Chapter 829 Double harvest of talents and equipment
Xia Han, who has experience in bargain-hunting, once again acted as the commander-in-chief of this bargain-hunting operation. Not long ago, the Anshan Iron and Steel Plant under his name underwent a complete change.
As the earliest and largest steel company in the three northeastern provinces and even the country, Anshan Iron and Steel is also the only super-large company with an annual steel output of more than one million tons. Every move attracts everyone's attention.
The just-carried out share transformation also had a huge impact. During this transformation, Zhang Tinglan completely merged his private shares, original government shares, military shares, and some bank shares into a state-owned company.
The shares account for a total of 40% of the steel plant. Of the other 60%, Xia Han holds 20%, and the rest is held by various shareholders and companies.
After this reform, Anshan Iron and Steel's shares were completely clarified, and the problem of multi-party management was also solved. The government and the military have withdrawn from the management field. Businessmen are responsible for their own affairs, and the risks and benefits are also borne by the businessmen, and the government is also a shareholder.
, to look at business operations.
Xia Han also knew at this time that the burden on his shoulders was heavier and he had more things to be responsible for, but at the same time, his freedom was unprecedentedly enhanced and he could use his fists and kicks as he pleased. So before the reform was completely over, they
So he headed to the United States with a large purchasing group.
The steel industry is always an important indicator of a country's industrial strength and war potential, and it is also the focus of this procurement.
Xia Han and the others' first stop was Pittsburgh, which is the headquarters of the famous U.S. Steel Company. As an industrial city, the main theme of Pittsburgh is always the rumbling roar and the sky full of smoke and dust.
Every winter, heavy snow falls. If you grab a handful and melt it in your hand, it will be all black water. Thousands of workers work hard in this air, and they don’t know how much PM2.5 there will be...
It’s just that the winter that just passed was extremely cold. Even in the spring, the coldness has not dissipated, but has become more serious. The rumbling factory has stopped operating. The black smoke in the sky has also disappeared, and finally we can
Breathe a breath of fresh air.
But the people of Pittsburgh no longer had this idea. The factories stopped and they lost their jobs. Thousands of people lost their source of livelihood and lived on the streets. In the cold winter, countless homeless people died of cold and hunger.
They tried every means to keep warm, even stuffing newspapers inside their shirts to block the cold wind. For Xia Han, Pittsburgh and the U.S. Steel Company were a mythical giant.
U.S. Steel was founded in 1901, which is not a very old company, but it is supported by two behemoths, one is Carnegie Steel Company, and the other is the Morgan family.
Relying on advanced management experience and sufficient capital supply, U.S. Steel expanded rapidly like a balloon. Especially during World War I, it was the golden time for U.S. Steel. In 1916
, the annual output of U.S. Steel has reached 19 million tons!
What kind of number is this? You must know that before World War I, Germany's national steel production was only 17.6 million tons. In other words, a company in the United States can surpass Germany! It is no wonder that Germany lost the war and wanted to
It is really difficult to challenge a behemoth like the United States.
As for China, which just celebrated its annual steel production exceeding 5 million tons, compared to the United States, the difference is more than an order of magnitude!
When Xia Han and the others saw the continuous factory area and the numerous factory buildings, just the sheer size of them made people exclaim in surprise, and the people accompanying them were dumbfounded. How could this be a factory?
It is clearly a huge city!
"Don't be stupid. Split up immediately and show me which factories are worth buying. You must get them back to me."
Seeing these attendants running over like hungry tigers pouncing on food, Xia Han secretly clenched his fists: "Ten years, just ten years, I can also build a steel kingdom, a steel kingdom bigger than the United States Steel Company.
!”
It took Xia Han and the others a week to figure out the U.S. Steel Company. This time, all the equipment they chose were 80% new, and they were also large-scale. Generally speaking, small and medium-sized equipment can already be produced in China, although American products are more advanced.
Good, but China's industry also needs to develop and cannot just rely on American equipment.
Therefore, the standards set by Xia Han are very clear. The blast furnace must be more than 500 cubic meters, preferably 1,000 cubic meters, and the open-hearth furnace must be about 50 tons or 100 tons. As long as these large equipment are shipped back to the country, China's steel industry will
Can make rapid progress.
A 1,000-cubic-meter blast furnace can produce 150,000 to 200,000 tons of pig iron a year at full capacity. As long as more than 10 can be purchased, the domestic steel industry will be able to break through the 10 million-ton mark soon.
In fact, Zhang Tinglan had a longer-term plan. He knew very well that open-hearth steelmaking had been eliminated in later generations and was replaced by converters and electric furnaces.
Converter steelmaking is more efficient, faster, better quality, and consumes less. In terms of comprehensive economic benefits, it is more than two or three times that of an open-hearth furnace. One of the core technologies for using converter steelmaking is to blow oxygen.
Top, bottom, middle, mix and blow oxygen.
Although Zhang Tinglan doesn't understand the specific things, there are so many engineers who can definitely figure it out as long as they have ideas. The real trouble is large-scale oxygen production technology, which China cannot yet achieve.
However, Zhang Tinglan has arranged for people to purchase equipment and hire talents in Germany, preparing to break through the problem of oxygen production. As long as it is solved, China can popularize converter steelmaking on a large scale before World War II. Coupled with automated production lines, relying on these two magic weapons
, China can go crazy with its troops. China, which has more human resources than the United States, has armed tens of millions of soldiers, which is like drinking cold water.
As long as it reaches this point, no matter how far the war goes, China will be the well-deserved winner.
Seeing the Chinese selecting equipment unscrupulously, the Americans' hearts were twitching. They still can't figure out what happened. Why did the factory that was so prosperous suddenly come to an end? These precious machines all stopped.
The lively factory area has turned into a silent cemetery!
It was as if they had fallen from heaven to hell. They had no choice but to watch the Chinese take away their favorite things.
Normally, Americans would never sell these machines, especially not to a rising country with huge potential like China. However, the Great Depression completely messed up the United States, and they could even sell the machines to the Soviets.
, of course China will not be a problem.
In addition, behind this, there is a complicated transaction, that is, China’s stock market!
Western capital entered the Chinese stock market aggressively, inflating the bubble, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. However, Zhang Tinglan decisively launched corporate reform actions.
The sudden suspension of a large number of stocks made it impossible for Western capital to exit the market and was trapped in the stock market. This stalemate was not a good thing for both parties. Financial capital lost its liquidity and its lifeblood. And
China is vigorously adjusting its enterprises and also needs a blood transfusion from the financial market.
After persisting for several months, the two sides reached a compromise. Zhang Tinglan gradually restored the stock market, and then allowed financial capital to unwind and exit the market at an appropriate price. These large consortiums wanted to open the door and provide convenience for China to bargain-hunt for Western technology.
Of course, the main direction of China's procurement is also concentrated on these large consortiums. For example, U.S. Steel is an industry controlled by Morgan.
This agreement is a good thing for both parties. China has obtained what it needs. These consortiums have received billions of orders and can continue to have whatever they want.
After several battles, Western financial capital no longer dares to touch China easily. The laws of the Eastern world are completely different from theirs. There are not enough spokespersons in the Chinese government. If they rush in recklessly again, they will encounter someone.
If they don't use paper documents, they will be frustrated, and the gain is really not worth the loss.
As these capitals gradually withdrew, China's stock market gradually returned to calm. After reorganization, companies re-entered the stock market with an unprecedented appearance, and they were instantly popular.
In fact, for such a powerful figure like Zhang Tinglan, what everyone is most worried about is his way of running the world, treating everything as private property, and then these entrepreneurs will have no way to play. Without the sanctity of private property, there would be no
The rapid development of capital.
This time, Zhang Tinglan's reform has completely clarified the relationship between the country and the government. Not only did it not gain an extra point, but it also transferred a large number of industries to the name of state-owned capital. It is obvious that China's market is more standardized and the government's behavior has also been standardized.
, the rules of the game are becoming more and more clear, everyone is eligible to participate, and a new wave of entrepreneurship is surging in China.
If you want to support entrepreneurship, you need a large number of talents. If there are not enough talents in China, you have to come from overseas. Xia Han and the others have been running back and forth in the steel company these days, which has also attracted the attention of many Americans.
Just when they were about to leave, a dozen workers finally found them. These workers were all unshaven and very slovenly. With no source of livelihood, they were instantly worse than beggars.
"Sir, do you just need equipment, not operating workers? I have worked in the steel company for twenty years and am familiar with all production links. As long as you can give me a job, I can do anything."
"Including faraway China?"
"No problem, I am willing!" The worker said without hesitation: "I am already old. If I leave the factory, I will simply not find any job."
When Xia Han saw the eager eyes of these workers, he seemed to instantly find the feeling of bargain hunting in Germany, so he smiled and said: "No problem, as long as you can prove your worth, I will definitely let you get a satisfactory salary. In fact, ours
Headhunting companies have also arrived in the United States a long time ago. As long as you register with them, you can get a salary, and we can send you in kind, bread, butter, steak, down jackets, coal, everything..."
Before Xia Han could finish speaking, these people went crazy. Nothing was more important than filling their stomachs, and the temporary recruitment office was instantly overcrowded!