Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 436 Speaking with heavy breathing despite being so young
In an open space in Sunmazhuang, Li Kangda pointed ahead and gave a detailed introduction to the planning situation to the senior officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the provincial officials.

"Of the 150,000 mu of planned construction land in Sunmazhuang, only about 40,000 mu have been put into use and have buildings. However, after investigation and sorting, clearing out zombie enterprises and abandoned buildings, some land can still be freed up."

Zhai Da added from the side: "The silicon carbide plant is planned to cover an area of ​​about 5000 mu, and it will be built in four phases. The first phase is about 1000 mu, and supporting industries will be incorporated into it in the future."

Lu Qinjian caught the key phrase: "What does 'supporting industries' refer to?"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "The 'silicon carbide CVD equipment' that you saw last time has been completed."

Lu Bu's eyes lit up: "So fast? I didn't hear you mention it."

"It's making a fuss over such a small matter."

Lu Qinjian immediately followed up with, "How does it compare to existing equipment on the market, like that prototype? Is there a big difference?"

Zhai Da nodded solemnly: "The gap is huge."

Lu Qinjian paused for a moment, then patted the young genius on the shoulder: "It's alright, take your time. First, solve the problem of whether we have it, then we'll solve the problem of whether we're strong enough."

"No equipment on the market can surpass our 'ultra-large cavity five-stage CVD' in terms of overall performance."

Lu Qinjian:
He's so young, yet he's already breathing heavily.
After listening to Zhai Da's explanation, Lu Qinjian finally understood why there was a "big difference".

While it doesn't surpass existing equipment by much in terms of "performance indicators" such as uniformity, it completely outperforms them all in terms of "efficiency indicators".

The production capacity of a single piece of equipment has increased by 4-5 times, and the cost of self-sufficiency is only 60% of the original cost. In one round, it's almost an eight or nine-fold increase!

Zhai Da said, "I only finished dealing with it the day before I returned to Dongyang. I haven't even had time to finalize the technology and organize the patent materials. This thing can't be called 'mass production,' but it is an industry after all. There will be more and more domestically manufactured similar equipment. There will always be a place for it. These are all supporting industries."

Because of its specialized use and high precision, this equipment is somewhat similar to later lithography machines. Apart from its own use, even if it were to be sold globally, the buyers would only be a few companies and some universities.

Take TEL's terrible prototype, for example; it only sold eight or nine units a year. There are too few silicon carbide players at present.

Of course, the sheer dominance of numerical values ​​may also attract some new entrants.

Zhai Da estimates that the only domestic users who need this product, besides himself, are various universities. He will not sell it overseas for the time being, in order to ensure his leading position first.

However, this is only one part of the silicon carbide process, so Zhai Da did not regard it as a major breakthrough, but rather as a small step in the entire process of "equipment self-sufficiency".

Lu Qinjian nodded, but expressed reservations about not publicizing such good news.

"Xiao Zhai, you may think this breakthrough is nothing, but it is also an important part of my country's future silicon carbide industry. The continuous emergence of such good news can make the public and market participants pay more attention to this field, and can also establish the long-term impression that 'the advanced silicon carbide industry is in China'."

"Just like how people now think of Japan when they think of robots, this kind of continuous output of information is also part of industrial development."

"I'll help you get in touch with them later. Actually, Yangshi has a special working group that focuses on national technological breakthroughs. They even have specific targets. Don't worry, it's not like entertainment information is taking up public resources. What's with the subtlety?"

Zhai Da: "I'm not reserved, I just don't have time."

If we accept this explanation, then this aligns with his plans for this year.

Don't even bother leaving Yangshi. Just throw out a news story about him every month, and he'll have to make time for interviews every now and then.
"With so many people in the research institute, how can they not find someone to cover for a good job that requires exposure?"

"That's okay"

Regarding the factory construction, after discussions at the meeting, in order to respond to the national call for the emerging semiconductor industry and support the landing of major projects in the province, the previously discussed "factory construction on behalf of others" policy will be implemented ahead of schedule.

In other words, the bulk goods province will fund the construction of basic factory buildings (excluding production equipment) for the research institute in accordance with industry requirements. The research institute promises to put the plant into production within one year of completion, and will use it for free for the first three years. Starting from the fourth year, the institute will repay the investment in installments based on the depreciated construction cost.

Alternatively, it can be deducted from taxes, but this would raise the expected overall tax burden.

The research institute has always been clear about paying taxes. While a typical investor might hesitate, Zhai Da would obviously choose the option with the lower overall cost.

There isn't much to see on this vast land; it's just a matter of defining a location based on topography and space.

The group then headed towards the confluence of the Xinyi River and the Huaidong River. Sunmazhuang is surrounded by water on two sides, where the two freshwater rivers meet at a right angle before continuing eastward into the sea.

In this new place, Zhai Da gazed at the distant river and the new urban area further away:

"I plan to locate the new headquarters of the research institute here. The distance from the factory is just right. Initially, it will only occupy about 300 acres, but the long-term total plan may require more than 1500 acres, so the surrounding area has been included in the plan."

"I've shown you the design drawings. Let's start with the first ring road. Lu Tao, you can explain it to me."

Lu Tao was carrying a large roll of design plans, followed by a large group of people.

These people are from the Chinese Academy of Building Research, introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. They are the design team in the official sense of the research institute's headquarters. However, as the person in charge of the client, Lu Tao's opinions will have a macro-level control over the overall direction, while also incorporating the wisdom of experienced designers and large companies. In terms of growth, Lu Tao is actually no less than Cheng Mo. It's just that in the architectural profession, it takes several years to hone one's skills, and the results are not yet apparent.

Under expedited conditions, the "schematic design" has been completed, and the "construction design" is underway. As a large-scale building, it actually includes many sub-projects, such as energy-saving design, safety design, and water/electricity/equipment design.

All things considered, building the factory will be much faster than building the headquarters. Moreover, the factory buildings can be built one by one, and if all goes smoothly, it may be ready for use in three or four months.

However, due to the unique design requirements and construction difficulties, even if a national team were invited to build the headquarters building, it would be a pipe dream to complete it in six months.

It's not like building Huoshenshan Hospital. China's infrastructure is impressive enough, but Zhai Da isn't that impressive yet.

So there will be a buffer period in between, but these are minor issues.

The core of the research institute is people, and the core of people is trees; they can be moved as needed.

Lu Tao is also the only "π" member who is confirmed to be unable to graduate in six months. While others can focus on their credits for the time being, he is running around to both ends from the start.

However, for him, this is also part of fulfilling a dream.

Zhai Da and Lu Qinjian walked along the deserted path, putting some distance between themselves and the people behind them, so that those behind could not hear them talking.

"It is estimated that the total investment will reach 10-15 billion yuan within three years. If there is spare capacity during this period, I may add some supporting facilities. This place is spacious and easy to operate."

Examples include employee dormitories, commercial facilities, and bizarre sights that have led to national ruin.

Lu Qinjian nodded and asked, "Are you under any financial pressure?"

Zhai Da shook his head and said, "I definitely don't have the money to take more than a billion directly, but we can spend it one by one. In December, the monthly revenue of 'Hongtu OS' reached 25 million, and 30 million in January is no problem. The Samsung Galaxy has been very well received, and overseas users have a higher willingness to pay. We currently do not have the need for overseas investment, so all foreign exchange will be declared and converted into RMB."

Ten years ago, overseas users still had much higher spending power than domestic users, and Galaxy was positioned as a high-end phone.

Within a month of its release, Samsung sold over three million units globally, with annual sales projected to be ten times that amount. In terms of both sales channels and production capacity, Samsung is indeed unmatched by domestic mobile phone manufacturers at present.
The emergence of Hongtu will allow Samsung to reach the top sooner and Nokia to decline sooner. In addition, with the Apple 4 set to be released this April, the market has already changed dramatically.

If he were a Nokia executive, he'd be so anxious he'd pee his pants.

Zhai Da explained, "So there isn't much pressure on funding. When I said 'have spare capacity,' I meant energy."

For the first time in his two lifetimes, Zhai Da had reached such a high level of understanding regarding money, and he increasingly felt that comparing "money" to "water" was a wonderful analogy.

Rarely, it is an essential commodity for survival; one cannot die without it.

When you're wealthy, treat security like a reservoir, ensuring happiness for a lifetime.

However, if we go to a higher level, it reverts to the instrumental nature of a general equivalent.

The constant acquisition and consumption are in pursuit of a "water cycle".

History has shown countless times that a thriving, rapidly growing company cannot keep up with its spending and earning speed.

He might invest in building something new again in the second half of the year.

"Moreover, the China Development Bank also provides low-interest loans, with hundreds of millions of yuan available as soon as production starts, and there are also special funds for interest subsidies. Various high-tech subsidies, rebates, and tax exemptions will also be gradually implemented after the project is approved. As you said before, various national policies actually cover nearly 50% of the investment. If we still complain about being poor, I would be ungrateful."

Lu Qinjian said, "Even with the country's support, there needs to be a point of leverage. Xiao Zhai, your role and that of your research institute go far beyond the remaining 50%."

"In short, I understand the funding situation. However, among all the policy supports, there is one that involves equity structure, which is the 'National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund' mentioned earlier, which allows for a maximum additional investment of 20% of the total investment."

"This investment corresponds to the 'silicon carbide project' rather than the research institute itself, and will not affect the independence of the research institute. Since you are not short of money, it is up to you whether you want to or not."

In other words, no matter how much is invested in the silicon carbide project, the government can invest up to 20% more.

Equity investment.

Of course, this is basically only at the structural level. The "National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund" has neither sent anyone, nor has it provided any technology, nor does it participate in management. It is merely an agency responsible for allocating funds.

Zhai Da didn't hesitate for long: "Sure, 20% isn't high."

Lu Qinjian smiled, clearly in a better mood.

"Okay, I understand, don't worry."

(End of this chapter)