Sail across the sea

Chapter 568 Buy One Get One Free
As it turns out, Gao Fan was judging a gentleman by his own petty standards.

It is said that Canghai Chemical intends to acquire Yanxiu Refrigerant Plant. The Yanxiu County Government did not try to bargain at all and agreed directly, claiming that the price was up to Canghai Chemical to set, and the county would not object.

The refrigerant plant was originally an affiliated industry of Yanxiu Fluorite Mine. However, due to the large investment, the county felt that it was inappropriate for it to remain a subsidiary of the fluorite mine, so it was brought under the direct management of the county.

At this point, the county decided to offer a buy-one-get-one-free deal, selling the refrigerant plant to Canghai Chemical and the fluorite mine at the same time.

The county did this because the fluorite mine and refrigerant plant were operating rather poorly. Although they weren't yet losing money, they were only making a slight profit. The county had good reason to believe that if this continued for another year or two, both the mine and the plant would definitely fall into serious losses, becoming a heavy burden on the county.

Canghai Chemical excels at turning lead into gold, a fact witnessed firsthand by officials in Yanxiu County. After the original Yanxiu Fertilizer Plant was acquired by Canghai Chemical and converted to produce Vitamin C, it immediately became a goldmine, with annual sales now exceeding 100 million US dollars, equivalent to nearly 1 billion RMB, making Yanxiu County's tax revenue collection efforts incredibly difficult.

Beyond its overt tax contributions, the vitamin factory provides substantial hidden benefits to the local community. Factory workers earn among the highest incomes in the county, significantly raising the average income level for the entire population. The factory's extensive outsourcing business supports hundreds of small and micro-enterprises, and even restaurants outside the factory are more prosperous than elsewhere.

As for the county leaders occasionally asking the vitamin factory for help in exchanging foreign currency or purchasing foreign goods overseas, that's a secret that shouldn't be told to outsiders.

With such a precedent, when they heard that Canghai Chemical had its eye on their refrigerant plant, the county leaders had no hesitation whatsoever. If it weren't for the difficulty in handling state-owned assets on the books, they would have even planned to give the plant directly to Canghai Chemical.

The only condition Yanxiu County offered to Canghai Chemical was that workers in the factory and mine must be retained for at least five years unless they committed serious violations of production discipline.

Gao Fan, who had come back specifically to handle this matter, was not only surprised but also deeply impressed by the officials' vision and courage.

The original assets of the refrigerant plant and fluorite mine were already sunk capital, and they wouldn't have fetched much money anyway, so there was no point in haggling with Canghai Chemical.

On the contrary, their magnanimous behavior made Canghai Chemical owe the county an enormous favor, a favor that was worth far more than a dilapidated factory.

Canghai Chemical naturally couldn't just take Yanxiu County's assets for free. After a rough assessment, Canghai Chemical paid Yanxiu County 800 million yuan to buy the factory and mine, and then announced that it would merge the factory and mine into a new subsidiary named Canghai Fluorochemical Company.

Next, Canghai Chemical invested nearly 10 million yuan to upgrade all the equipment in its plant and mine. The annual production capacity of the fluorite mine increased from 30,000 tons of concentrate to 90,000 tons, while the refrigerant plant gained the capacity to produce 3000 tons of hydrofluoric acid and 5000 tons of F22 annually.

Gao Fan dared to accept Xu Ying's arrangement because he had some advantages, the most important of which was his understanding of cutting-edge fluorochemical technology.

One of the main reasons for the lack of competitiveness of China's fluorochemical industry is its backward technology. Let's let it change this situation.

Gao Fan recruited a group of engineers from the newly established Canghai Research Institute to personally guide them in upgrading and modifying the hydrofluoric acid and F22 units at the original refrigerant plant. Although the engineers knew Gao Fan was their superior, they were dismissive of his technical abilities. The reason was simple: Gao Fan was too young. The youngest engineer was at least ten years older than him; who would believe he could offer any brilliant optimization suggestions?
But the results of the exchange surprised the engineers. Gao Fan spoke fluently about the process, knew exactly what problems might occur at each stage, and was able to come up with unexpected yet ingenious design ideas.

Engineers selected by the Canghai Research Institute are all highly skilled, possessing both strong theoretical foundations and rich practical experience. Gao Fan only needs to give a brief explanation, and everyone can understand his thinking and quickly grasp its intricacies.

After several discussions, all the engineers were convinced and began to believe the legends about Gao Fan in the research institute, which gave them more confidence in their future at the institute.

The process design was completed quickly, and Gao Fan contacted Maolin Chemical Machinery Factory for assistance with equipment modification. The new design made full use of the original equipment, achieving optimal utilization of resources.

The test run results astonished the engineers once again. They discovered that the modified equipment had increased production efficiency by more than 30% and reduced raw material consumption by more than 30%. This performance level not only surpassed the best domestic equipment of its kind, but also exceeded the capabilities of no foreign company.

The technology of this device is at least equivalent to the international level of the late 90s.

This was a judgment made collectively by the engineers.

Gao Fan simply smiled at this assessment without raising any objections. He knew in his heart that the engineers' judgment was somewhat conservative; in terms of the technology of that F-22 synthesis device, no one in the world had surpassed it until he transmigrated.

Another reason for this is that F22, as a chlorinated fluorocarbon product, was gradually marginalized after 2000, and its production technology naturally stagnated.

After the equipment upgrade was completed, Gao Fan instructed the group to issue invitations to fluorocarbon product manufacturers across the country to come and witness the event, and offered to reimburse their round-trip travel expenses and provide free food and lodging.

During the planned economy era, it was common for companies within the same industry to visit each other. If a company developed a new technology, the relevant department would organize a site meeting, inviting other companies in the industry to come and learn from it.

Of course, while many people claim to be there for learning, they actually go with the mindset of tourism. After all, food and accommodation are included, so why not go?

In recent years, the government first talked about developing a commodity economy, and later about developing a market economy, emphasizing the separation of government and enterprises, and industry regulatory departments have gradually faded out. Without industry regulators, it is very difficult to organize such visits and learning between enterprises.

In addition, some businesses are facing difficulties and cannot afford to travel to other places for visits, so such activities are becoming increasingly rare.

Now suddenly a company called Cangfu has appeared, claiming to provide food, lodging, and travel expenses, just to get everyone to come and support them. Why wouldn't you go?

(End of this chapter)