I am a master in India

Chapter 423 Capture
After receiving confirmation from his subordinates, Ron quickly made up his mind.

With the help of the Reddy family, he met with the factory owner, and the meeting went very smoothly.

Ron will buy the entire steel plant for $1.5 million, and the management will remain in place for the time being.

The factory owner had already decided to immigrate overseas with his whole family, so the contract signing went very smoothly.

Given that the factory's steelmaking technology was somewhat outdated, Ron tried to lower the price, but the other party didn't insist on a firm price.

Almost on the same day the handover was completed, the other party hurriedly flew to the other side of the ocean, seemingly not wanting to stay a moment longer.

That's perfect, it saves Ron's team from causing any more trouble.

The steel mill is only part of the deal; Reddy's iron ore mine is also a target.

They had already met before and had a pretty good idea of ​​each other's bottom line.

Finally, Ron bought the iron ore mine for $80 million, thus achieving the main objectives of his trip to Goa.

Iron ore mined locally is sent directly to steel mills. The entire process, from upstream to downstream raw materials, is handled in one go.

However, the transaction is complete, but that doesn't mean the factory will immediately make any big moves.

"The steel mill's technology is somewhat outdated, and in another two or three years it will become completely uncompetitive."

"Boss, the market isn't doing well right now. Are you sure you want to upgrade the technology?" asked the factory manager, Nanbia.

He had worked at the steel mill for almost fifteen years, and now that Ron had acquired it, there were no immediate plans to replace him.

"The bad economic situation is only temporary. Do you know what the current economic situation is like?"

Globalization?

"You're right! Trade will only increase, and the demand for various bulk transactions will naturally rise as well."

“Boss, I mean no offense. You have never been involved in the steel industry before, so why are you so sure?”

Nambia is a competent manager; he won't unconditionally flatter his boss based solely on one side of the story.

The factory's profitability is crucial to his livelihood; if the decisions are poor, he will ultimately have to take responsibility.

“Do you know our neighbor?” Ron asked with a smile.

"Dongda?"

"Yes, they're about to transform into infrastructure construction monsters. The demand from there will astound the world; it'll be a frenzy!"

“Okay, even so, isn’t the risk too great? I mean, upgrading the factory’s technology requires a significant amount of money.”

"Even excluding the influence of the University of Tokyo, India's domestic development is also very rapid, with construction happening everywhere, in New Delhi and Bangalore."

Putting aside other things, Ron's own Suer Real Estate has several business districts and ports under construction, and these projects require a lot of cement and steel.
With the intention of keeping the benefits within the family, these materials will henceforth be supplied by his own factories.

This is also one of his advantages: the construction cost of large projects is far lower than that of his peers.

Unbeknownst to him, Ron's business had expanded to cover multiple industries and created a synergistic and scale effect.

Where are steel mills getting their orders now?

"Most of them are construction companies within the state, and some are destined for Karnataka."

"As for production capacity, I remember that the factory was designed to have a maximum annual output of 120 million tons."

"Well, because of the financial crisis, this year's production capacity has only increased by less than half."

"Once the orders on hand are completed, those that are unprofitable or have low profit margins will be cut directly."

"Boss?" South Bia was anxious.

Once a factory stops production, it's difficult to restart it. Many companies would rather operate at a loss than not keep their production lines running.

“Don’t rush,” Ron waved his hand, “Starting this month, we’ll go straight to full capacity.”

"Huh?" South Libya was completely dumbfounded.

“I have four ports, two large business districts, and a special economic zone that are about to be built. 120 million tons of steel is far from enough, and I will even have to purchase it from abroad.”

"This...this..." South Bia was excited.

Orders are essential for business; his performance is closely related to these factors.

"So the factory still needs to hire a lot of people, and this busy state will last for at least two years."

"Don't worry, boss. We have a mature intermediary mechanism here, so workers are not a problem."

Ron recalled his previous visit to the workers' dormitories, where the situation was indescribable.

"Speaking of workers, the dormitory area is too dirty and messy. If we add a large number of workers, it will be too much for them to handle."

“You mean…” South Bia blinked.

"Let's see if things can be improved next year. Ideally, we should rebuild a dormitory area. I see there's a lot of empty land behind the factory."

"Oh, of course. If you'd like."

He was surprised and couldn't understand why his boss would suddenly care about the lives of his workers.

This is so unreasonable; no factory owner is like him.

In the eyes of the former boss, workers were just consumables, no different from livestock.

The steel plant had been operating for nearly twenty years, but the workers' dormitories had never been set foot in the area.

But this is a good thing, as South Libya itself is also a working-class country.

He was very handsome, with a thick head of hair, and also very honest.

He wasn't as cold-blooded and inhumane as you might imagine, like an iron ingot produced in a factory. On the contrary, he was very compassionate and had a degree in industrial chemistry from South Ethiopia.

Before becoming the general manager of the steel plant, he had worked for nearly 20 years in other factories in Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra.

He started as a chemist here, analyzing the quality of finished steel bars, and worked his way up to the position of general manager.

He earns a high salary, owns a large house and a private car, but he also has to put in a lot of effort, such as often having to work overtime on weekends.

Perhaps because he climbed his way up from the factory floor to his current position, he has a lot of sympathy for workers.

Ron was willing to improve the workers' living conditions, and there was no reason for him to object.

"However, with so many workers, we still need to sort things out, remove all the bad apples, and we can't use child labor."

“I will have someone take care of it,” Nambia nodded.

"It would be best to choose a reliable leader from among them, as the workers know each other best. I will also send someone over to assist with the factory's adjustments."

"Yes, boss."

"What are your thoughts on the technological upgrade of the steel plant?" Ron asked again.

"The best choice is Germany, whose technology is both efficient and environmentally friendly."

"What's the approximate budget?"

"It may cost more than 20 million US dollars. In addition, the factory has to pay a certain amount of patent fees for every ton of steel produced."

Ron nodded, understanding that this was standard practice in the industry.

"I have some connections in Germany, and I'll have someone help me with the introductions. I'll try to finalize this matter within the year and complete the technical upgrades next year."

“No problem, this is a good thing.” Southbia shook his head.

"The coal needed for the power plant, as well as the coking coal used for steelmaking, will also be supplied internally in the future."

"What?" South Libya was confused.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, I also have a coal business, coal from Dambad. The shipping company will ship from Calcutta, then bypass South India and stop at the port of Goa, which is very convenient."

Incidentally, he also owns the shipping business.

Tsk, if you think about it carefully, it seems like he's managed to control almost the entire industry chain again.

Mining, smelting, steel, cement, power plants, shipping, ports, real estate construction
Before anyone knew it, Ron's business empire had grown to this size.

The next step is to let things settle down; he won't make any major moves in the short term.

The $2.3 million was his initial investment in Goa. Subsequent upgrades to the factory's technology will require an additional $2.5 million.

There's a lot of money, but there's also an advantage: you can buy ready-made products instead of starting from scratch.

Ron is only responsible for making the final decision on the deal; the rest of the coordination will be handled by the team.

The financial adjustments alone could take several months, and the workers will also face difficulties; it will require a great deal of effort to rectify the situation.

It's still too amateurish; there's no sign of a large corporation at all.

After spending more than two months in Goa, Ron finally brought Urmira back to Mumbai.

The rainy season had just ended, and October, with its clear skies and crisp air, was approaching.

Both children were already a year old, and the older one, Agalon, was already toddling around the yard. Behind his small figure, there were often several anxious servants.

Occasionally, when he has some free time, Ron also takes his children to play in the "Sky Garden." There are quite a few people taking a day trip from Malabar Hill to the city center: office workers with their families dressed in their most fashionable clothes, and elderly women carrying picnic baskets, some even looking a little unsteady.
Ron felt comfortable letting his child walk among these people, rather than under heavy protection.

As Anand once said, children are protected by the gods.

Everyone has the simplest wish: that their next generation can start a family and establish a career, and at least live a better life than they did when they were young.

It's not a bad thing to let children experience the everyday life of ordinary people; such opportunities are actually less common for adults.

On his birthday, Ron took little Ravi to the Temple of Lakshmi, something Isa insisted on doing.

She lives in Delhi, a place with strong religious traditions. Although she attended university, she still retains some Hindu traditions.

There was a path outside the temple, and a woman was sitting by the roadside leading a cow, with a basket of grass in front of her.

Ron gave her five rupees, and she handed little Ravi a bunch of grass. With Isa's help, Ravi carefully fed the grass to the cows, satisfying his curiosity while accumulating so-called "merit."

Animals that children read about in Western storybooks—elephants, camels, and peacocks—are commonly seen on the streets of Mumbai.

They continued walking towards the Lakshmi Temple and saw a bookstore next to the main gate, which was a reputable publisher of Indology literature.

Ron had visited the bookstore's branches in Varanasi, Delhi, and Chennai, and each time he left with a full load of books.

Most of the books I brought for Muna were bought from this store.

Today, of course, I had to take a look around. When the bookstore manager saw that Ravi was wearing a birthday hat, he quickly had his staff grab a handful of chocolates.

They browsed the various books in the shop with great pleasure, leisurely selecting the ones they wanted, deciding to buy them after leaving the temple.

Before that, they would first enter the Temple of Lakshmi to see for themselves how the ancient myths and philosophical systems in the book are reflected in a contemporary temple.

Little Ravi can't walk yet, but he's always happy. When he smiles, he reveals two tiny baby teeth, like snow-white eggshells.

Looking at all this, Ron felt a sense of peace and tranquility.

However, the brief respite from his busy schedule was always short-lived, and Ashish called again from Suer Electric Appliances.

There's already news from Hua Zi's side.

(End of this chapter)