Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 326 Patent Publication
Since the steel formwork company was sold and the plywood business was handed over to Wang Yongjun, Yan Hui has devoted all his energy to construction site work.

The factory that Yan Hui wants to build has a planned floor area of ​​5144 square meters. With the foundation pit and piles already in place, the total construction cost is estimated at 482 million yuan. This figure is the design budget, but the actual cost is uncertain.

As temperatures rose slightly and the city of Jinan thawed, construction at the site resumed in full swing, and Yan Hui stayed there every day.

"Jianlei, I'm completely entrusting the supervision to you. You must handle it well for me." Yan Hui was busy every day, but every time he came over, he would carefully check the progress and then chat with Liu Jianlei.

The weather was still very cold, and the snow hadn't melted in some places, but time was money, and Yan Hui couldn't wait any longer.

"Hmm." Liu Jianlei didn't say much more. He wasn't good at expressing himself.

Liu Jianlei never quite understood how Yan Hui became a boss, but in reality, he didn't care much about how Yan Hui became a boss. He just felt that working here was quite comfortable, no one bullied him anymore, and he didn't have to think about so many things.

As long as I do my job well and get paid, that's all that matters. And now I have Captain Li with me; I'm so lucky.

Yan Hui glanced briefly at the concrete pouring, then turned and left the construction site, driving to the patent department.

If we want to start targeting the market in the second half of this year, we must acquire the patents this year.

Currently, Yan Hui has applied for two patents.

A solvent-free high-strength polyurethane adhesive and its preparation method; a silane-modified polyurethane adhesive and its preparation method.

According to Chen Jian's vision, polyurethane has a very high potential, and further experimentation is needed to create more and more specialized products. The current products are only preliminary stages and will require continued improvement.

Yan Hui has not yet applied for a design patent; the patents he has applied for are data and preparation methods for common single-component polyurethane adhesives and sealants.

After a day of running around the Patent Office and the Safety Supervision Bureau, Yan Hui returned to the construction site in the afternoon. After glancing at the site, he went straight to the laboratory and found Chen Jian.

“Our patent application is going very smoothly. When I went there today, they told me it has been officially published. If all goes well, we can get authorization in October this year. If not, it will be at the end of the year or even next year,” Yan Hui said.

"I've asked everyone I could, we're fast enough," Chen Jian comforted him.

Yan Hui's polyurethane laboratory began construction in the second half of 2003. Dr. Luo arrived to assist in early 2004, then left and Song Zhiyuan arrived, finally achieving successful experiments at the end of 2004. After the successful experiments, Yan Hui arranged for Chen Jian and others to work on the patent. After about a year, the patent has now completed its examination and publication.

Before 2010, there was no fast track for "priority examination" of patent applications; applicants had to wait. Afterward, the examiner would conduct a substantive examination, a process Yan Hui was unfamiliar with and didn't want to deal with. His visit to the patent department today was merely to cultivate connections.

“Without patents, we can’t penetrate the market of large companies in the early stages. However, even without authorization, the patent examination process is now public, so I can still try my luck with some companies.” Yan Hui had already considered this. The companies that need polyurethane the most are currently car manufacturers and glass manufacturers.

The reason Yan Hui brought his cousin into this industry and even made him a shareholder of the company was because he valued his cousin's connections at the glass factory.

Those with good memories might recall that when Yan Hui was in Jianye, his cousin once brought a convoy of cars to visit him. His cousin had driven all the way from Fujian Province, and his destination was a glass factory in Luoyang.

My cousin already had a good business relationship with the glass factory. Before the project started last year, when my cousin came over, Yan Hui specifically talked about this. Using my cousin's channels there, we should be able to open up some polyurethane business in the early stages. We just need to take the products there, and as long as the laboratory there verifies that there are no problems, they will purchase some.

These orders should be enough to cover the period until the patent is granted. After all, the initial phase is mainly experimental, and stable production will not be possible until at least the end of the year, by which time the patent will be issued.

"Yes, having the patent published is enough. At least it proves we're not scammers. Of course, Mr. Yan, we have confidence in our products. I recently compared them with products from Henkel in Germany and Sika in Switzerland. To be honest, for the same model, there's really no difference between us and them. What makes them better than us is that they have a whole bunch of more advanced products, but those products are also extremely expensive." Chen Jian hasn't been idle lately either.

This laboratory wasn't completely idle after the experiment was successful; Chen Jian would still come here to verify his ideas whenever he had them.

Compared to the cost of equipment and experiments, the rental cost of laboratory facilities is indeed not very high.

"Once we make money, we will definitely continue to invest in the lab, and we also want better products." Yan Hui was very ambitious.

The production cost of polyurethane here at Yan Hui's place is about 60 yuan per liter, while the selling price of Henkel's products from Germany is about 180 yuan per liter!
Yan Hui certainly didn't expect to sell it for that price, but the profit margin was so large that even someone like him, who came from a timber background, resolutely jumped in!

"Yes, Mr. Yan, I've contacted several companies about the equipment. As you said, we'll get six sets of reactors initially, and the one in our lab will stay there to continue the experiments." Chen Jian showed Yan Hui his notebook. "The six sets of reactors and supporting equipment will cost about 240 million yuan, which is much cheaper than what we have in our lab."

Laboratory experiments require a lot of sophisticated equipment for measurement, while industrial production only requires production equipment such as reaction vessels and filling machines, and the cost of a single set is not so exaggerated.

"Fortunately, six sets should be enough for the initial stage. I've calculated that our factory can currently only accommodate a maximum of 12 sets, so let's focus on getting six sets into stable production first." Yan Hui took out the schedule and looked at it carefully. "According to the plan, if we can obtain patent authorization in October, then we need to complete the stable production of six sets of equipment before December."

“That’s no problem. As long as the funding and raw materials are in place, we’ll be fine. But, won’t we need to hire some people for the lab?” Chen Jian also felt a headache coming on.

Despite Chen Jian's successful experiment, he is still the head of technical production and will need to lead a team of at least several dozen people.

“That’s for sure, you don’t need to worry about that. If you have any suitable junior brothers or sisters, feel free to recruit them,” Yan Hui patted Chen Jian on the shoulder, “Don’t forget, you’re also a shareholder.”

(End of this chapter)