Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

The people below will naturally implement what the boss has decided.

Not many people are really so stubborn as to argue.

The most important thing is that almost all the decisions Cao Yang made over the years have been proven to be correct.

So although Rao Yongxiang and Dai Hanbiao had some doubts about independently developing tires, they didn't say much in the end.

Yao Yongxiang even took the initiative to change the topic back to bulletproof glass.

"Mr. Cao, regarding bulletproof glass, the Yichuan Guangming Bulletproof Glass Factory in Luozhou came to visit before and introduced their bulletproof glass technology."

"However, their bulletproof glass has been used more in other situations before, and it is not particularly used in cars."

"If we can also study bulletproof glass like tires, maybe we can consider looking for them to be OEM by then."

Key technologies must be in your own hands.

Nanshan Group itself has no intention of making glass.

But for bulletproof glass, which is a relatively special thing, if there is no particularly suitable manufacturer in China that can come up with satisfactory technology, Nanshan Group itself will naturally have to get involved.

After all, it is difficult for high-end car companies not to deal with bulletproof glass.

To a certain extent, bulletproof vehicles are the flagship product of high-end models.

Although the sales volume may not be particularly good, the impact on the brand is very large.

"Then let's have a good communication with them and see if it's possible to domestically produce bulletproof glass in the future."

Cao Yang is actually not familiar with the bulletproof glass industry, and has not even had much contact with it in his previous life.

Therefore, he does not intend to interfere in how to select cooperative suppliers.

Anyway, it will be enough to finally come up with qualified products.

The Nanshan Group has a big business. If you have to do everything yourself, you will be too busy even if you are exhausted.

"Mr. Cao, speaking of localization, when I communicated with Mr. Xie of Nanshan Special Steel a few days ago, I heard something."

Dai Hanbiao felt a little worried when he saw that Cao Yang had arranged two very difficult parts for him one after another.

If he continued to talk, he was worried that he would get more homework, so he quickly changed the topic.

"Oh? Is there anything special happening at Nanshan Special Steel?"

Cao Yang still attaches great importance to materials. Now that he saw Dai Hanbiao talking about Nanshan Special Steel, he naturally wanted to pay attention.

"CSR worked with us to develop high-speed rail bearings before, and now they are developing high-speed rail wheels."

"Actually, for CSRC, high-speed rail bearings, wheels and axles are just the three most important parts that cannot be made in China. It does not mean that after these parts are made in China, they will be truly 100% domestically produced."

"For example, the bolts used on high-speed trains that are said to 'never loosen' are imported from Japan. All domestic fastener manufacturers cannot produce bolts with the same performance."

When Dai Hanbiao said this, Cao Yang was somewhat impressed.

This matter seems to have been a hot topic in later generations.

"A bolt that never loosens?" Cao Yang further confirmed to see if what Dai Hanbiao said was what he understood.

"Yes, it has a special name, it's called the 'Hadlock Screw'."

"Actually, 'Hardlock' is the transliteration of the English 'hard lock', meaning a hard lock."

"Dare to give screws such a name, it fully illustrates the confidence of this Japanese company."

“In the advertising slogan, Hadlock screws branded themselves ‘never loose’.”

Dai Hanbiao saw that Cao Yang was very interested, so he simply explained what he learned.

Nanshan Group started out by making nut plates in the early days, and wheel bolts are also the flagship product of Nanshan Group.

Therefore, Nanshan Group is actually very strong in the fastener industry.

As the person in charge of the parts business, Dai Hanbiao also knows the situation of bolts and nuts relatively well.

Even quite interested.

"The Shinkansen in Japan was the stage where Hadlock Nut first showed its strength."

"The Shinkansen generally has 16 carriages, and these 16 carriages require a total of 20,000 screws to connect them. As a high-speed train, the average speed of the Shinkansen can reach 250 kilometers per hour. During high-speed driving, the screws will inevitably loosen. "

"Once the screws are loose, the consequences will be disastrous, and in the most serious cases, it may even directly endanger the lives of passengers. Therefore, the Shinkansen spends huge manpower and material resources every year to tighten these screws."

"This is not just a problem for the Shinkansen, but a common problem faced by railways around the world."

"When there is a problem, it means there is an opportunity. Lin Keyan, the general manager of Hadlock Industries, was keenly aware of the business opportunities and led the team to conduct research and development for 20 years."

“Ultimately, Lin took inspiration from the torii gates of Japanese shrines and created a unique screw that has never been seen before.”

Dai Hanbiao's introduction not only attracted Cao Yang's attention.

Next to him, Rao Yongxiang also listened with interest.

There is no need to use bolts like this on cars.

Although parts such as engine fastening bolts also have certain anti-falling requirements, they are definitely not at the same level as the requirements for high-speed rail.

"Torii? What does this mean?"

Before Cao Yang could ask, Yao Yongxiang asked the question first.

"Torii is actually a building that uses the most common mortise and tenon structure in ancient Chinese architecture. It was this structure that made Lin Keyan suddenly enlightened."

"He realized that there is a gap between the nuts and screws. If we imitate ancient buildings and drive wedges into the gaps, wouldn't it be possible to strengthen the screws?"

“On this basis, Hadlock Industries has devoted all its efforts to a small screw.”

"In addition to the creativity of the mortise and tenon structure, this company also has its own unique advantages. The company will customize different eccentricities for screws of different sizes and materials, striving for perfection."

“Eventually, their bolts were not only adopted by the Shinkansen, but also railway companies in many other countries purchased these bolts from Hadlock Industries.”

"Our high-speed rail is naturally no exception."

"Even if people say that even if they give us the drawings, no company in China can produce bolts of the same quality."

After Dai Hanbiao said this, Cao Yang couldn't help but curl his lips.

This bragging is obviously an exaggeration.

"Japan's manufacturing industry started early, the system is relatively mature, and it has its own industrial chain advantages, so it can better balance price and quality."

"So many developed countries in the world import screws from Japan, not because these countries cannot produce screws of the same level themselves, but simply because they are cost-effective."

"If Japan can strangle the lifeblood of China's high-speed railway with this small screw, then Japan may have already controlled the world with this screw."

Obviously, Cao Yang did not agree with some of what Dai Hanbiao said.

Of course, this company's technology is very powerful and it is considered a small but sophisticated enterprise. Cao Yang does not deny this.

"Mr. Cao, it sounds like this is true in theory, but this type of anti-loosening bolt is indeed very good."

Dai Hanbiao didn't mean to speak to the Japanese company, but told him what he knew about the situation.

"I heard that there is a company called Down's Thread Fasteners in Hui'an Province. They produce a Down's bolt that can play a similar role."

"This kind of bolt is a bi-rotational, equal-section, non-continuous thread, which breaks through the concept of ordinary threads."

"Down's thread is a fuss about bolts. The bolts integrate two threads with different directions of rotation. During installation, nuts with two different tightening directions are also installed. When one nut wants to loosen, it will push the other. The nut rotates, and that rotational force just tightens the other nut.”

"Whether it is left-hand or right-hand thread, they are both commonly used shapes in industry. Down's thread just makes these two threads on one bolt, so there are few uncertainties faced in processing. It just needs to design new ones. Only with processing machinery can mass production be possible.”

"The special Down's thread makes the force on each thread segment more uniform, unlike the Hadlock nut which concentrates too much force, so the material requirements for Down's thread are reduced."

"Although this company has been established for almost ten years, its scale is still small, and this kind of bolts have not yet been applied to high-speed rail."

"Nanshan Auto Parts can directly invest in the acquisition, and then combine it with our own fastener production technology to produce Down's bolts in large quantities."

"At that time, whether it is CSR or CNR, they will need a lot of these bolts."

Cao Yang's answer surprised both Dai Hanbiao and Rao Yongxiang.

Is there really a company in China that can easily handle "bolts that never loosen"?

Hadlock, a Japanese company, has disclosed all its processing drawings, allowing others to imitate them.

This fully demonstrates how difficult it is to produce this kind of bolts. It can be said that they can be the best in this industry.

Of course, this approach is definitely an insult and contempt for colleagues.

But you just can't produce it, or after it is produced, the quality and cost are not as good as others.

In the end, I still can't beat them.

"Mr. Cao, is this Tang's bolt really that powerful?"

Dai Hanbiao couldn't help but asked a question.

"Whether it's great or not, you'll find out if you go on a business trip tomorrow and have a look."

"But the acquisition needs to be done quickly. When the time comes, you can go to some people from CSR and CNR and tell them that we can solve the problem of loosening the bolts in a simpler way."

"At the same time, we also need to produce the bolts produced by Hadlock to let everyone know that we are not technically incompetent, but can use cheaper solutions to achieve our goals."

Following Cao Yang's instruction, Dai Hanbiao and others took action immediately.

At this time, the Down's bolt is just about to erupt, but it has not yet erupted.

This year, their company's product "Dang's threaded fasteners" was identified as a high-tech product in Hui'an Province.

But the parts are basically still in the state of small batch production.

It is not difficult for a giant like Nanshan Group to acquire them.

Of course, the premise is that Nanshan Group gives enough money.

Directly let the boss achieve financial freedom.

"Mr. Cao, Mr. Xie, the technology contained in Hadlock Nut is indeed extraordinary, but if you blindly follow this technical route, it will be difficult to create products with the same performance."

"Let's first look at how it works."

"The Hadlock nut contains a male nut and a female nut. When used, the male nut is screwed into the bolt first, and then the female nut is screwed in, and the concave and convex surfaces fit together."

"The ingenuity lies in the convex nut. From the picture, you can see that the edge of the convex nut is uneven in thickness, forming a structure similar to a door wedge. Just like a door is stuck by a door wedge, the concave nut can be blocked by the convex nut. Locked tight to the bolt.”

"Although this structure is very ingenious, manufacturing qualified Hadlock nuts requires a large amount of empirical data."

"Because the convex nut is eccentric, that is, the centers of the inner circle and the outer circle on the nut do not coincide, so the processing accuracy is high."

"Furthermore, different nut sizes have different eccentricity degrees, processing methods, and materials."

"There is almost no theory to refer to for the specific parameters to be used. It all depends on years of test data."

"So many companies, including us, have taken Hadlock's public drawings and followed their path before, but they have repeatedly failed."

“Since the key to self-locking lies in the mutual extrusion between the two nuts, high fatigue strength of the metal is required.”

"In this case, the ability of the metal to withstand regularly varying loads over a long period of time without being damaged."

"Ordinary materials are not up to the task, and the materials used by Hadlock are unique to them. If their plan is adopted, new materials will inevitably be developed, and the cost will be completely out of control."

Although Tang Zongcai sold the company to Nanshan Group, he still served as general manager.

It can be said that there have been more changes in this week than in his entire life.

After Nanshan Group completed the acquisition, it immediately called Tang Zongcai and CSR Chief Engineer Nie Jian.

"So you came up with a simpler way to solve this problem?"

Nie Jian generally understood what Tang Zongcai said.

After all, everyone is studying engineering. Although they may not be proficient in bolt and nut technology, they must have been exposed to it, and even learned some related principles in college.

Although the structure of Down's bolts is rather special, the principle is not beyond everyone's understanding.

It can only be said that he chose a very clever entry point to make the bolts non-falling.

To some extent, this is more significant than the highly difficult anti-falling bolts designed by Hadlock.

"Yes, we are currently producing on a small scale, and we can expand production capacity at any time as long as we add more equipment."

"And Nanshan Special Steel has very excellent rebar. When the time comes, the performance of our Down's bolts will be more advanced than those tested before."

Tang Zongcai is still very confident in his skills.

Although Hadlock's anti-loosening bolts are famous all over the world, that is because its own Down's bolts have not yet been mass-produced.

Otherwise, who wouldn’t want to use cheap and easy-to-use products?

"Mr. Nie, judging from the current situation, the price of an imported Hadlock anti-loosening bolt is more than ten yuan, which is extremely high."

"Our Down's bolts can achieve the same function, with higher quality stability, but the cost can be reduced by half."

"There are so many bolts on a high-speed rail. With the rapid development of China's high-speed rail industry in the future, the related demand will become even greater."

"I think we can start reviewing the issue of localization substitution as soon as possible."

At this time, Cao Yang also added his own opinions.

Good things should be used as soon as possible.

Down's bolts can even be promoted overseas, so that railways in more countries can use this high-quality and low-priced thing.

The simpler the structure and process of a part, the higher the theoretical quality stability.

Obviously, even a layman, after listening to Tang Zongcai's introduction, knows that Tang's bolts are much simpler than Hadlock's bolts.

"No problem. This bolt is the largest imported part besides bearings, wheels and axles."

"It's just that its individual value is not that high, and the technical difficulty was very high before."

“That’s why we didn’t regard it as the first batch of localized parts to be conquered.”

"Now that there is an unexpected surprise, of course we fully support it."

"As long as you submit the relevant samples and test reports, I can immediately arrange for someone to test assemble the car."

"When the time comes, we will make China's high-speed rail a truly 100% localized product."

"This significance is definitely not small."

Nie Jian was in a very good mood.

When Cao Yang called him, he still felt that what Cao Yang said might have some substance.

Now I listened to Tang Zongcai's explanation on the spot and saw the samples again.

His confidence rose immediately.

"Mr. Tang, when the time comes, you should contact Mr. Pan from Nanshan Equipment and make a list of the production equipment and related technical requirements needed by the factory, and ask him to arrange to connect with you."

"Nanshan Group itself also has bolt and nut related products and equipment. It can be reorganized by then to make the fastener business bigger and stronger."

"The fastener company you are now in charge of has an annual business of less than 10 million yuan."

"In the future, I hope that the fastener business alone will reach several billion dollars a year and become a leading fastener manufacturer in the country and even the world."

Although an outsider like Nie Jian was present, Cao Yang did not shy away.

He directly drew a big cake for Tang Zongcai.

Fasteners can be produced by any manufacturer.

But if we want to do it well, there are only a few manufacturers.

The anti-loosening bolts used on high-speed rail discussed today are just one typical representative.

In fact, there are many bolts and nuts in other fields, and they are all imported.

You may not be able to tell any difference from the appearance of some parts.

But after using it for a few years, or more than ten years, the gap will be huge.

This subdivision alone is worthy of Tang Zongcai's lifelong study.

"Mr. Cao, don't worry, I will make the group's fastener business bigger and stronger."

"Whether it is high-speed rail bolts, bolts and nuts for passenger cars, or bolts and nuts used in commercial vehicles and other mechanical equipment, I hope that as long as customers have needs, our fastener company can respond."

Tang Zongcai is very glad that he can accept the acquisition. Not only does he achieve personal financial freedom, but he also has a larger platform for performance.

Nanshan Group's turnover this year is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan, which is definitely an exaggeration.

A fastener company with a turnover of less than 10 million is nothing in front of Nanshan Group.

Even in the past few years, the company has entered the fast lane of development and is about to take off.

But who knows if it can really take off?

Besides, it doesn't matter. If you rely on yourself alone, even if Tang Bolt's technology is very good, you may not be able to get many orders.

How is it like today? After hugging each other, I immediately met the chief engineer of CSR. The parts can be installed on CSR's high-speed rail in the shortest possible time.

This kind of opportunity is just a very simple matter for Nanshan Group.

But for the original Tang Zongcai, there was an insurmountable gap.

"The demand for fasteners from each business unit of our group is a very large number."

"As long as fastener factories can produce all the fasteners in demand, basically there won't be much of an obstacle if we go to the market to win more orders."

"Especially since the group has its own special steel mill, its own mold factory, and its own equipment factory, it is still very advantageous to develop the fastener business compared with other companies."

"Perhaps the fastener company can become a new tens-billion-level enterprise under the group in the future."

When Dai Hanbiao said this, Tang Zongcai became even more excited.

A tens of billions enterprise!

There were only a handful of such companies in the province where I was located before, right?

Those are all his big customers.

Now is it possible for me to become the person in charge of a tens of billions of companies in the future?

Thinking of this, Tang Zongcai was filled with energy.

"In addition to loosening bolts, there are also many demands for other fasteners on high-speed rail."

"Although most other parts have been domestically produced, if the products produced by your fastener company are of better quality and cheaper, the market can be further expanded on high-speed rail."

At this time, Nie Jian was also willing to sell a favor to Nanshan Group.

It’s up to you to buy from whomever you buy it from. If the companies under the Nanshan Group can achieve lower costs and better quality, there is no reason why CSR will not use it.

"Then I would like to thank you very much for Mr. Tang."

"Parts such as nut plates and wheel bolts are the parts where Nanshan Group started."

"I believe that after the merger of this business with Mr. Tang's original company, it will definitely play the role of one plus one, which is greater than two."

"By then, our Chinese fasteners will no longer need to be imported from abroad."

When Cao Yang said this, everyone was looking forward to it.

For standard or quasi-standard parts such as bearings, gears, bolts and nuts, the domestic production capacity is very huge.

But the technology is really hard to describe.

If we can gradually achieve breakthroughs in these basic parts, the meaning behind it is definitely not small.

Great simplicity!

Only when simple parts can be made well can complex things be made well.