I am a master in India

Chapter 281 Export Preparation
Suer Electric Appliances is located near the airport in Jamnagarna, a convenient location with the Bang Expressway nearby and not far from the western port.

This port city has just embarked on a fast track of development, and everywhere is a bustling scene of everything waiting to be rebuilt.

Ron entered the market early and was fully qualified to pick and choose; his Suer Electric Appliances would be the largest enterprise within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

These super-rich investors can provide whatever local governments want.

It is no exaggeration to say that Suer Electric will be the core pillar of Jamnagel in the future.

The entire city's GDP rests on his shoulders; in a few years, Ron might have more influence than local officials.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking; his Suer Electric Appliances project hadn't even started yet.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for next week, and dignitaries and local elites from Gujarat will be in attendance.

Ron has been wandering around the warehouse district for the past two days; Suer Electric's temporary factory is located here.

He couldn't wait; the two-year phase one project was too long, and by then it would be too late.

In order to expand the market as much as possible, he directly rented several warehouses here and then converted them into factories.

This will take much longer; it can be done in two months.

Only six assembly lines have been temporarily moved here, offering both 14-inch and 18-inch black and white color TVs, with the main focus on providing a complete range of products.

The production line was transported directly from Dongda, and Jamnagel itself has a port, so installation can begin immediately after unloading.

Most of the parts are supplied from Mumbai, still via sea. If that's not enough, East Asia can provide additional support.

In short, thanks to convenient shipping, factories in Gujarat can start production in just three months.

However, this is only a temporary expedient. In the future, most parts will be produced locally, including core components such as picture tubes.

Right now, everyone is racing against time. The manufacturing costs here are slightly higher than at the Mumbai factory because of the additional shipping costs.

"How's the factory's production capacity?" Ron was inspecting the workshop.

"Many of the workers are newly trained, and we expect to reach a monthly production capacity of 20,000 units for each model of television in two months," replied the head of the local factory, an elderly man who had been transferred from Mumbai.

"The factories in Jamnagel are all assembly lines. Once the workers are skilled, the output can be increased even further."

"Yes, boss."

The parts shipped from Mumbai and East Dakota were inspected before leaving the factory.

The factory here mainly does assembly work, which doesn't require much technical skill. Theoretically, as long as there's no shortage of parts, production capacity can continue to increase.

Are there any problems with local distributors?

"No, they've been waiting to pick up the goods for a while. Before, they had to go all the way to Mumbai, but now they can get it done right at their doorstep, which saves them a lot of costs."

“That’s right. Suer Electric’s production capacity has always been tight, so we don’t need to worry about that in the West India anymore.”

Why did Ron establish a branch factory? In addition to expanding production capacity, it was also to consolidate new markets and incidentally enhance the brand awareness and influence of Suer Electric.

In addition, it also involves sharing operational risks; we can't put all our eggs in one basket in Mumbai.

If policies change in a certain region, other branch factories can continue to operate.

Of course, cost and taxation are also major considerations. Labor costs in Gujarat are much lower than in Mumbai, and a salary of 2,000 rupees is already very high.

Tax decentralization is also an advantage, as it can dilute the total profits in the Mumbai area, allowing for a lower income tax bracket.

The six production lines in the workshop have already started operating, with thousands of workers busy at work, and everyone has a smile on their face.

They may have been clumsy at first, but they genuinely wanted to do their jobs well, and they cherished it.

Suer Electric has a good reputation and isn't the kind of heartless factory that preys on people. Who could be dissatisfied?

Well, Ron was quite satisfied. He had made a prior agreement with the BJP that the factory had the right to dismiss workers.

We shouldn't have such bizarre ideas as hereditary job positions.

Don't fool your own people, Ron is no saint.

While he was inspecting the workshop, Anil suddenly came in and whispered a few words.

Ron nodded, and soon a burly man was brought in.

"Vinod!"

"Ron Baba!"

The big man wanted to perform a foot-touching salute, but Ron stopped him, instead patting the man's shoulder with satisfaction.

"After spending so much time in Dubai, the sand has made you even more resilient."

“That place is actually no different from Mumbai; whoever has the bigger fist talks the louder,” Vinod laughed.

“It’s clear you can speak freely there now.” Ron led him into the office.

"Travel agencies have sent tens of thousands of people abroad in the past two years, so they can always find some satisfactory staff."

“That’s right, it’s necessary, otherwise the Mumbai gangs wouldn’t be so polite to us.”

“Ron Baba, is there some mission you need to assign me by bringing me back this time? Don’t worry, I know where the boss of the Daoud gang is hiding.” Vinod was eager to try.

“No, it’s not about the mob.” Ron waved his hand. “This is legitimate business.”

"A legitimate business?" Vinod looked around. "You mean..."

"So, what do you think of these TVs? Aren't they great?" Ron asked with a smile.

The television set assembled by Jamnagel was an improved version. However, the core components remained the same; the main changes were to the overall design.

The casing, knobs, and decorative panels are all manufactured by Suer Electric itself.

With Ron's aesthetic sense, he could easily incorporate some later elements into the design while maintaining local flavor. The resulting television would completely outshine the tacky products on the market.

They are lighter and more agile, a complete departure from the previous sharp and angular style.

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but this TV is beautiful, the kind of beautiful that's comforting."

"It seems everyone has a similar opinion. Do you think people in the Gulf countries would like it?"

"Of course, I assure you, I spent a long time there and I know what they like."

"This is the business I want to do: export Sull televisions to the Persian Gulf countries."

“Ron Baba, you mean to smuggle these goods onto the ship secretly?” Vinod blinked.

"No, it's not smuggling; we'll do it openly and honestly."

"You've already taken care of the officials there?" Vinod's eyes lit up.

“Unfortunately, no.” Ron shrugged.

"Oh, so what do I need to do?"

If you asked Vinod to deliver bullets to a mob boss, or to find out their background and threaten them, he would do it without hesitation.

It's really a bit difficult for him to suddenly switch to selling televisions, a legitimate business.

He's a rough guy; he doesn't know anything about business operations.

"What you need to do is very simple: take a batch of sample units over and ask those well-known dealers or shopping malls if they are interested in Suer TVs."

"Should we scout ahead first?"

"You could say that. Remember to emphasize to them that our goods are cheap enough, only half the international price."

“Wow, that’s definitely no problem!” Vinod shook his head. “There are many poor people in Arab countries too. After all, there’s only one Dubai.”

“That would be best. If they show strong interest, then go through the proper channels to contact their official agencies.” Ron handed him a document.

"What is this?" Vinod asked curiously as he examined it.

"The process for technical certification in Gulf countries, and instructions on how to apply for an import license."

“I don’t quite understand this,” Vinod said, shaking his head awkwardly.

"I will send a few assistants to help you; they will handle these tasks."

"That makes things easier." Vinod breathed a sigh of relief.

He's fine with fighting, that's exactly what he's good at. But dealing with government officials is a complete mystery to him.

"You'll only be in charge of leading the work this time. If there's anything you can't handle, just give me a call, and I'll personally fly to Dubai."

“Ron Baba, you should have come sooner. The girls there are quite good.”

"Nonsense, do you think I need that much?" Ron laughed and waved his hand.

"Anyway, don't worry, I'll take care of it as soon as I get back."

Vinod left in high spirits; he now resides in Dubai and has become a local bigwig there.

Ron naturally wanted to utilize readily available resources to export television sets to the Gulf countries.

Smuggling is impossible; a company that big would definitely export on a large scale.

Unfortunately, there are too many Arab countries, and contacting them one by one would take too much time.

Therefore, Ron plans to first obtain GCC and G-Mark certifications (Gulf Cooperation Council). Once this mark is affixed, Suer Electric's products can circulate directly among member countries.

Vinod's task was to take the lead, get the preliminary preparations done, and also to gauge the local market's reaction to Sull televisions.

Jamnagel's factory is going to be expanded, and by the time production capacity is up, the export procedures may already be completed.

In order to accelerate the expansion as much as possible, Ron made multiple decisions simultaneously.

After spending another week in Gujarat and completing the signing ceremony for the Sur Industrial Complex, Ron flew back to Mumbai without stopping.

Unfortunately, just a few days of peace and quiet have passed and trouble has come knocking again.

Low-price dumping—what a novel term.

In India, a country where many people struggle to afford food, the term "dumping" seems rather incongruous.

The antitrust lawsuit was filed by the Mumbai Home Appliance Industry Committee.

Several companies jointly condemned the move, with Videocon and Onida being the two most prominent among them.

Ron even knew that the real mastermind was Chandani, Onida's boss.

In the previous Firefly Project, Videocon was the main contributor, while Onida could only play a supporting role.

In this antitrust case, the opposing party changed from being perfunctory last time and became very proactive.

The reason is simple: Suer Electric has once again driven down the price of 18-inch color TVs.

Chandani tolerated the fact that the joint venture's color TVs weren't much cheaper than Onida's.

But what's with this newly launched premium TV? 15000 rupees, that's almost 10,000 rupees cheaper than its competitors!
That's not how you wage a price war; that would practically cut off Onida's lifeline.

Color TVs are their main product, and the production line they imported from JCV is still under construction.

Suer Electric's move is tantamount to directly crippling Onida's existing market and all future investments.

Chandani was getting anxious; if he didn't take action, Onida's future would be bleak.

(End of this chapter)