The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 25 [Hundred Times Speed]

late April.

Lin Zhichao came to Cheung Kong and inspected the progress of zipper production.

I saw that Bao Chunlai showed Lin Zhichao the production process of zippers. The rice punching machine made "zipper grains" one by one, and then bent them with a bench vise, and then arranged them one by one on the textile cloth with tweezers, and beat them with a hammer to fix them. , this is just 'row rice'; and the 'pull head' is almost hand-knocked and then installed.

The seemingly simple manual production is actually 'ultra-high-tech'. Just a row of rice will test the eyesight and hand strength of the workers; otherwise, the position is wrong and the zippers cannot be combined, which is a substandard product.

Therefore, if it is handmade, it must be a skilled worker.

Even so, the handmade ones are much inferior in quality and very expensive compared to the ones produced by automatic rice arranging machines (automatic zipper machines).

Lin Zhichao knows that the small zipper has tens of thousands of patents in later generations.

Even now, Europe and the United States already have a lot of patents, such as hookless zippers, invisible zippers and so on.

"Manager Bao, how many zippers can a skilled worker produce in a day (the length of the crotch part of the trousers, about 5 zippers per meter)?"

Bao Chunlai said: "Skilled workers like me can produce 20 pieces a day, but we call 40 pieces a 'dozen', so skilled workers can produce 'half a dozen' a day. But skilled workers who can reach this speed , there are only a handful of them, coupled with the problem of the yield rate, so there are actually many deviations, and it is estimated that 1-10 items a day is more accurate."

In fact, these 10~15 items have other manual work in them, and 'rowing rice' is only one of them.

Lin Zhichao immediately calculated that a zipper on the outside cost about 2 Hong Kong dollars (wealthy people wear zipper clothes in this era, aluminum alloy is cheap, and copper zippers are more expensive), a dozen is about 80 Hong Kong dollars, and a skilled worker can create about 800 Hong Kong dollars a month. .

But excluding wages, materials, other labor, etc., the boss can only say that there is a slight profit. After all, the monthly salary of only one skilled worker is more than 100 Hong Kong dollars; not to mention the scrapping of defective products caused by poor quality, aluminum alloy and copper materials. Expensive and so on.

And he has also investigated through some channels recently that European and American industrial zippers have not really entered Asia.It is estimated that there are handmade zippers in Asia, and the zipper market is not very big yet.

Of course, the labor costs in Europe and the United States will also increase very high. Although it is produced by automatic zipper machines, it is only limited to the "rice row" process. In fact, many places still require labor, such as the textile fabric on both sides of a zipper, the slider of the zipper, etc. , these are still artificial.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhichao was already in a good mood.

Don't underestimate the zipper's weaving fabric. As the saying goes, "a little can make a lot", it is also a big deal; what is important is that Hong Kong is a paradise for textile and garments, with cheap prices and quality gradually catching up with Europe and the United States.

Secondly, the copper and aluminum alloys needed for the production of zippers can be imported, and later they can even produce aluminum alloys by themselves, and they can also enter the door and window industry.

Finally, there is the improvement of the 'automatic rice arranging machine'. As far as Lin Zhichao knows, the improved automatic rice arranging machine can reach 230 times that of manual labor; before the improvement, it is only 100 times.at the same time.At this time, the 'slider' is not an automatic production, and it is also possible to innovate and develop an 'automatic punching machine'.As long as you have money, you can hire mechanical engineers from Europe, America, or RB. It is not too high-tech, and Hong Kong is not without industries.

If zippers can be applied to clothes, bags, etc. in Asia, the market will grow several times.

After figuring this out, Lin Zhichao felt that this industry could be developed.

At the same time, in terms of competition with RB, both sides have their own advantages. RB wins because of its developed industrial chain, and Hong Kong wins because of its cheaper cost.

Lin Zhichao said to Bao Chunlai and Li Gaofu: "Okay, you continue to organize production and sell qualified products. The company is operating normally. At the same time, I will often spare time to participate in the production and sales of Changjiang Industrial."

"Okay, boss!" The two said quickly.

Then, Lin Zhichao said: "Manager Bao, I also hope that you can develop the aluminum alloy zipper. If you succeed, I will give you half a year's salary as a bonus."

Bao Chunlai quickly said: "Thank you boss, I will develop it as soon as possible, don't worry!"

In fact, it is not difficult, it is nothing more than a material problem, but Lin Zhichao needs to motivate Bao Chunlai.

Lin Zhichao said to Li Gaofu: "Manager Li, you are responsible for market promotion and material procurement. Especially in terms of material procurement, learn more about overseas markets and channels."

Li Gaofu naturally knew what it meant, and immediately said: "Okay, boss!"

Only Bao Chunlai has some doubts, as to how much material Cheung Kong can use, it can be purchased directly from Hong Kong.

In this way, Lin Zhichao's zipper industry started, and he also decided to spare time to start learning the entire zipper industry; he has vision and insight, and a well-developed brain, which is much easier than ordinary people to succeed.But the more this is the case, Lin Zhichao likes to delve into it, because he requires himself to be a leader in the industry.

He will fight for one or two months to familiarize himself with all the knowledge of the zipper industry and understand the overseas situation.Afterwards, he will inspect Europe and Germany, purchase an 'automatic zipper machine', and seek long-term cooperation with machinery factories.

The reason why you didn't go to the United States for inspection is because you think Germany is cheaper and can give Lin Zhichao a certain amount of attention.

As far as he knows, at present, only a few countries in the world, such as the United States, Germany, and Switzerland, can produce automatic zipper machines.

In the afternoon, Lin Zhichao returned to work at Changjiang Real Estate.

When the time is right, Lin Zhichao still intends to merge Cheung Kong Properties and Cheung Kong Real Estate, with "Cheung Kong Industrial Group" as the headquarters, with manufacturing and real estate under it.

It can be said that when choosing the name, Lin Zhichao was thinking of "borrowing the east wind, borrowing luck", and decided on the "Yangtze River" signboard without much hesitation.

To be honest, Lin Zhichao was really afraid of Li Chaoren's rise, so Hong Kong Plastic Flower must be his first one.Even at that time, Lin Zhichao's net worth was tens of millions or hundreds of millions, and he would not let the plastic flowers go.

In this way, even if Li Chaoren followed suit, at least he would not earn 100 million yuan a year, thus greatly reducing his strength in real estate.

Why does he have to prevent others from rising? It is because Lin Zhichao is worried that HSBC will appreciate Li Chaoren, and Hutchison Whampoa will have one more competitor at that time.

The management of Changjiang Properties was called and a meeting was held.

"How many documents have been submitted by the company or contractor interested in the construction of 'Lantian Yayuan'?" Lin Zhichao asked.

With a land of 4 square feet in Happy Valley, a total of 26 five-storey tenement buildings will be built. Lin Zhichao intends to subcontract to three contractors or construction companies, which will be commanded and dispatched by the engineering department of Changjiang Real Estate, and the construction materials will also be negotiated by Changjiang Real Estate. and purchasing.

The advantage of doing this is that Changjiang Properties has cultivated its own construction strength and plans to establish a construction company in the future.

Huang Changhong said: "A total of five companies and contractors submitted materials, expressing their willingness to cooperate sincerely and obey our arrangements." After speaking, he handed over the materials prepared in advance to Lin Zhichao.

Lin Zhichao glanced at it casually, and said, "If the conditions of Huang Shun Construction are not bad, they have a position. I'll take a look at these five materials first, and then finalize the three companies to cooperate with."

Huang Changhong nodded and said, "Okay."

Lin Zhichao also asked about the price negotiation of construction materials, and the plan of the engineering department, etc., almost down to the details.Even for construction materials, Lin Zhichao went to the market to find out the bottom line with several material suppliers, and then handed it over to the purchasing department of Changjiang Properties for detailed discussions.

Just because Lin Zhichao pays attention to details, he has a heavy workload every day. He works for more than 15 hours a day. After all, he still finds time to study.

This is something that can't be helped. At this time, there are not many talents under him, and coupled with the start of his career, it is natural to achieve this level.

"How is the financial arrangement? Is there any problem with the expenditure of the three projects?" Lin Zhichao asked again.

Finance Zhou Fuzhao immediately said: "No problem! This month, the second installment of No. 46-48, Shanlin Road has been fully collected. The construction cost of No. 126 Modu Street is sufficient, and the start-up cost of Lantian Yayuan is also sufficient."

The land of Ferry Street in Yau Ma Tei has also entered the stage of blueprint design, but the blueprints are relatively simple, and a set of the previous blueprints is enough.To be honest, Lin Zhichao's requirements for building materials are only moderate. In his opinion, these houses may have all been demolished after 20 years.

Lin Zhichao said with satisfaction: "Well, although life is tight, it is actually easy."

Zhou Fuzhao thought for a while, and said, "When will the boss plan to sell the four tenement buildings at No. 126 Modu Street?" In his opinion, if the four tenement buildings at No. 126 Modu Street are pre-sold, the capital of Changjiang Properties will be greatly reduced. Just sit back and relax.

Lin Zhichao did not answer this question, but asked Hu Zhaoxu: "There are other companies in the market now, have they sold off-plan houses?"

Hu Zhaoxu immediately said: "No! I think there may be three aspects: first, people's ideas have not changed, they just think that 'sale in strata' is more beneficial; The price is rising, so I don’t plan to sell it now, but maybe after a period of time, when the mainland’s rich come more, they will sell it at a high price; third, many real estate companies may not understand the operation methods here, and they are worried about screwing up. "

Lin Zhichao said with a smile: "Where it can go, we dare to sell it for 30 Hong Kong dollars per square foot."

Hu Zhaoxu said: "Maybe everyone is still thinking about selling at 35 Hong Kong dollars per square foot."

Lin Zhichao shook his head, this price is difficult, unless the design is in place, the marketing is in place, and the location is something.

In the end, Lin Zhichao said: "Then let's pre-sell the house on Modu Street in late August. The Lantian Yayuan in Happy Valley will start construction in September. Everyone, make plans and preparations."

"Yes, boss"

At this time, Changjiang Real Estate had a total of 21 employees, including his boss, who was already at his limit.

After all, he needs about 5000 for salary every month, and his annual operating expenses are [-] to [-].

It can be said that Cheung Kong Properties is one of the largest real estate companies in Hong Kong.

(End of this chapter)