Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 443 Leader, I Want to Improve
Several cars were parked in the empty parking lot.

The car door opened, and a long, neat, tailor-made high-end suit trouser leg stepped out, as if even the length of the socks exposed had been precisely calculated.

With a crisp "smack".

Cheng Mo was silent for a moment, then lifted his foot and saw that he had stepped on a grasshopper.
His expression fell, and he turned around and went to the back of the car, where he began frantically stomping on the soles of his shoes.

On the other side of the car, Lu Tao got out and looked around, remarking, "Sure enough, semiconductor factories are too monotonous."

As far as the eye can see, there is only cement ground, not a single bit of greenery.

There wasn't even a blade of grass, let alone trees!
Cheng Mo pushed up his glasses and tidied his messy hair: "Semiconductors have extremely high requirements for cleanliness. The bare soil in green areas is affected by plant pollen, fallen leaves, and other biomass, so it is usually made of reinforced concrete."

He glanced again at the insect carcass at his feet: "But it's probably not long ago, and there's still some ecological integration."

Lu Tao sighed, "So this part should be called engineering design rather than architectural design. The building is so square and has no windows. My circular headquarters is still the best."

He was not involved in this part, and of course, he didn't have the energy to do so.

The other cars stopped, and everyone who was in Shanghai yesterday got out and looked around.

Using the central axis as a reference, it is clear that the main structures of several buildings on the left have been completed, while the right side is still under construction with dust barriers still in place. This is the hottest time of the year, and the construction workers should be taking their lunch break, but the occasional clanging of hammers can still be heard.

Zhai Da pointed to the left and right sides and said, "We have only completed about 40% of the construction so far. Once the entire project is completed, the first phase will include three large factory buildings, seven medium and small supporting facilities such as warehouses, canteens, and office spaces, and more than ten functional structures such as substations, water purification stations, and compressors. It will be quite complex."

"Peter Pan" Zhou Mo secretly clicked his tongue in amazement: "Is it really that complicated?"

Zhai Da laughed and said, "What do you think? The semiconductor industry is the pinnacle of industry. Among all known industrial categories, only a very few can compare with it. Nuclear energy is one, and aerospace is another. We are still far from perfecting it. This is just the first step. However, in the future, this place will not be used solely for silicon carbide. High-standard precision manufacturing will also incorporate it."

The initial idea of ​​"building a factory to produce semiconductors" was like a bright white moonlight, but when it actually came to fruition, it turned into a pile of broken silver, and every piece had to be picked up by hand.

Pay to pick it up.
They have long been able to manufacture "silicon carbide power devices" and "silicon carbide motors," but that was in the laboratory.

From "laboratory" to "factory", every step is fragmented, and every step is unavoidable.

Fortunately, the overall technical requirements of the factory and the "silicon-based semiconductor" demand highly overlap. The bulk factory is built according to industry standards and then fine-tuned based on the research institute's needs and the actual situation.

In the past few months, in addition to independently tackling various production equipment such as the "ultra-large cavity five-stage CVD", Zhai Da has also devoted a lot of energy to the planning and construction of the factory.

If possible, he would actually prefer to recruit a strong semiconductor "factory manager", even if he doesn't understand "silicon carbide", which would save him a lot of trouble.

The planning, debugging, standardization, and organization are all in place.

Unfortunately, such senior professionals in this special industry, who are both management and technical experts, are extremely rare worldwide, numbering no more than 50.

Moreover, everyone carries a very strict professional agreement, and even their job hopping can cause fluctuations in the semiconductor industry and the stock market.

These individuals are often being watched by companies like Samsung, TE Connectivity, Infineon, and Qualcomm several years before their contracts expire.

He had tried some, but couldn't figure it out.

Money is one thing, but the things behind it are far too complicated.

Fortunately, the research institute's strength lies in learning!

The silicon carbide project was developed and perfected by them from scratch. The technical standards, process parameters, and main equipment were all independently developed. It was even very different from the silicon carbide process that Zhai Da knew in later generations.

The path that suits you best is the right path.

My favorite thing, Zhai Da, is learning by doing!

Seeing everyone's astonishment at the rapidly constructed factory area, Zhai Da and Xiao Mutou exchanged a smile. They spent half their time living in Dongyang and could see the changes here from their balconies across the river every day.

Look at those tall buildings rising from the ground, look at those bricks and tiles, all are the foundation.

Zhai Da clapped his hands, then waved an imaginary flag and said loudly, "Then everyone, follow me inside and don't get lost. It's huge and there are no security cameras yet, so there's a possibility you might starve to death inside."

Today, I brought the research team to familiarize themselves with the area. They will stay in Dongyang for a while, but will return at the end of June to complete all their credits and fulfill the "six-month agreement." After that, they will devote themselves fully to their work.

Leading the group towards the factory, the closer they got, the more enormous it seemed. Zhou Mo looked up and asked, "Chairman, what is the building area?"

Zhai Da: "250 meters × 130 meters".

Doesn't sound that impressive, does it?
To put it another way: the single-story area is more than 30,000 square meters, there are only three floors but the floor height reaches 8 meters, and the total building area is 100,000 square meters.

There are two more of these under construction.

Upon entering the factory, the initial zoning has been completed, dividing the area into clean areas, ultra-clean areas, drying areas, or multiple standards coexisting, based on process and technical requirements.

The personnel flow, logistics flow, and safety flow are beginning to take shape.

The entire building has no windows. The semiconductor industry is most afraid of dust; to exaggerate a bit, every breath of air entering this building must be purified, and the humidity and temperature must be regulated. The eight-meter ceiling height is also to allow sufficient space for the suspended air system. This air system alone, plus the supporting structural components, costs over 5000 million yuan for a single building, a sum that pains Zhai Da greatly. This portion is not covered by the provincial construction management agency.

However, no matter how much equipment is self-reliant, it shouldn't be necessary to research this on our own.
He is ambitious, not sick.

Perhaps in a few years, when the research institute can do everything, it can do it on its own, but let's take the first step first.

Although no equipment has been installed in this factory building, which is the only one that is close to being completed, it is already quite well-organized.

Occasionally, you can see people wearing cleanroom suits cleaning behind the viewing window; this is deep cleaning to ensure the initial dust level is low enough.

This kind of work needs to be done in many rounds.

Cheng Mo, wearing a cleanroom suit, was slightly distracted because his hair was messed up: "President, how many people will we need to start production here?"

Zhai Da gestured with his fingers: "Just considering this factory building, depending on the production capacity, it is estimated that there will be 500-2000 people. Among them, production operators with a high school diploma or above will account for 70%, ordinary engineers with a bachelor's degree or above will account for 15%, and R&D and senior technical personnel with a master's degree or above will account for 5%. However, this part of the function will be handled by the research institute."

"Finally, there are support positions, such as canteen staff, cleaners, security guards, and clerical staff, which account for 10%."

Cheng Mo pondered, "It would take at least 500 people to get started, which is much larger than Hongtu's scale."

It's worth noting that even today, the Hongtu project team, which has already conquered territories globally and has more than enough resources to support the entire research institute, only has a little over 200 people.

The software service industry and the industrial industry are indeed very different. Of course, Hongtu's own open source business also makes its core programmer team very lean.

According to Cheng Mo, there are approximately one hundred recent graduates in Harbin preparing to work on the silicon carbide project, just waiting to graduate in June.
Harbin Institute of Technology's fresh graduates should be benchmarked against the top 15% of ordinary engineer positions, at least in the long term.

Zhai Da said confidently, "Don't worry, everything is going according to plan. I'll take you to the training building in a bit and you'll see. I called you here today because I have something to assign you."

As always, a new beginning in my career starts with teaching!
The group toured the empty factory from top to bottom, planning its future layout and future as they walked.

In the long run, the members of "π" will not be limited to this factory, but their participation will undoubtedly be needed for the most difficult initial pioneering battle.

This is equivalent to a new battlefield for some time to come.

It wasn't until an hour later that they reluctantly left, taking off their stuffy cleanroom suits.

Zhai Da pointed into the distance and said, "I'll take you to see the residential area; it's much more lively over there."

The group got back into the car and headed towards the factory gate.

The young security guard was very quick-witted this time, or perhaps he had been on edge ever since being beheaded.

Before the car even arrived, the sliding gate opened, and the person stood at the door, saluting with trepidation and apology.

Zhai Da simply smiled, not minding the slow opening of the gates upon entry. Security work is monotonous, and everyone has moments of distraction. After all, production hasn't started yet, so there's no need to be so strict.

Ge Qiaoqiao observed the man's face for a moment, then asked curiously, "President, are our security guards so young? They seem about the same age as us."

As Zhai Da turned the steering wheel, he said, "The support positions were mostly reserved for locals. I didn't originally think that security guards needed to be so young. But after the selection process, it turned out like this."

The main reason is that the research institute's compensation is simply too good to be true in Dongyang.
The probationary period salary is 2500, and the salary after becoming a regular employee is over 3000, plus social security contributions. Even for low-end positions such as cleaning and security guards, there are multiple ways to increase salary, such as "obtaining a skills certificate" or "mastering computer use".

Zhai Da did not intentionally raise salaries for people from his hometown.

He simply didn't intentionally reduce the salaries of people from his hometown.

The salary system and reward and punishment system also continue the style of "Research Institute" and "Yueda Catering", and have not been reduced just because it is in a small county town. This is already the lowest level among all positions.

This means that, without deliberate intervention, the selection process will proceed in this way. After all, when young people are willing to apply for this kind of job, they can indeed outperform middle-aged and elderly people. You can't deliberately choose the worse ones, can you?

Zhai Dahe discussed this matter with the county, and in the end, the county still felt that prioritizing the employment of young people was more beneficial, and the promotion system within the research institute was also more valuable to young people.
Perhaps gradually, these low-end workers can be transformed into mid-end workers?

Therefore, the cleaning staff in the factory are all young women in their early twenties with an education level of high school or below (because those with a high school education or above are competing for operator positions), but they are really young.
Whether this will cause any problems in the future is not yet clear. Most companies probably don't have similar experience regarding whether a female cleaner in her 20s or a female cleaner in her 50s is easier to use.

Let the dust settle for a while; there aren't many people like this right now.

After Zhai Da and his group left, the young security guard sat down and waited for a while. After confirming that they would not return, he took out a book from the drawer and continued to read.

Earning a certificate can result in a 10% salary increase!
Those "salary rules" written in black and white seemed like a dream to him. But after all, it was Zhai Da, the pride of Dongyang, so they must all be true.

A pie that's highly likely to be delivered.

Every ten seconds, I couldn't help but look up at the gate. My backside was locked inside the security room, but my young heart was trying to find a way forward.

Sometimes the motivation to set off doesn't necessarily come from within.

It could also be witnessing the imminent departure of a large ship.
The people waving from the ship were people they trusted.

(End of this chapter)