Sail across the sea

Chapter 413 There are no jokes in the military.
“Building a factory is no easy task,” Yun Zhongming said.

Bi Liansheng also realized what was going on and began to conduct a feasibility assessment: "Producing photoresist, laboratory synthesis is only the first step; the more difficult part is industrial production. The gap between us and Senya is also reflected in industrial production."

“Their production process is already established. If we want to replicate it, we have to start from scratch, which is no small investment.”

The industrial production process of photoresist involves first nitrifying 1-naphthol-5-sulfonic acid in a nitration reactor, then sending it to a diazotization reactor for diazotization, and finally adding sulfonyl chloride in a sulfonyl chloride reactor to react and obtain the photosensitizer.

On the other hand, m- and p-cresols are reacted with formaldehyde to produce linear phenolic resin, which is then dehydrated, purified, mixed and dissolved with a photosensitizer, and finally filtered to obtain the final product.

This process requires the use of nitration kettles, diazotization kettles, sulfonyl chloride kettles, dissolving kettles, reaction kettles, dehydration devices, coarse filters, fine filters, and so on—dozens of containers in total, as well as various pumps, valves, pipelines, etc., with an investment approaching tens of millions.

The military industry develops photoresist primarily as a backup plan, to ensure a minimum level of military chip production should foreign countries impose embargoes on my country. Because of this, the military industry uses small-scale equipment to produce photoresist; they practically need just a few pressure cookers.

However, Gao Fan's goal was to seize Senya's market share in the international market. This was not something that could be achieved by simply shaking a few flasks; it required actually building a factory.

If there's a guaranteed return on investment, Fenglin Institute could certainly raise over 1000 million. Although the country has cut military spending, even a weakened giant is still a giant; Fenglin Institute's foundation is far deeper than that of Zeyan Institute.

Yun Zhongming was unsure whether he could defeat Sen Gu.

What if the factory is built, and Moriya develops similar products? They have brand advantages and long-term partnerships with integrated circuit manufacturers. What can we possibly use to compete?

However, the goal described by Gao Fan is indeed very tempting. If Fenglin Institute can really make photoresist a flagship product, it will not only be a flagship product for Fenglin Institute, but also a flagship product for the entire country in the future.

This was undoubtedly an irresistible attraction for an old scientist like him who was determined to dedicate himself to the country.

"The first step is to do as Xiao Gao said and apply for a patent."

Yun Zhongming held up one finger and said to Bi Liansheng.

"understand!"

Knowing that Yun Zhongming had made up his mind, Bi Liansheng immediately answered loudly.

"The second step is for your Room 08 to immediately conduct process research and design the entire industrial production process. You also need to come up with a rough estimate of the equipment investment for the entire process, which I will bring to the institute's administrative meeting for discussion by all institute leaders."

"understand!"

"The third step..."

At this point, Yun Zhongming turned his gaze to Gao Fan, smiling without saying a word.

Gao Fan understood Yun Zhongming's meaning, and without being coy, he said directly, "I will be responsible for helping you expand the market. The minimum target is no less than 500 million yuan in orders per year for five years. That should be enough for you to recover your initial investment, right?"

"No jokes in the military?" Yun Zhongming probed. Gao Fan pointed to his face and said, "Chief Engineer Yun, doesn't my face look like a military order? I own a large factory with an annual output value of 4000 million US dollars. Do you think I'd renege on a mere 500 million RMB debt?"

"Ha, that's true." Yun Zhongming laughed.

If someone else had proposed the same idea to Yun Zhongming, he would most likely have disbelieved it. But since Gao Fan had suggested it, Yun Zhongming immediately believed it to be 70% true.

The reason is simple: Gao Fan is the most skilled at making money among all the people Yun Zhongming knows, without exception.

How could someone who can start from scratch and build a vitamin factory with an investment of over 2000 million US dollars have poor business acumen?
When it came to the industrial production of photoresist, Yun Zhongming's biggest concern was market development. However, Gao Fan took over this task, which largely alleviated Yun Zhongming's worries.

Having determined his strategy for developing photoresist production and reassessing his collaboration with Moriya, Yun Zhongming naturally had other ideas.

Moriya wanted to buy out the overseas production rights for i-line photoresist, which Yun Zhongming would absolutely not accept. However, he wouldn't mind if the other party was willing to pay some money to obtain patent licensing.

He knew all too well that even if Fenglin Institute started producing its own photoresist, it would be absolutely impossible to monopolize the international market. Even gaining a 10% market share would be extremely difficult.

The reason is simple: when companies purchase raw materials and consumables, they do not only consider performance and price, but also factors beyond technology and economics, such as production habits and supply chain reliability.

Senya is a traditional semiconductor chemical supplier. Its product quality and supply credibility have been proven. An integrated circuit manufacturer would rather spend more money to buy products from Senya that are a generation behind in technology than risk using products from Fenglin for the sake of high quality and low price.

Manufacturers may purchase a small quantity of Fenglin's products for process testing. If they find the product performance reliable, the next step is to increase the purchase volume and conduct small-scale trial production.

This gradual process of contact and adaptation may take more than a decade before it becomes possible to completely abandon Moriya and turn to Maple Forest Institute.

To achieve this goal, Fenglin Institute must ensure that it maintains its technological leadership for more than a decade and cannot breach any contract.

Since it is impossible to monopolize the entire market, licensing patents to foreign giants is beneficial.

One is that you can earn patent fees. Although the fee for a single license is not as high as the buyout fee promised by Moriya, it adds up to a considerable amount.

Secondly, it can prevent the opponent from being cornered and forced to invest heavily in developing alternative technologies. This will help Fenglin maintain its technological lead.

"Xiao Gao, since you're here, why don't you stay at the institute for a few more days? I'll have the guesthouse get you a private room and special meals. The institute's administrative meeting will be discussing this plan, which will take a few days, and we might need to consult you again on some issues. Also, several colleagues in different research labs are hoping you can come and offer them some research ideas."

After the conversation, Yun Zhongming extended a warm invitation to Gao Fan.

Gao Fan nodded and said, "One should see things through to the end. I will stay in Nanquan for a few more days. However, I can't stay in the institute forever. At the very least, I need to go to the University of Science and Technology of China to see my senior brother Xu Yun."

(End of this chapter)