Reborn in 2012, building a new energy empire

Chapter 140 Dual-Wheel Drive

It was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, at six o'clock in the morning.

The courtyard of the old house in Zhenjiang was still shrouded in the last haze before dawn. Jiang Haoran put the last piece of luggage into the trunk of the Panamera and gently closed it.

As the car drove out of the alley, the figures of my parents in the rearview mirror gradually blurred in the morning mist, eventually becoming two stationary black dots.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were still closed, with only breakfast stalls steaming and a few customers huddled in the cold wind waiting.

As we drove onto the highway, it was completely light.

The winter sun was cold and pale, casting neat patches of light through the car window onto the passenger seat.

Jiang Haoran turned on the radio, and the traffic broadcast was providing updates on road conditions during the return rush. He glanced at the navigation; the estimated arrival time at the Suzhou-Hangzhou Industrial Park was 7:40 AM.

Not long after, the Panamera drove into the Suzhou-Hangzhou Industrial Park.

The park was busier than before the holiday, but most companies were still in the adjustment period after the New Year and seemed relaxed. Only the building housing the R&D department of Kylin Technology had all its windows letting in light.

After parking his car, he carried his laptop bag and walked into the building.

As the elevator ascended, he straightened his collar while facing the metal wall.

Pushing open the laboratory door, a familiar smell, a mixture of metal, machine oil, and electronic components, hits you.

Unlike the relaxed yet joyful feeling of the last day before the holiday, the air was tense again.

In the center of the laboratory, the prototype had been thoroughly cleaned, its exterior gleaming a cold, silvery-gray under the fluorescent lights.

Gu Qiushi was hunched over the control panel checking parameters, Wang Qiming and two engineers were inspecting the cooling system piping, and Zhao Haichuan was standing in front of the whiteboard with a stack of documents, which were already covered with densely written market keywords.

"President Jiang." Everyone greeted him upon seeing him, their tone carrying the slightly awkward solemnity characteristic of returning to work after the holiday.

"Everyone's here?" Jiang Haoran placed his laptop on the conference table in the corner, took off his coat, and said, "Have something quick to eat. The meeting will start at 9:50 in the small conference room."

At 9:50, five people sat around a simple oval table in the conference room. Each person had a notebook open in front of them.

"How was your Spring Festival?" Jiang Haoran asked casually at the beginning.

"It's fine, but the kids at home are making so much noise I'm getting a headache. I'm actually thinking about coming to work early." Wang Qiming rubbed his temples, but he had a smile on his face.

"Where's Engineer Gu?"

"I went back to my hometown and stayed with my parents for a few days." Gu Qiushi pushed up his glasses. "My mind was still on the parameters, and my father said I was absent-minded."

Zhao Haichuan laughed and said, "I took a few days off and spent time with my wife and kids. It cleared my head a lot."

Jiang Haoran nodded, skipped the pleasantries, and got straight to the point: "There are two purposes for today's meeting. First, to clarify the core strategy for the next six months. Second, to adjust the specific strategy based on the latest market information."

He turned on the projector and connected it to the computer.

A simple PPT cover appeared on the screen: Kylin Technology's Strategic Path for the First Half of 2013 - Driven by R&D Optimization and Market Warm-up.

"Let's talk about the R&D side first." Jiang Haoran looked at Gu Qiushi and Wang Qiming. "The prototype passed the key tests before the holiday and got its ticket to the market. But what we need to face next is the toughest nut to crack in industrialization: stability and consistency."

He switched pages and saw several sets of enlarged data curves for comparison.

"In a laboratory environment, we can repeatedly debug until we obtain the best data."

However, industrialization requires that, under different ambient temperatures, power grid fluctuations, and different operators, the key performance indicators of the wire produced by the machine in each batch must be controlled within an extremely narrow range.

Gu Qiushi's expression turned serious: "Yes. Our last batch of data before the holiday had a wire diameter uniformity standard deviation of 0.18 micrometers, which is quite good in terms of laboratory progress."

"However, industrialization requirements may need to be reduced to below 0.1 micrometers, and the standard cannot be exceeded even after 100 consecutive batches of production."

"Can you do it?" Jiang Haoran asked directly.

Gu Qiushi and Wang Qiming exchanged a glance.

"It's challenging, but the direction is clear. If we keep working towards that goal, we'll eventually succeed."

Wang Qiming continued, "Several aspects need to be systematically optimized: online filtration and composition monitoring of the electroplating solution, dynamic compensation algorithm for tension control, and closed-loop regulation of ambient temperature and humidity."

"These are specific engineering details, which require a lot of repeated experiments and parameter solidification."

"So, what's the timeline?" Jiang Haoran wrote in his notebook.

"If we concentrate our resources," Gu Qiushi estimated, "we can complete the first round of process solidification by the end of March, reducing the fluctuation range of key indicators by 30%. We can then conduct small-batch continuous production verification in April and May, with the goal of achieving a pass rate of over 95% for 100 batches."

Jiang Haoran nodded; this pace was within his expectations. "If we speed things up further, we can recruit another batch of people."

Funding is not a problem.

"The R&D team will proceed according to this goal. Engineer Gu will be responsible for the overall process and control system optimization, and Engineer Wang will be responsible for ensuring production consistency. If any resource support is needed, just ask."

He turned to Zhao Haichuan: "Director Zhao, while we're working on the R&D side, we also need to start focusing on the marketing side."

Next, I'm assigning you a task: market warm-up. I'll work with you to push it forward.

Zhao Haichuan sat up straight.

Jiang Haoran pushed a printed report summary in front of him.

"This is a recent market analysis."

"According to professional assessments, this is the core problem with our product."

"The biggest pain point for customers isn't whether there are domestically produced products on the market," but rather whether they dare to use domestically produced goods. While they've been disappointed by many imported equipment suppliers with unstable supply chains, they're even more afraid of the unreliability of domestically produced products.

Zhao Haichuan quickly scanned the summary, his eyes growing brighter: "This information is very accurate, especially the part about the target customer's purchasing decision-making chain, which is of great value."

"Therefore, the core of our market warm-up is to build initial trust." Jiang Haoran wrote a few keywords on the whiteboard, "Focusing on the following three paths: industry associations, technical exchanges, and small-scale secret testing."

"Specifically: First, you can leverage your existing industry resources and also use Director Bai's connections to start contacting relevant personnel from the Southern Jiangsu Photovoltaic Industry Association and the Semiconductor Materials Association."

"We will learn from them and consult with them to understand the latest industry trends and potential policy directions, while also introducing the name of Kylin Technology as a technology-driven R&D company into their field of vision."

"Second, select 2-3 potential clients within the province who have the most forward-thinking technology and are facing clear pressure to reduce costs."

"It doesn't have to be the largest, but rather the one most likely to be willing to try new technologies. Prepare a carefully crafted, non-public technical exchange plan for them, focusing on solving their specific pain points. This should be done secretly to avoid alerting them."

"Third," Jiang Haoran paused, "we'll start investigating and preparing for the upcoming industry exhibitions. We should seize any opportunity to participate. Even the best wine needs advertising; we need a formal platform. We need a two-pronged approach, advancing market expansion and technological development simultaneously."

Zhao Haichuan quickly took notes: "Understood. I'll start contacting the association this afternoon."

"After contacting all the potential clients, I will use this report to provide preliminary screening suggestions."

"Regarding exhibitions, I think we could try this one. SNEC (International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference) is held in Shanghai every year at the end of May. It is the largest photovoltaic exhibition in Asia, and the timing is also quite suitable. However, the entry threshold and competition are also the most intense."

"Let's assess it first." Jiang Haoran looked at Gu Qiushi and Wang Qiming. "The progress of our research and development is the key to determining when and how we will make our debut."

"Market preparation should buy time and space for research and development, but it shouldn't lead to products that are rushed and neglected to be properly cleaned."

Gu Qiushi breathed a sigh of relief: "With President Jiang's words, we dare to make sure the craftsmanship is solid."

"But we can't pursue perfection indefinitely," Zhao Haichuan added, his tone gentle but firm.

"The market window is fleeting. We need a clear, publicly communicateable milestone, even if it's just a small-batch successful trial of a mass-production prototype."

The potential tension between R&D and the market first began to subtly emerge at the conference table.

Jiang Haoran saw this clearly; it was an inevitable process for a company to move from pure R&D to the market.

"The balance lies between 'usable' and 'easy to use.'" He tapped the table. "What we need to launch must be a fully validated, usable product that solves the core pain points of customers (such as cost)."

"

"They also clearly stated that this was the first generation, and that subsequent generations would be quickly iterated until it was user-friendly." Honest, but confident.

He looked at everyone: "Dual-wheel drive means that R&D and marketing must mesh together like gears."

"R&D must provide the market with compelling evidence," and the market must provide R&D with real-world feedback.

"Starting today, we will hold a regular collaboration meeting every Monday at 4 PM to synchronize progress and resolve issues."

The meeting ended at 11:10. Everyone dispersed and went back to their work.

The laboratory was filled with the hum of instruments starting up, the sound of keyboards clicking, and hushed technical discussions.

Jiang Haoran remained in the conference room, staring at the strategic map that had not yet been erased from the whiteboard.

The midday sunlight in the park outside the window dispelled some of the chill.

The battle has begun again.

This time, the battle lines are longer, and the opponent is more invisible, but every step must be taken more firmly.