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

Chapter 169 The Exorbitant Cooperation Plan

Böderfan has worked at Volkswagen for twenty years.

I initially worked in the quality field for several years before moving into the procurement field.

The chassis and body are the areas he is most familiar with.

After arriving at Volkswagen Shanghai, he took charge of the entire purchasing department and gained a deeper understanding of all the vehicle parts.

His core work in the Shanghai Volkswagen purchasing department has always been to find suitable local suppliers in China to produce imported parts domestically.

In particular, some parts are supplied by the original German manufacturers without branches in China, so the parts need to be imported directly.

To reduce costs, it's definitely better to source locally.

If this matter were to occur in later generations, it would certainly be very simple.

After all, there are plenty of manufacturers capable of producing auto parts in later generations.

Whether it's engine parts, body, chassis, or interior and exterior trim, there are qualified manufacturers in China.

However, in 1992, the situation was clearly not like that.

For any part that is even slightly technically challenging, it is very difficult to find qualified manufacturers in China to produce it.

Even if some manufacturers can produce samples that meet the requirements of the drawings, quality stability becomes a problem once mass production begins.

Today, Wang Huiliang told him that there are manufacturers in China that can produce hot-stamped parts, and that they use the world's most advanced aluminum-silicon coated steel plates for production.

His interest was piqued immediately.

Before joining Volkswagen, he was a purchasing manager in charge of body parts at Volkswagen's purchasing center.

Hot-stamped parts are products that he is directly responsible for, and even promotes.

He even spearheaded Volkswagen's strategy of adopting hot stamping technology for the next generation of the Passat model.

No wonder she's so eager to come see Jiang Hui now.

After Wang Huiliang gave a brief introduction to both parties, Bu Defan got straight to the point.

"Jiang, you said your company uses aluminum-silicon coated steel sheets for hot-stamped parts, instead of the traditional 22MNB5 bare sheets?"

Bu Defan is very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of hot stamping parts.

Uncoated steel sheets are not a problem in the field of cold stamping.

It may even be beneficial to stamping.

However, this is a major problem in the field of hot stamping.

After all, the steel plate needs to be heated to over 900 degrees Celsius before being shaped and quenched in a mold.

In this situation, uncoated steel plates will develop various surface defects and cause significant damage to the mold.

The molds also need to be cleaned regularly.

Furthermore, a shot blasting process will be specifically set up to remove the oxide scale from the surface of the parts.

"Yes, our company, in collaboration with Shougang, has developed a globally unique aluminum-silicon coated hot stamping forming technology for steel plates."

"The traditional hot-stamped steel sheets used by European suppliers produce a large amount of iron oxide scale when heated to around 900°C, and also cause surface decarburization, resulting in unstable strength and rough surface."

"With the aluminum-silicon coating, a dense protective layer is formed at high temperatures, completely isolating oxygen."

"Heating does not require a nitrogen-protected furnace, which reduces processing costs and improves quality."

"The parts will not have oxide scale or decarburization, and the strength of the parts is extremely consistent."

"And by eliminating the shot blasting process, production efficiency is greatly improved."

Jiang Hui immediately sensed that Bu Defan must have some understanding of hot stamping forming technology.

Therefore, it is necessary to quickly demonstrate the advantages of aluminum-silicon coating technology.

Sure enough, Jiang Hui only said half of it before Bu Defan immediately continued, "You can elaborate on the various benefits of applying aluminum-silicon coated steel sheet technology to hot stamping."

Suppressing his excitement, Bu Defan took a deep breath.

He felt that if he could introduce this technology to Volkswagen, it would be a great achievement.

Who knows, after returning to China from Shanghai Volkswagen, I might even get a promotion.

"After using aluminum-silicon coated steel sheets, the hot-stamped parts have good surface quality and high dimensional accuracy."

"As is well known, oxide scale on bare boards can be pressed into the surface of parts, causing pitting, scratches, and dimensional fluctuations."

"The aluminum-silicon coating has a uniform surface, and after forming, it has a smooth appearance and stable springback, making it suitable for high-precision body structural parts."

"Previously, it could only be used on door bumpers and bumper beams where precision requirements were lower."

"It can be used on various parts such as the A-pillar/B-pillar and door sill reinforcement on the body-in-white in the future."

"The entire passenger compartment can utilize hot stamping forming technology, which significantly improves the body strength."

"Even if Volkswagen applies this technology on a large scale to Audi, it could completely transform Audi models..."

It is the safest luxury car in the world.

Upon hearing Jiang Hui's words, Bu Defan's eyes lit up even more.

He knew that Jiang Hui's suggestion was entirely reasonable.

It's important to understand that Audi, as Volkswagen's attempt to move into the high-end market, hasn't actually been particularly successful yet.

It still lags significantly behind BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

If there are some additional highlights in terms of security, that would be very attractive.

"Besides quality, are there any other advantages?"

Bu Defan continued to ask.

He planned to figure out the situation thoroughly, then personally go to the other party's factory to confirm it before reporting back to headquarters.

"Of course there are."

Jiang Hui smiled and continued, "After using this technology, the corrosion resistance of the parts is significantly improved."

"The bare board itself has no anti-corrosion ability and must be coated with electrophoresis and paint afterward. Once scratched, it is prone to rust."

"The aluminum-silicon coating provides both cathodic protection and barrier protection, making it resistant to rust even from minor scratches, and is especially suitable for car door impact protection."

Components such as beams, A/B columns, thresholds, and floor passageways.

"In addition, it has better compatibility with welding and painting."

"Oxide scale on bare boards can affect the quality of spot welding, making it easy to produce incomplete welds and excessive spatter."

"This is also one of the key reasons why hot stamping technology is not widely used in car body now."

"The aluminum-silicon coating has excellent compatibility with spot welding, laser welding, structural adhesives, and electrophoretic paints, and can be used on a large scale."

"Furthermore, using aluminum-silicon coated steel plates results in less mold wear and a longer lifespan."

"I personally believe that the emergence of aluminum-silicon coated hot-stamped steel sheets will be a turning point for global hot-stamping technology."

"In the next decade, hot stamping steel sheet technology will rapidly appear in various car models."

"Whether it's European collision regulations or various requirements in the United States, they can all be easily met by using hot-stamped steel sheets."

"Furthermore, the extensive use of this technology is very helpful for vehicle weight reduction, which ultimately results in a significant reduction in fuel consumption."

Jiang Hui and Bu Defan had a detailed exchange on hot stamping steel plate technology for more than an hour.

Both of them were experts, so Wang Huiliang couldn't get a word in edgewise.

However, from their conversation, he could already tell that the new technology from the Wudaoying Parts Factory was indeed very impressive.

Jiang Hui's claim that his technology is globally leading is no exaggeration.

"Jiang, I'll be visiting your factory the day after tomorrow. We can discuss this in more detail then."

I have basically confirmed all the information I wanted to confirm.

All that's left is to go to the site and verify the authenticity of these items.

After all, this technology is too crucial.

If Volkswagen can seize the opportunity, it will definitely make a huge leap in the global automotive market in the future.

This is a very good publicity point, especially for the Audi brand.

Previously, Volkswagen had considered using all-aluminum body technology for the Audi brand.

However, Bu Defan felt that using hot-stamped steel sheets on a large scale was much more reliable than using an all-aluminum body.

It also has a cost advantage.

Böderfan was a highly capable German.

Three days after meeting Jiang Hui, he appeared at the Wudaoying Parts Factory with a group of people from the Shanghai Volkswagen Purchasing Department and Quality Department.

The production line is right there, and it's already started producing parts for the BJ212.

All the information matched what Jiang Hui had said.

The key point is that Bu Defan was very satisfied with the on-site management of the Wudaoying parts factory, which even exceeded his expectations.

"Jiang, I will personally push forward the matter of using hot-stamped parts for the Santana door anti-collision bars and bumper crossbeams when I get back."

"At the same time, I will report back to Volkswagen headquarters and recommend you there."

"Please wait a moment, experts from Volkswagen headquarters will be here to inspect soon."

With everything confirmed, Bu Defan had no further questions and quickly made a commitment.

This result was the most ideal outcome Jiang Hui could imagine.

Sure enough, a few days later, Bu Defan contacted them again to confirm the time for the Volkswagen headquarters inspection team to come for the inspection.

Two weeks later, more than a dozen experts from several fields, including research and development, procurement, quality, and technology, flew directly to China.

Led by Bu Defan, they arrived at the Wudaoying Parts Factory.

The production process of Shougang's aluminum-silicon coated steel plates, the various equipment of Wudaoying Parts Factory, and the situation of Wudaoying Mold Factory were all thoroughly verified.

Without a doubt, it was ultimately proven that all the information reported by Bu Defan was true.

There are even some pieces of information that Bu Defan doesn't dare to exaggerate too much.

After a week of investigation, the Volkswagen experts did not draw any direct conclusions, but their expressions showed that they were very satisfied.

Two weeks later, the other party should have reached a certain conclusion.

Because Bu Defan contacted Jiang Hui again.

"Jiang, we are very interested in your hot stamping forming technology for parts."

"If someone wanted to acquire your company, what would your asking price be?"

Upon hearing Bu Defan's suggestion, Jiang Hui immediately refused.

"I'm sorry, but hot-stamped parts can be sold externally, and even the hot-stamping production line can be sold to Volkswagen."

car."

"But my factory is like my child; it's not for sale."

How could Jiang Hui possibly sell the factory?

So he didn't even listen to the other party's offer and rejected it outright.

Fortunately, Volkswagen probably anticipated that Jiang Hui would not sell the factory.

So after probing for a bit, Bu Defan immediately skipped the topic.

"As you know, exporting parts from China to Europe involves a lot of procedures and long distances."

"Therefore, the headquarters cannot directly purchase hot-stamped parts from your factory, but Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW-Volkswagen will place orders with you."

Upon hearing Bu Defan's words, Jiang Hui immediately added, "Thank you for your support and recommendation. Our Guangchang factory will certainly not let you down."

"Wait a minute, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Bu Defan continued, "After discussing your suggestion with me, our headquarters felt it made a lot of sense."

"In the future, both the Audi and Volkswagen brands will expand the application of hot stamping parts."

"Our new model will become the product with the most hot-stamped parts in the world."

"Therefore, our headquarters plans to set up our own hot stamping forming factory and purchase hot stamping forming production lines from you."

"Initially, we plan to purchase two lines, and later expand to more depending on usage."

"What are your prices?"

Upon hearing Bu Defan's words, Jiang Hui couldn't help but smile inwardly.

A big order has come in!

"Bodefan, our hot stamping production line is the most technologically advanced in the world. Neither Benteler nor Gestamp in Europe can compare to us."

"The key is that we have developed everything specifically for this purpose, from the heating furnace to the hydraulic press and then to the laser cutting machine."

"It can be said that these machines are the most suitable in the world for processing hot-stamped parts."

"When combined with our unique patented aluminum-silicon coated hot-stamped steel sheet technology, it can definitely take the strength and crash performance of automotive body-in-white to a new level worldwide."

"We also invested a lot of human and material resources in the research and development of these products."

"So this price is definitely not cheap."

Jiang Hui first gave a good boast.

To set a high price, you definitely need to lay the groundwork first.

Although labor costs are low in China, R&D investment cannot be very high.

But technology is priceless.

Jiang Hui certainly wouldn't simply price it based on cost.

That's something only a fool would do.

"Name your price, and as long as it's not outrageous, I'll try my best to get it for you!"

Having been involved in procurement for so many years, Bu Defan naturally understands the various thoughts of suppliers.

He naturally understood the meaning behind Jiang Hui's words.

It's really just a matter of money.

For Volkswagen, this is really not a big problem.

"A complete hot stamping production line, for which we are responsible for the installation and commissioning of the equipment, costs $2000 million."

"And you need to specify that hot-stamped steel sheets be purchased from our trading company."

"Of course, you can rest assured about the price. The selling price is the same as the price that the steel companies in Europe sell to you."

Although my steel plate is an aluminum-silicon coated steel plate, it seems like I'm losing out by paying the same price as the bare plate.

However, when measuring Chinese costs against European prices, the difference becomes apparent —

To put it bluntly, Jiang Hui makes at least 100% profit on this steel plate business.

After all, even uncoated hot-stamped steel sheets are a niche product in Europe.

The price is not friendly at all.