I am a master in India

Chapter 106 Engineering Prototype
Ron got in touch with Ratnam, the importer and exporter from Tamil Nadu. With Harry's help, the two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

Hearing that Ron was planning to open a factory, Ratnam flew from Lijiaopo to Mumbai, and he brought with him more than ten motor samples in his bag.

The astute Ratnam realized that if the deal was done, it would mean a long-term supply contract.

This was a scarce resource for him as an importer and exporter, and he knew the character of Indian businessmen too well.

Not only was the payment delayed every time, but the Indian businessman also had a tendency to change his mind. Even though the price had been agreed upon, once he placed the order with the factory, the Indian businessman would find all sorts of excuses to lower the price.

Many contracts are one-time transactions, and after the transaction is completed, the buyers often disappear. Some go bankrupt, some are arrested, and some change careers.

It’s not that there is something wrong with his goods, but that those buyers are not the final customers, they are all smugglers.

These people purchase goods from Ratnam, then ship them back to India through various channels, and then sell them to customers in the mainland who need them to make a profit from the difference.

They are all involved in smuggling collusion, and it is common for them to be caught or robbed by their fellow smugglers. There is nothing strange about it.

It is precisely because of this that direct orders from factory owners like Ron make contracts even more valuable.

Who wouldn't want a long-term, stable order? And with a customs official like Harry backing him up, Ratnam made the personal trip to Mumbai.

After consulting Ashish, Ron ordered three types of motors with different powers, totaling one thousand, at an average price of 80 rupees.

The price was very cheap, partly because water air conditioners didn't need the high-powered motors of desk fans; they just needed to blow out cool air. It was also because Ratnam was deliberately trying to curry favor with him; he wanted to secure the order.

Ron only placed an order of 8 rupees in the early stage as a test, so even if there was a loss later, it would not be a big deal.

Of course, if the water-cooled air conditioner receives good market feedback, there will be a steady stream of orders. That's what Ratnam is looking for. After mass production, he can further reduce costs.

The real big investment in the water-conditioning factory was not spare parts and materials, but the two injection molding machines still floating on the sea, which cost Ron more than $6.

Due to the impact of the tourism industry, Ron's foreign exchange reserves were already limited. To be honest, this $6 was a bit painful.

Fortunately, transactions with Ratnam only require payment in rupees, otherwise he would have to worry about US dollars in the future.

The electric motors shipped from Lijiaopo have been delivered to the factory today, and Ron needs to check Ashish's work.

Outside the factory gate, the Sharma Textile Factory sign has been removed and replaced with a Sur Electric sign.

The garbage on the open space has also been cleaned up, and after receiving the money, the gatekeeper Gulish did his job promptly.

What a joke! One thousand rupees! The people in the slums work their ass off for only five or six hundred rupees a month, but Gulish only gives them three hundred. The deadline is three days, and a bunch of people are rushing to do it.

There was still a constant clanging sound in the three-story office building. Ron guessed that Anand and his men were repairing the damaged doors, windows, desks and other things.

"Boss, the prototype is ready. Would you like to see it now?" Ashish came up from afar.

"Move the things to the office," Ron pointed upstairs, "let Anand and the others experience the effects first."

"I'll go prepare it." Ashish looked at the busy figure upstairs with envy. His neighbor was actually good at repairing things.

It's a pity that he didn't seize the opportunity to introduce people here, otherwise the neighbors could at least make some extra money. Any opportunity to make money is precious to people in the slums.

Ron didn't know what was going on in Ashish's mind. He went upstairs to find Anand with great interest. Recently, the guy had been busy in and out of the factory with his men.

There is nothing to do at the travel agency anyway, and I'm just sitting there doing nothing, so I might as well find something to do.

Mumbai was already a bit hot in February. When Ron found Anand, he was sweating profusely as he fastened the table legs with nails.

"I'll let you experience a treasure later." Ron boasted proudly.

"What?" Anand raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face.

"Don't move! You'll keep the sweat, and wiping it off won't have any effect."

"Hmm?" Anand stopped his hand in mid-air, hesitant.

As he was speaking, Ashish came into the room carrying a strange-looking metal box, and there was another person beside him carrying a bucket.

"Here, put it here." Ron pointed to the desk in front of Anand.

This metal box is covered with a layer of stainless steel sheet. Because it is not painted, it looks bright and eye-catching.

Just as Ron had said, the front air outlet was made into a grille shape, and there was a layer of gauze in the invisible part inside.

Ashish hooked his finger, and something like a drawer under the box was pulled open. This was the sink.

Then he opened the lid of the box and instructed his assistant to add water. As the water level in the sink rose, the gauze on the grille was quickly soaked.

This is done to let Ron and others see the working principle of the water-based air conditioner. After the product is completed, the upper cover will be fixed and users generally cannot open it.

After the preparations were completed, Ashish plugged in the power himself and turned on the switch on the top of the metal box. It has three gears, just like an ordinary table fan, and even has a timer function.

The sound of wind whistling came from the grille, and Anand couldn't help but shiver, and then a satisfying moan came out of his mouth.

"How is it?" Ron asked with a smile.

"Great! Just as great as the woman we went to see last time!"

Ron's face darkened. Damn, the memory of the dead was attacking him again. That fat woman, the olive oil on her hair
The other people in the room laughed obscenely, and Ron didn't bother to explain. He reached out his hand and felt it himself. It was very cool, even cooler than the wind from the table fan.

Ashish and the others also squeezed over to experience it, and when they felt the cool breeze, their faces showed a mixture of amazement and pride.

This magical thing is just like an air conditioner, but it was made by them.

"The effect is pretty good, but it's too crude." Ron was very picky. "The fan is too noisy and the shape is too ugly."

I don’t know if it’s because the fan blades removed from other places are not suitable, but when the motor starts, the internal fan makes a creaking sound.

Ron suspected that the metal box had formed a resonance chamber inside, which would amplify any noise that was not loud to begin with.

"I'll try a few other fan blades." Ashish offered advice.

"It seems that a plastic shell is better." Ron really disliked this layer of stainless steel.

"I think it's great," Anand disagrees. "Mumbai is noisy, but at least it's quieter than the honking of horns outside."

"No, you don't think so when you go to bed at night." Ron thought more.

He walked around the water air conditioner prototype a few more times, and finally touched the iron sheet on the side of the metal box.

"Making a grille here can not only reduce resonance, but also save costs and increase heat dissipation."

"Okay!" Ashish wrote down everything. Today was the first time he turned on the computer, so there were definitely many things that needed to be improved.

"Think about any improvements later and fix them all at once. Then make a few prototypes and I'll send them to a few friends for them to try out and evaluate."

This kind of thing cannot be left to Anand and others. The people in the slums have too low expectations, and there is not even electricity. What's the point of the experience?

Ron is targeting the middle class, who are the target customers for water air conditioners and at least have electricity at home.

"By the way, how much does this prototype cost?" Ron asked.

"Not counting labor, about 400 rupees."

"It's too expensive. We have to cut it in half!" Ron was not very satisfied.

With such high costs, what's the selling price to make a profit? A conservative estimate would be around 1,000 rupees.

Indians are so poor that one thousand rupees is equivalent to the monthly income of many people.

Although middle-class families have higher incomes, exceeding 3,000 rupees, most people would hesitate to spend a third of their income on new appliances they have never seen before.

"This is a prototype, purely handmade. Many parts are purchased off the shelf, so the cost is so high," Ashish explained weakly.

"The injection molding machine will arrive by the end of the month. You redesign the housing. We must reduce the cost to under 200 rupees."

"No problem!" Ashish never says "no" to his boss. He is a qualified cow and horse.

Ron nodded in satisfaction after receiving his assurance. In his previous life, he hated the Roll King. After becoming a capitalist, he hoped that all his subordinates would be Roll Kings.

Of course, the 200 rupees cost wasn't just a random guess. The motor, the core component, was only 80 rupees. What's the value of the plastic shell? The labor is even less!

A cost of Rs 200 is entirely possible; as long as the price is low enough, someone will buy it.

First open up the market with low prices, and then gradually enrich the product variety and divide it into different price levels.

Throughout history, the low-price strategy has always worked.

Besides, Ron has other advantages, such as taxes, which he doesn't have to worry about.

Mumbai is a corrupt city. If he pays the bribe, he not only doesn't have to pay taxes, but can even get subsidies.

Reality is so magical. The bigger the company, the more subsidies it gets.

Ron is already thinking about the subsequent marketing; the key is how to sell the products.

Maybe we could approach Kavya and try to get an ad in the Times of India. Or maybe we could ask Bollywood producer Chandra to introduce an advertising director and shoot two TV commercials.

In short, these are the only means of propaganda. Coincidentally, he has connections in all of them.

Finally, there is the issue of funds. I had 1100 million in savings, and I spent more than 700 million on buying the land, leaving about 350 million rupees.

Later, thanks to the golden tourist season in November last year, he recovered another 11 million rupees.

But that month, after the riots, tourism revenue plummeted, and the company has only saved 50 yuan in profit so far.

Including other miscellaneous income, including income from the foreign exchange black market, Bollywood extras, and as a middleman for gem merchants, his account balance totaled 450 million.

However, the recent renovation of the factory cost another 200 million yuan, and the remaining 250 million yuan would be used for advertising and developing sales channels.

Ron found that he was short of money again.

(End of this chapter)