Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 426 Fine Calcium Oxide

An investment of 5000 million is no joke. Yan Hui will not invest casually for some vague titles. As Zhou Ping said, if all else fails, the only option is to reduce production capacity.

However, Yan Hui was unwilling to give up. He was currently in the prime of his career, and he was very proactive, with a spirit of forging ahead, so he didn't want to be discouraged here.

“Since the leader proposed the figure of 5000 million, it must have been audited by a professional auditing department. It can’t be just a random number. In other words, the leadership is aware of what you’re saying.” Yan Hui said, then picked up the A4 paper in front of Zhou Ping and glanced at it.

Profit margins are squeezed too much; under normal circumstances, anyone could barely break even.

"Are you still going to do it? Why don't you just spend money to buy some quotas?" Zhou Ping said again.

“Buying quotas is easy, but we can’t touch this stuff,” Yan Hui shook his head slightly.

His status and position have changed now, so he can't keep thinking about taking shortcuts. "Buying a quota" has a lot of problems, and it definitely won't pass the tax authorities. It's just that the tax system isn't as strict these days, and many people don't care, but Yan Hui does.

"So what are your thoughts? Are you going to focus all your energy on Heng Hui?"

“This is it,” Yan Hui handed the A4 paper back to Zhou Ping, “How can the company make a profit with these accounts you’ve written?”

"Theoretically, with fixed production capacity, to make a profit, you need to increase the unit price. And to increase the unit price, you need to improve the quality. If you really have ideas, you need to find a way to understand the market price of high-end quicklime," Zhou Ping suggested. This is the difference between finance and accounting; their perspectives are different.

"What you said makes sense." Yan Hui nodded after listening, because thinking about problems from a financial perspective is that straightforward.

Since the formula for profit is multiplication, and one number is fixed, we can only try to change another number, such as the unit price.

"Well, but I don't know anything about quicklime. You'll have to talk to a professional." Zhou Ping stopped there.

“Okay, Heng Hui has a collaboration with Shandong University of Science and Technology. I’ll go talk to them.” Yan Hui had an idea.

"By the way, Mr. Yan, there's something I don't understand. Even if we limit production capacity at our new factory, we'll still expand our calcium oxide production capacity. Why is the county willing to do that? Is it just because we acquired this mine?" Zhou Ping asked.

"You may not know this, but calcium oxide has a rather special use. It is needed for general flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and wastewater treatment (pH adjustment and precipitation of heavy metals), so it is also an environmentally necessary product. In short, we don't have to worry about sales, but we are worried about production capacity. In addition, the mining equipment is too old and its emissions exceed the standards. We can reduce some emissions by taking it over."

"Now I understand," Zhou Ping nodded.

Over the years, those who have followed Yan Hui have become more and more mature, and each of them is a capable individual. They can provide professional advice and analyze risks and feasibility from the company's perspective, so Yan Hui is very willing to hold meetings and communicate with everyone.

Yan Hui is always decisive and efficient. He quickly called someone he knew to ask for help in contacting a professional professor, and tentatively scheduled a visit for tomorrow.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Ping, Yan Hui called Song Zhiyuan again and arranged to go together the next day. The following day, Yan Hui, along with Song Zhiyuan and some materials, drove directly into the campus of Shandong University of Science and Technology and arrived at the chemical engineering building.

The brand-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class was so eye-catching that many students turned to look at it, and some even took pictures with their phones.

The driver stayed in the car, while Yan Hui and Song Zhiyuan went into the office building together.

"Just listen to what Professor Wang says. Don't interrupt him if he makes a mistake. Just pretend you don't understand chemistry. He's a professor, after all," Yan Hui said.

"Yes, I understand." Song Zhiyuan nodded.

As they talked, the two went upstairs together and soon met Professor Wang, with whom they had worked before.

Since everyone was already quite familiar with each other, Yan Hui didn't waste any time and directly shared his thoughts.

"President Yan, our lab is also very interested in the topic you mentioned. We've been eager to collaborate with you on your polyurethane production, and two of my students have interned there in recent years. If you're going to work on fine calcium oxide, you absolutely must collaborate with us." Professor Wang attached great importance to this.

Companies lack talent, and talent lacks platforms; it's a very simple relationship.

Over the years, Yan Hui has been promoting donations, cooperation, visits and internships for Heng Hui Chemical. He has cooperative relationships with many institutions and universities, among which the best relationship is with the University of Science and Technology in Linzi.

With a new project to be built, he naturally wants to find ways to collaborate on technology.

Universities are definitely not just simple teaching institutions. Many university professors are independent directors of companies, and some are even shareholders. Many laymen keep clamoring for "increased treatment for intellectuals," but in reality, those with real knowledge are very wealthy.

"What's the difference between this fine calcium oxide and regular quicklime?" Yan Hui had heard a little about it, but only in very fragmented form.

"Generally, the quicklime we use in industry and engineering has a calcium oxide purity of about 90%, and better quality quicklime is about 95%. It definitely contains impurities such as magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, and ferric oxide. This kind of quicklime costs a few hundred yuan per ton, and more expensive ones cost over a thousand yuan. However, fine calcium oxide costs at least several thousand yuan per ton. If it reaches the analytical purity or chemical purity level, the price is calculated by the kilogram or even by the gram," Professor Wang explained.

“There are two problems here. First, the calcium carbonate content of this mine is about 94%, which is not a particularly high-grade mine. Second, our factory investment is about 2000 million yuan, so it is impossible to introduce particularly good equipment.” Yan Hui first told Professor Wang about the relevant situation.

"What are the main impurities in this mine?" Professor Wang asked, having no objection to the 2000 million investment. It wasn't a huge investment, but it was certainly substantial enough to get started.

"Huh? Impurities? Is that really that important?" Yan Hui asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Of course, 94% purity is quite high, but further purification is crucial, and identifying the impurities is key. We can collaborate with you on precise component analysis for the other components, such as magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, iron oxide, and aluminum oxide,” Professor Wang suggested. “We’ll provide you with an approximate purification cost later. Mr. Yan, let me be clear: if you really intend to invest 2000 million, you can’t keep it all to yourself.”

(End of this chapter)