The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Chapter 328 The driving role of the industrial chain
"Director, I think this is a very good opportunity. As long as we win the order for this production line from the BMW automobile stamping workshop, then the stamping production lines of other domestic automobile factories will basically be in our pockets in the future."

As the chief engineer of Ji'er Machine Tool Plant, Zhang Sheng has always been very active in developing new technologies.

As the machine tool manufacturer that produced China's first large-scale gantry planer and the first large-scale closed mechanical press, Ji'er Machine Tool is the most professional factory producing presses among the "Eighteen Arhat Factories" in China's machine tool industry.

In 1961, they built China's first large-scale press workshop, covering an area of ​​15800 square meters. It has many imported equipment from countries such as Japan, the Czech Republic, and Japan, and is known as "China's No. Workshop."

As the enterprise developed, a heavy press production workshop was built in 1977. It surpassed the previous workshop in terms of height, span and lifting capacity, becoming the largest press production workshop in Asia at that time.

So although they had never produced the 1600-ton press used for stamping automobile cover parts before, Zhang Sheng was confident that he could develop it.

In his opinion, Ji'er Machine Tool Plant has the capacity to produce 1600-ton presses, and now it just lacks a customer.

"The first press on BMW's production line this time is 1600 tons, the second is 1200 tons, and the next two are 800 tons."

"These four presses form a stamping production line with a total stamping tonnage of 4400 tons, which is definitely the largest automobile stamping production line in China."

"For example, we have produced 800-ton presses for Second Automobile Works before. Even if BMW's requirements are higher this time, we should be able to meet them."

“But we have not yet produced 1200-ton and 1600-ton presses for automobile factories.”

Qi Chao naturally also hopes to obtain more orders of larger amounts.

In recent years, with the rapid economic development, Ji Er has no shortage of orders as a whole, and various machine tools and equipment can even be said to be in short supply.

However, these products are all products developed in the past, and those with the largest sales are various machine tools whose technology is not advanced.

Large orders like the one from BMW worth over 1000 million are still very rare.

He also wanted to take it, but he was a little unsure.

"Although we have never provided these two types of presses to domestic automobile factories, it is not because we have no way to produce them, but because no automobile factory has had such demand before."

"We have also provided 1200-ton stamping presses to other industries. With some targeted improvements, they can be used in BMW's automotive projects."

"As for the 1600-ton punching machine, I think it is not impossible to make it as long as we make some technical improvements on the basis of the 1200-ton punching machine."

"The other party did not directly ask us to provide super-large presses of more than 2000 tons."

The more Zhang Sheng thought about it, the more he felt that this opportunity could not be missed.

As a foreign-funded enterprise, BMW is now willing to purchase stamping equipment from China. This is an opportunity for Ji Er.

If Ji Er can't get this order, Zhang Sheng feels that other domestic machine tool manufacturers are unlikely to be able to do it either.

In the end, BMW had no choice but to purchase this production line from abroad.

After BMW set this precedent, other automobile manufacturers will certainly give priority to importing similar production equipment from abroad in the future.

If Ji'er Machine Tool Factory wants to make breakthroughs in automobile stamping machine tools in the future, the opportunities will be much smaller.

"If there is enough time, I believe you can lead the team to develop this kind of machine tool."

"But this time, they want us to install the equipment within the first half of next year. So you only have about half a year to develop the equipment. Otherwise, it won't be enough time to install the equipment."

Qi Chao once again emphasized the difficulty of this order.

Although he coveted such high-value orders, if he accepted the order and failed to complete it, it would be very damaging to his brand.

The workload at Ji'er Machine Tool Plant is quite high right now, so there is no need to take too much risk.

"Director, don't worry. We have done some research on the technology upgrade plan before, but we have never had the opportunity to put it into practice."

"This opportunity with BMW is so valuable. I will follow up and implement it myself."

"BMW hopes to complete the installation and commissioning of the equipment by June next year, so I will work towards this goal and will not embarrass anyone."

Zhang Sheng is just 40 years old this year and has great ambitions for the future. He hopes to make a difference in the field of stamping equipment.

So at this time, he is willing to take some risks.

Feeling Qi Chao's persistence, Zhang Sheng was silent for a moment, and finally expressed his willingness to give it a try.

"Then I will go to Shenzhen with you to discuss the details of the project with the other party and see if we can work with BMW's technical team to build this stamping line."

If we can really take over this stamping line for BMW, it will definitely be a political achievement for the Ji'er Machine Tool Factory.

At that time, you can even apply for awards from the Ministry of First Machine Building.

So when Qi Chao and Zhang Sheng determined the direction of their efforts, the Ji'er Machine Tool Factory immediately took action.

……

"Director, tomorrow Director Qi Chao and Chief Engineer Zhang Sheng from Ji'er Machine Tool Plant will come to formally communicate with us and report on the new generation of high-speed production lines in the stamping workshop."

"Our purchasing department also investigated the situation of various domestic machine tool factories. Basically, Ji'er Machine Tool Factory is the one with the most sophisticated technology."

"If they can't do it, then no domestic manufacturer will be able to do it in a short period of time."

Although there seem to be many manufacturers capable of producing stamping equipment in later generations, there are actually not many choices for large-tonnage presses used in the stamping workshops of automobile OEMs.

The mainstream domestic one is Ji'er Machine Tool Factory, and there are also several mainstream choices internationally, such as Schuler Press, Komatsu Press, and Aida Press.

So there are actually some technical barriers involved.

This is also why Wang Feng dared to judge that except for the Ji'er Machine Tool Factory, other domestic factories are currently unable to produce it.

"Ji'er Machine Tool Factory?"

This machine tool factory is not very well-known now, but Jiang Hui must know it.

In later generations, most of the stamping equipment in the stamping workshops of domestic automobile manufacturers was provided by Ji'er Machine Tool Factory.

Even joint venture car companies are no exception.

The production line used in the automobile stamping workshop of Ji'nan No. 2 Machine Tool Plant is one of the few domestic equipments that can seize the international market.

"Yes, they are also a factory under the First Ministry of Machine Building. I asked the ministry and found out that their technical strength should be the strongest in the industry."

Wang Feng was afraid that Jiang Hui didn't know much about Ji'er Machine Tool Factory, so he specifically added the information he had confirmed.

"Since Ji'er Machine Tool Factory is confident that it can win this order, we will trust them for a while."

"Otherwise, if we have to import stamping production lines from abroad, it will not only consume a lot of foreign exchange, but also increase the cost a lot."

BMW has plans to enter the equipment field in the future, but there are too many types of equipment involved in the automotive industry chain. It is impossible for BMW to do everything by itself, which is simply unrealistic.

For example, if you want to produce a large stamping machine yourself, it is not something that can be done by just a few people.

The various large forging parts in large presses alone require special large forging presses to produce. In other words, to produce large stamping machines, you also need to have various matching large forging presses and milling machines and other machine tools.

The technical accumulation here cannot be completed in a few months.

Therefore, it would be best if we could find several domestic manufacturers to cooperate in development, so that we can work together to make the equipment industry bigger and stronger.

As long as domestic equipment manufacturers can make the equipment, BMW will not need to make it itself.

……

"Director Jiang, I've heard of your great name for a long time. Last time when I reported to Leader Zhou, he specifically mentioned the reform measures you have taken at the Chaoyang Motorcycle Factory and praised you highly."

Qi Chao is definitely not as good as Zhang Sheng in terms of technology, but he is very good at dealing with people.

He must have some skills to be able to gain a foothold as the director of Ji'er Machine Tool Factory, one of the 18 Arhat factories in the domestic machine tool industry.

In this era, workers have a very high status. If a factory manager has poor abilities, he will not be able to control the factory simply by relying on connections.

It’s not like the situation will be completely different in a dozen years.

"Jinan No. 2 Machine Tool Factory has been actively developing new products in recent years and has stood out among a number of domestic machine tool factories. I have always wanted to find an opportunity to learn from them."

"It is a blessing that Director Qi can bring technical experts here to exchange ideas today."

Jiang Hui exchanged pleasantries with Qi Chao and the others for about ten minutes before officially getting down to business.

"Our Ji'er Machine Tool Factory is the most professional large-scale stamping equipment manufacturer in China. Currently, many domestic automobile manufacturers have purchased our stamping equipment."

"The stamping equipment that BMW plans to use in its new factory has no domestic manufacturer yet, but we are confident that we can develop equipment that meets the requirements."

As the chief engineer, Zhang Sheng first made a commitment on behalf of Ji'er Machine Tool Plant.

In this day and age, people actually take this kind of verbal promise very seriously.

Unlike in later generations, as long as it is not written in black and white in the contract, it will not be recognized later.

"For the current 1600-ton press equipment, what parts currently require the biggest adjustments compared to the 1200-ton presses your factory currently produces?"

Promises are promises, but Jiang Hui is a technical savvy person and he hopes to judge how credible the other party's promises are from specific communication.

He hopes to drive the development of the entire automotive industry chain, but the progress of some BMW projects cannot be affected.

We cannot use domestic equipment simply for the sake of using it, otherwise this road will not go far.

"From the perspective of the parts involved, there are many changes, among which the crankshaft and the motor are probably the parts with the biggest changes."

"For the crankshaft, the main problem is that the size of the parts needs to be increased. We have already accumulated some technical experience in this area, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

"As for motors, we purchased them from external supporting manufacturers. We need to communicate with them further before we can make a more complete judgment."

Zhang Sheng knew that frank communication was the most important way to win this project and ensure its smooth implementation.

So he didn't hide it on purpose.

"BMW Technology acquired a domestic motor manufacturer last year and established BMW Motor Co., Ltd. next to BMW Automobile."

"We are currently conducting various research on motors used in automobiles. Motors used in machine tools are also a research focus for BMW motors."

"Ji'er Machine Tool Factory can also consider cooperating with BMW Motors to complete the motors used in large stamping machine tools."

Jiang Hui was thinking about how to get more deeply involved in the supporting services of Ji'er Machine Tool Factory, but he didn't expect Zhang Sheng to mention motors right away.

This area of ​​business is the focus of BMW Motor's development.

In the future, if BMW Technology sets up an independent equipment manufacturer, it will certainly need to use parts such as motors.

There is certainly no harm in cooperating with the largest domestic stamping equipment manufacturer in advance.

“It would be best if BMW Motors could be developed together.”

Without waiting for Zhang Sheng to say anything, Qi Chao beside him immediately made the decision and agreed.

In Qi Chao's opinion, the biggest worry now is that there is no way to complete product development within the time stipulated by BMW.

If the BMW motor can be included in the project, Qi Chao will not need to worry too much about the schedule impact of the motor, a core component.

After all, if BMW Motor is unable to complete the motors used in the 1600-ton stamping press on time, then the main responsibility does not lie with the Ji'er Machine Tool Plant.

Jiang Hui could probably understand Qi Chao's idea, but since this was a win-win situation, he naturally had no objection.

Next, the two sides continued to exchange views on the general direction and soon formally signed a cooperation agreement.

……

"Director, the most important equipment in the stamping workshop is the stamping machine. Now that the cooperation with Ji'er Machine Tool Factory has been finalized, the remaining key equipment is the welding robot in the welding workshop."

"According to your instructions, our welding workshop needs to increase the proportion of robot welding processes. The entire welding workshop needs at least dozens of welding robots."

"This type of equipment is relatively rare in the industry, and only international auto giants use it on a small scale."

"We have not found a qualified supporting factory in the country yet."

Wang Feng felt that since there was a problem, it should be exposed early so that there would be enough time to find a solution.

Otherwise, if he reported it at the last minute, he would definitely be criticized.

"The welding robot will be researched by BMW Motors. As long as they can make a breakthrough in motor technology, the welding robot project will be easy to progress."

"At this stage, our welding accuracy requirements are not particularly high, and the welds that we choose to weld with welding robots are not the kind of welds that are difficult to grasp at angles."

“I think the BMW motor can be handled.”

In the future, automobile manufacturers will have hundreds of welding robots in one welding workshop. Eighty percent of welds will be completed by welding robots, and manual labor will only assist in completing some welds that are not so easy to weld.

This way of production efficiency and quality are naturally higher.

But this era is different.

Most of the soldering is done by hand.

In fact, from a cost perspective, manual welding is cheaper.

At least that's the case at this stage.

However, considering future development and the need for subsequent publicity, Jiang Hui felt that the welding robot project should be started as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)