Reborn in 1982: I Became the Richest Man by Repairing Cars

Chapter 146 went so smoothly! Taking one step and thinking three steps ahead.

When customers come to the factory for inspection, there is basically a fixed reception process.

Although this was the first time the Wudaoying Parts Factory had hosted such an inspection, Jiang Hui was not flustered at all.

A group of six people from Beituo arrived at the factory gate on a hot summer morning in a Toyota Hiace.

This car is considered a fairly common imported vehicle nowadays, mainly used by various organizations and factories as a business vehicle.

They had called ahead to let him know when they were leaving, so Jiang Hui waited at the factory gate right on time.

Jiang Hui even prepared a banner the day before yesterday that read, "Warmly welcome the expert group from the Capital Tractor Factory to visit and inspect."

Large banners with red backgrounds and white paper could be seen in many factories during that era.

Custom-made ones are not difficult.

"Minister Lü, distinguished leaders, welcome to visit our factory."

Once the car had come to a stop, Jiang Hui greeted everyone with a smile and led them into the conference room.

To be honest, this meeting room was only set up temporarily in the last week.

However, under Jiang Hui's planning, the style is full of modern feel, which is refreshing compared to the conference rooms of many factories today.

Although the factory isn't very big, after more than a week of renovations, it's now "small but complete".

Factory Director Jiang Hui, Deputy Factory Director Li Shigui, Deputy Factory Director Lin Yuanwu, Sales Department Director Zhang Lei, and Technical Department Director Fan Weimin (who was just there to make up the numbers).

This is the main reception team from the Wudaoying Parts Factory today.

On the Beituo side, the purchasing department head, Lü Xiangyang, led the team, along with a section chief and a staff member.

In addition, there are the head of the quality department, section chiefs, and staff members.

The group sat down in the conference room and exchanged pleasantries and introductions for about ten minutes.

Tea and fruit were prepared on the table, and Jiang Hui personally introduced the factory to everyone.

The reception arrangements alone are impeccable.

Lu Xiangyang and his colleagues had a very good first impression of the Wudaoying Parts Factory.

"Distinguished leaders, our factory is a vibrant new factory. Although it has been established for less than a year, it has already achieved breakthroughs in many fields."

"This section showcases several engines that we have refurbished from scrapped states to normal working condition."

"Everyone can take a closer look at the disassembly and comparison of the parts."

When introducing their products, manufacturers typically mention their development history, national and even global footprint, past sales figures, and customer information.

However, Jiang Hui doesn't have any of these things that he can present to others.

Then naturally, one should play to one's strengths and avoid one's weaknesses, showcasing one's advantages.

After a brief introduction, he started by discussing his renovation projects to give everyone a direct feel for his capabilities.

After all, everyone can understand the technical complexity involved in refurbishing scrapped gearboxes.

In particular, since Beituo manufactures its own gearboxes, it also needs to send technicians to some towns and villages every now and then to assist in repairing malfunctioning tractors.

I am well aware of the technical sophistication involved in gearbox repair.

"Besides gearbox gears, we also have extensive experience in machining automotive parts such as differential gears."

"Furthermore, our equipment originates from Beijing Gearbox, and it can fully meet the gear production needs of Beijing Tractor Group."

Jiang Hui gave a presentation to everyone for more than ten minutes by himself.

They perfectly showcased their own strengths.

As for the shortcomings, I definitely wouldn't bring any of them up.

Even its shortcomings of a short history and shallow foundation were portrayed as youthful, energetic, and highly innovative.

After Jiang Hui finished speaking, Beituo naturally raised some questions as well.

Jiang Hui responded in an orderly manner.

"Director Jiang, I think everyone has had their exchange enough. How about we go take a look around the site?"

After chatting in the conference room for more than an hour, Lü Xiangyang suggested visiting the site.

This was also part of the plan, so Jiang Hui naturally had no objections.

As soon as everyone entered the workshop, they immediately felt the difference.

At the North Gear Factory, the factory site was filled with the roar of machines, thick smoke and dust, oil stains on the ground, and workpieces piled up haphazardly.

The process relies on the master craftsman's experience, strength, and feel.

The equipment is old, but the workers are highly motivated. The overall pace is slow and the precision is rough, presenting a scene of bustling but somewhat extensive large-scale production.

But the situation was completely different at the Wudaoying parts factory.

The floor is clean and shiny, materials are placed in fixed positions, and the passageways are neat and uniform.

Standardized processes, standardized worker movements, and rigorous inspections demonstrate meticulousness, orderliness, and high efficiency in every step of the process.

This made Lü Xiangyang feel as if he had returned to the feeling of his trip to Japan last year.

"Distinguished leaders, this is our raw material storage area—"

Jiang Hui started by introducing each step of the process to everyone, one by one.

When introducing each process step, the standardized documents are brought out for specific explanation.

This gave Lü Xiangyang and the others a very different feeling.

They were clearly the legitimate team, while the Wudaoying Parts Factory was just a small business.

Why does it seem like it's reversed?

The key point is that I've been to small, individually owned workshops before, and the management there is much more chaotic than in my own factory.

How come the situation changed once we got here?

The group toured the production site with mixed feelings.

When we returned to the meeting room, the atmosphere was a little different.

"Distinguished leaders, it's almost lunchtime."

"How about we grab a quick bite to eat first, then go back to the conference room to talk?"

Such an inspection trip definitely requires providing hospitality.

Most state-owned enterprises have their own canteens.

You can eat in the small private rooms in the cafeteria.

However, Jiang Hui's conditions were clearly not met.

The key point is that even if you have your own cafeteria, going to a restaurant will definitely seem more sophisticated.

"Okay, let's eat and chat then."

After the morning's exchange and visit, Lü Xiangyang already had a clear understanding of the situation.

There's not much to worry about when eating this meal.

Soon, the group arrived at a well-known state-owned hotel nearby.

These days, there's no such thing as not being able to drink alcohol on weekdays.

Jiang Hui drank the entire case of Wuliangye liquor he had prepared.

The alcohol cost more than the food itself during the meal.

However, it seems that the situation was similar in later generations.

A meal for ten or so people at a table, even at a relatively high-end restaurant, would probably cost less than ten thousand yuan.

However, if it's about drinking alcohol, a bottle of Moutai costing over three thousand yuan can easily exceed ten thousand yuan.

After a satisfying meal, the atmosphere was even better when we returned to the conference room.

"Director Jiang, your on-site management and process management methods are much better than I expected."

"We can learn a lot from their experiences, so this trip has been worthwhile."

Lu Xiangyang is in a very good mood right now.

The problem of insufficient supply of gearbox gears in the factory is expected to be resolved.

Further increases in tractor production are expected.

Although the Wudaoying parts factory is not large in scale, it cannot meet the needs of Beituo indefinitely.

But that's enough for the short term.

After all, it's not like North Gearbox has stopped supplying gears.

"Regarding quality control, our initial opinion is also that there are no problems."

"The samples you sent last week all met the requirements in terms of dimensions."

"There are no issues with strength or hardness either."

"You've done a very good job in controlling defective products."

The head of the quality department also stepped forward to express his opinion.

"Considering that your raw materials are purchased from North Gear and your equipment is also leased from North Gear."

"The initial costs are relatively high, but in principle, we can accept the same procurement costs as North Gearbox in the first year."

"However, starting next year, we hope that your parts costs will continue to decrease."

Upon hearing Lü Xiangyang's words, Jiang Hui's eyes lit up.

The meaning of these words is quite extraordinary.

Normally, switching from a large state-owned factory to a private enterprise would definitely reduce costs.

Now Lü Xiangyang has agreed to purchase according to the settlement price from Beichi.

This would definitely be a great help to Jiang Hui.

"Thank you for your recognition and support."

"We will certainly live up to everyone's expectations, strengthen quality control, and promote cost reduction."

"To meet all customer needs to the greatest extent possible."

The next few things will definitely involve specific details that need to be discussed later.

The general direction has been settled.

For the Wudaoying Parts Factory, this is a historically significant event.

Jiang Hui also proactively reported this news to Ji Hua and Liu Wenfei.

After all, other people will find out about this very quickly.

It's better to take the initiative to communicate.

"Xiao Jiang, I've always trusted you with everything you do."

"I'm not surprised at all that we were able to pass the inspection by Beituo this time."

At present, the existence of the Wudaoying parts plant poses no threat to Beichi.

So Ji Hua really isn't worried about anything at all.

"I mainly want to thank Chief Engineer Ji for giving us this opportunity; otherwise, I wouldn't even know which way the door of the North Tractor Plant faces."

When it's appropriate to be polite, you should still be polite.

Otherwise, people will definitely feel uncomfortable.

Let's meet up for a meal later, exchange gifts, and our relationship will become even closer.

A few days later, Beituo officially notified Jiang Hui.

At the Wudaoying parts factory, we can now operate at full capacity to prepare gears.

All three accounts can recruit the maximum number of people they can, so recruit them all to the maximum limit.

Jiang Hui even considered whether he should create a few more aliases, otherwise he wouldn't have enough manpower.

He didn't want to easily cross the policy red line that individual business owners could only hire a maximum of five helpers.

Otherwise, someone who's jealous might report you, which could cause a lot of trouble.

After all, it's only 1983 now, not 1992.

The situation is still quite different.

"Shigui, you can study these devices properly when you have time."

"Especially heat treatment equipment."

"We are now referencing the process used by North Gearbox, which involves ordinary gas carburizing + direct quenching + one tempering."

"This process requires heating to 920-950℃ for high-temperature carburizing, which takes 7 to 10 hours and is relatively inefficient."

"Furthermore, under this heat treatment, the grains of the gear metallographic structure tend to be coarse, the deformation is large, the cycle is long, and the energy consumption is high."

"I've heard that these methods are gradually being phased out overseas."

Since Jiang Hui entrusted the parts factory to Li Shigui.

The other party seems to have a natural affinity for various machine tools and equipment, and learns and masters them very quickly.

This advantage should definitely be made good use of.

"The future trend may be medium-temperature carbonitriding or vacuum carburizing + staged or isothermal quenching, followed by secondary tempering."

「如果可以做到这种方式的话，我觉得温度加热到860—880℃就行，相比现在降50—90℃，时间缩至3到5小时。」

"The carbonitriding process has a faster infiltration rate, higher surface hardness, and less deformation."

"If it is vacuum carburizing, the gears will basically be free of oxidation, grain boundary oxidation, uniform carbon concentration, and minimal distortion."

"If we can optimize heat treatment in the future, the processing cost of gears can be reduced by at least 30%."

Upon hearing Jiang Hui's words, Li Shigui's eyes lit up.

Processing fees have decreased by at least 30%?

This is definitely a very attractive thing.

The key point is that Jiang Hui has already put forward specific improvement ideas.

He just needs to work towards that goal.

It might not be possible to resolve in the short term, but give him a year or two, and the situation will be different.

"Master, I'll go to the library later to borrow some books on this topic and try to understand the principles of these devices as soon as possible."

"Then we'll figure out a way to modify our equipment."

Jiang Hui now enjoys a high level of prestige.

Even if what he said sounded exaggerated, Li Shigui and the others believed it completely.

This will definitely be very beneficial to the factory's development in the short term.

"Yes, there's one more detail you can refer to."

"The temperature control of the box-type heating furnaces we use now relies entirely on experience and instrument displays."

"Carbon potential fluctuation ±0.2%C, temperature fluctuation ±15℃."

"If closed-loop control of PLC + oxygen probe + carbon potential can be achieved, I estimate that the carbon potential can be controlled to ±0.05%C, and the temperature fluctuation can be within ±5℃."

"In this way, even for some high-precision gears used in automotive transmissions, the grinding or fine grinding process can be eliminated after heat treatment."

"This is of extraordinary significance for reducing costs and improving production efficiency."

For gear machining, the cost and time for rough machining are roughly the same across all factories.

The main difference lies in the finishing process.

There are many aspects of this area that deserve further research and improvement.

In particular, the gear processing technology currently used in China is generally based on technology from more than 2,000 years ago.

There is even more room for improvement.

Compared to improving raw materials, focusing on heat treatment is easier for Jiang Hui's factory to achieve.

"Master, I will definitely modify the heating equipment you mentioned by next year at the latest."

"We must reduce our processing fees by 50%."

Li Shigui directly made a pledge to himself.

The main reason is that the information Jiang Hui provided was simply too impactful.

At that time, who will be able to compete with their factory on cost?

This means that their factory's profits can be increased significantly.

>