In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 283 Accidentally, another order worth tens of millions of dollars was snatched from Mitsubishi?
"The price is too high, and customers will definitely hesitate when buying... 10 yuan is almost a month's wages for many factories that are struggling..."

Xie Wei breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the crowd's initial dissatisfaction gradually disappear.

He forced the other party to lower the price. Given Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao's attitude towards him, and the fact that the person in charge of the school-enterprise cooperation office had not yet taken office, Harbin No. 1 Machinery Group had no choice but to accept it even if it was unwilling.

In that case, the other party will definitely harbor resentment.

"Another major advantage is that when foreign investors establish joint venture factories, in order to reduce production costs, they will gradually outsource some non-core components while hiring our skilled workers. This will further accelerate the development of the entire industry..."

Xie Wei said with a smile, "When we expand our production capacity, we won't need to start training skilled workers and technicians from scratch."

Everyone was silent.

There are indeed many benefits, but the lost profits per unit are truly substantial.

Even if we only sell 100 machining centers a year, that's still 1000 million!
Changzheng Machinery Factory sold 40 units at once. Could it be that they only sell 100 units a year?

How many things can such a huge sum of money accomplish?
Leaving aside the investment in new technology research and development, even just building and allocating housing for cadres and employees could have resulted in so much more construction.

"Look at Comrade Xie Wei's awareness! Don't you feel ashamed?"

Seeing the pain on everyone's faces, Liu Debao knew what they were thinking and bluntly rebuked them: "Learn from Comrade Xie Wei. The profit is just a little less, not none at all!"

"..."

Xie Wei was speechless and wanted to tell Liu Debao to shut up: If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. Doesn't this backfire?

"Gentlemen, although it may seem like there are fewer profits and lower prices, it will bring more market opportunities... Only by getting international giants to invest and jointly cultivate the market can we develop even more slowly!"

Xie Wei has already made the reasoning clear.

It's simply a matter of choosing between immediate or long-term benefits.

"Xie Wei, how about this: we sell it for 46 now, and then lower the price further once the restrictions on imported equipment are lifted?"

"I am the director of Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant, Chen Jun, asked the question."

“Yes, we can launch it on the market at this price first, which will allow us to allocate more funds to improve manufacturing capabilities and scientific research.”

Du Hong also quickly changed his attitude.

"I think this is good too. Nowadays, only key national units can afford to buy CNC machine tools; they have funding from higher authorities..."

Even Du Guowang was unwilling to lower prices too much at the beginning.

The price of the machining center has little impact on the school's project team. The production of the CNC system has been transferred to Hongguang Machinery Factory, and the price of each CNC system already includes the CNC system R&D cost.

Hongguang Factory supplied Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant with a CNC system for a machining center and related parts for 140,000 yuan.

If the price is reduced by 10, whose price will be reduced?
"Gentlemen, the reason Changzheng Factory placed an order for 40 machining centers is to secure more export orders for military products from the university! It's not that our products are better than imported ones. Initially, Mitsubishi quoted $120 million for a machining center of this precision, and we had to proactively lower our price to bring it down..."

Seeing that no one supported lowering the price, Zhang Mingqiu spoke up.

Everyone was silent.

They knew perfectly well that no one wanted to let the benefits they had in their hands slip away.

“Our Seventh Ministry of Machine Building has eight research institutes, each with numerous factories… If we follow the order quantity from the Changzheng Factory, we will have at least 320 units in orders…”

Liu Debao's words made everyone's faces contort with even more pain.

A profit of 3200 million!
Du Guowang was stunned when he heard this: the school was under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, while Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant was under the jurisdiction of the First Ministry of Machinery Industry! It was understandable that Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant was trying to make higher profits, but it was somewhat inappropriate for him, as a staff member of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, to help the First Ministry of Machinery Industry in this regard.

Xie Wei glanced at Liu Debao speechlessly.

What triggered this old man today?
They had to say these inappropriate things at inappropriate times.

"I agree with Xie Wei's opinion: to drive down the price of imports while securing more orders."

Fortunately, Du Guowang, having figured things out, expressed his support for Xie Wei.

"Gentlemen, as a machine tool manufacturer, you are all aware of the processing quality and efficiency of the CNC machine tools that Harbin No. 1 Machine Tool Plant has internally modified. The country is poor, and money is needed everywhere! If we don't quickly open up the market with lower prices, the international community will not provide us with more advanced technology! The 4-axis machining center that has not yet been delivered is the most obvious example!"

Xie Wei was trying his best to persuade the people at Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant.

If Harbin No. 1 Machinery Group (HJM) doesn't budge on this point and insists on it, the cooperation will eventually run into problems. Of course, if Chen Jun and others from HJM cling to their immediate interests, Xie Wei wouldn't mind changing partners.

This is Northeast China!
China's heavy industry base!

Silence fell over the meeting room. Many people took out cigarettes, lit them, and began to ponder.

Xie Wei refused the cigarette Zhang Mingqiu offered and silently waited for the reply from the leaders of Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant.

"Xie Wei, I think we can accept your terms, but we have one request..."

After a long silence, Chen Jun exhaled a cloud of smoke and then spoke.

All eyes were on him.

The eyes of the people at Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant revealed surprise, dissatisfaction, and astonishment.

But no one stopped them, and no one knew what conditions Director Chen would propose.

"Director Chen, you said that as long as it doesn't violate principles or harm the school's interests, I think there shouldn't be any problem."

Xie Wei didn't know what conditions Chen Jun would propose.

"The school-enterprise cooperation office invested in CNC systems, and our factory spun off its CNC machine tool business to form a new CNC machine tool production plant."

Chen Jun said very seriously.

"This……"

Chen Jun's suggestion came as a complete surprise to Xie Wei.

He never expected the other party to make such a demand.

"Director Chen, we are a school, and our main focus is on scientific research and teaching..."

Seeing that Xie Wei did not answer directly, Liu Debao spoke up.

"It's the university-enterprise cooperation office that's collaborating with Harbin First Machinery Group, not Harbin Institute of Technology!"

Chen Jun emphasized, "If a new production plant is established, Harbin No. 1 Machinery will provide mechanical parts and workers to the CNC machine tool production plant, while the school-enterprise cooperation office will provide CNC systems and related parts... each holding a 50/50 share."

"Director Chen, can you tell me the reason?"

Chen Jun couldn't figure out Xie Wei.

This isn't a condition; it's practically giving the school a free ride.

"The profits of the new factory are closely related to the business. We are a machine tool manufacturer, unlike your company, which can directly license and transfer technology to obtain more revenue... Therefore, I think that for the benefit of the company, you will not provide CNC systems to machine tool manufacturers such as Shenyang No. 1 Machine Tool Plant and Qiqihar No. 1 Machine Tool Plant in the short term..."

Chen Jun made no attempt to conceal his purpose.

Xie Wei quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Chen Jun's proposal was not in the interest of Harbin Institute of Technology. Cooperating with all machine tool manufacturers would be in the interest of CNC system development units, thus gaining a larger market share.

"Sure, but the cooperation is only for three years! Once each state-of-the-art CNC system is developed, it will not be provided to other machine tool manufacturers within three years..."

After weighing the pros and cons, Xie Wei also put forward his own conditions.

Harbin No. 1 Machine Tool Plant's general machine tool manufacturing technology is among the best in the country, so this cooperation is not a loss. Being three years ahead of other companies will also establish a certain market advantage for Harbin No. 1 Machine Tool Plant.

Once the outside world knows that Harbin Institute of Technology and Harbin No. 1 Machine Tool Group have launched a three-axis machining center with decent precision, international machine tool suppliers will be more willing to supply machine tools that are slightly more advanced than those from Harbin No. 1 Machine Tool Group.

"That's no problem."

After thinking about it, Chen Jun did not object to Xie Wei's suggestion. Being three years ahead of domestic counterparts was already enough.

"A price reduction of 10 per unit? Factory Director Chen, Principal Zhang, what does this mean?"

Zhao Yan and Fan Zhiyong were both stunned.

Sellers usually want to sell their products at exorbitant prices. The other party is currently the only manufacturer in China that can provide three-axis machining centers. They can understand temporary price increases, but to directly reduce the price by 10 yuan per unit, what does that mean?
"Harbin Institute of Technology is affiliated with the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, and Changzheng Factory is a key backbone unit of the ministry... The ministry doesn't have much money... The price reduction was Xie Wei's idea; he hopes to do his best to support the upgrading of manufacturing capabilities of other units within the ministry..."

Liu Debao never missed an opportunity to give Xie Wei credit.

"Yes, it was Xie Wei's idea. The ministry had previously supported the school in developing CNC systems and placed many orders. Now that the school has achieved a technological breakthrough, they've lowered the price as a way of giving back to the ministry..."

Zhang Mingqiu nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan and Fan Zhiyong exchanged a glance, both seeing shame in each other's eyes!
They want to take all the orders for long-range rocket artillery in order to maximize their profits.

So the two of them decided not to bring up the matter of requesting the other party to increase the rocket production order after signing the contract.

"Principal Zhang, please urge Principal Li to have the head of the school-enterprise cooperation office come and take up his post as soon as possible."

The school-enterprise cooperation office remains disorganized.

When things are calm, it's not a big deal, but now he's negotiating cooperation with Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant and factories in Jiangbei and Jiangshan. There's no one in charge of everything, and there's no prior contact with factories in Jiangbei and other places, so Xie Wei has to focus his energy on these things.

My plans to go home for the National Day holiday have all fallen through.

"Please bear with me for a moment, they'll be here soon."

Zhang Mingqiu replied.

Liu Debao was not even able to be seen.

After finalizing the cooperation agreement with Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant and the school, Zhao Yan and his team first visited the ministry on their way back.

"Xie Wei is a good young man!"

Minister Zheng sighed upon learning that Xie Wei had asked Harbin First Machinery Group to reduce the price of the machining center from 46 to 36.

"Sir, a talent like Xie Wei shouldn't stay at Harbin Institute of Technology. Why don't you give him a referral and let him come to our factory..."

"Do you find the job at the Long March Factory more attractive than the job in the ministry?"

Minister Zheng glared at Zhao Yan.

He wanted to transfer Xie Wei to work in the ministry. It had only been four years since the college entrance examination was reinstated, and the first batch of students who took the exam had not yet graduated. There had been a ten-year gap in talent cultivation, and all units were short of people.

Unfortunately, the ministry couldn't transfer Xie Wei even if it wanted to.

After Zhao Yan left in disappointment, Minister Zheng approached Vice Minister Hu, who was in charge of importing CNC machine tools, to inquire about the cooperation negotiations with Mitsubishi.

"Don't even mention it... Mitsubishi always uses various excuses to delay delivery and adds all sorts of additional conditions to raise the price..."

Vice Minister Hu rubbed his throbbing head.

"How much funding does the ministry have left for the introduction of CNC equipment and technology?"

Even with the CNC system provided by Harbin Institute of Technology, the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry has been gradually introducing these machines to improve its manufacturing capabilities after companies such as Mitsubishi opened up some CNC machine tools, such as CNC lathes, CNC milling machines, and wire cutting machines, which have lower precision and a narrower processing range.

"The $2000 million we negotiated with Mitsubishi for a four-axis machining center was useless, and the $5200 million we originally planned to acquire for a three-axis machining center also remained untouched..."

Vice Minister Hu looked at Minister Zheng with a puzzled expression.

"An order for 100 three-axis machining centers from Harbin No. 1 Machinery Plant..."

"this?"

"Changzheng Machinery Factory traded the processing fees for rocket launchers and rocket shells from Harbin Institute of Technology for 40 three-axis machining centers, each costing 36 yuan..."

"A machining center? 36?"

Vice Minister Hu was so shocked that his hand holding the teacup trembled.

I thought I heard it wrong.

After hearing Minister Zheng's explanation, they exclaimed, "100 units are too few! Let's use all the money we were prepared to import to order from them!"

He really didn't want to continue negotiating with the foreign machine tool company.

Now that we've made a breakthrough domestically and can supply the market, what else is there to discuss?
"Once we have it domestically, the price of imports will come down... It's too difficult for Harbin Institute of Technology alone to catch up with the most advanced CNC machine tool technology in the world..."

Minister Zheng shook his head.

The Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry needs high-precision machining centers with four-axis and five-axis capabilities.

The problem isn't that China can't design rockets, missiles, and related technologies, but rather that the basic supporting infrastructure is insufficient to enable their production.

In the aerospace and aviation industry, most structural components are irregularly shaped parts with high precision requirements. Without high-precision four-axis or five-axis machining centers for one-time forming, they can only be produced manually by experienced technicians.

Even with highly experienced technicians, production efficiency is low and scrap rates are extremely high when the testing equipment is not accurate enough.

By introducing more advanced technologies, the domestic research and development time can be significantly shortened.

"Then I'll go to Harbin Institute of Technology?"

Vice Minister Hu felt that he should make a trip to Harbin Institute of Technology.

"It's time to go. By the way, before you go, ask Comrade Li Rui what exactly Xie Wei's arrangements are. Also, what exactly is the school's industry-university cooperation office planning to do? He's no longer part of our Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry..."

Minister Zheng sighed.

Li Rui has been transferred to the military logistics system.

However, since the situation at Harbin Institute of Technology was based on the policy he had previously requested from Minister Song, and the development of Harbin Institute of Technology after obtaining the policy exceeded the expectations of all the leaders of the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, they did not interfere.

Minister Zheng could already foresee that, in the future, the CNC machine tools, program-controlled switches, and even chips produced by the Harbin Institute of Technology's industry-university cooperation office might be besieged by imported products.

The ministry can only provide limited financial support, but there is no problem with policy support.

I wonder if Harbin Institute of Technology can survive on the funding from selling weapons.

"Why not? Iraq has placed another $5 million order. Besides, there might be new weapons to sell..."

Principal Li remained unconcerned about Minister Zheng's concerns.

"Even if all the industries run by the university and enterprises are shut down and cease to exist, at least the technological level and manufacturing capabilities of these industries in China will be improved! No matter how you look at it, we won't lose out!"

What new weapon has Harbin Institute of Technology developed?

Minister Zheng looked puzzled.

The military sent military representatives to guard the area, just to prevent Harbin Institute of Technology from recklessly selling off its advanced weaponry and equipment.

"It's not finished yet, and we don't even know if it will work. Leader, our Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry's manufacturing capacity has been greatly improved this time. Giving us only 100 machining centers is not enough!"

(End of this chapter)