of next year at the earliest."

As an old steel man, Chen Qingwen is very clear about the construction of the steel plant.

In recent years, Shaogang has also expanded its production many times. For them, it is not a big problem to build a special steel plant with a capacity of 300,000.

It is rare that after the construction is completed, the products are marketable.

But this is not something Shaogang needs to worry about.

Anyway, just to help build it.

"President Chen is refreshing!"

"Then there will be no ink marks on our Nanshan."

"After a while, I will arrange special personnel to connect with this project, and then officially start the site selection and factory planning of the special steel factory."

"Strive to be completed and put into production as soon as possible next year. Our gearbox factory, gear factory and mold center are all waiting for special steel to be cooked."

Although Cao Yang also knew that Shaogang agreed so readily, it may not mean that the other party really supported Nanshan so much.

It is likely that the other party did not express the difficulty.

For example, the quality of special steel is not as good as imported, and it will not be competitive by then.

Or there is excess steel production capacity now, which is not suitable for investment.

Shaogang will not take the initiative to speak out.

But it doesn't matter, Cao Yang is not worried yet, he knows the special steel well.