Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 272 The dawn of mechanization (first update, please subscribe)

No one knew what kind of change a house would bring to Borneo in February 46, but what is certain is that a house gave many people a sense of belonging to Borneo because they had a home.

It is this sense of belonging that allows many people to see themselves as part of Borneo for the first time, rather than as guests.

In fact, this is what home means.

Home actually means belonging, as the saying goes, "This place where I feel at ease is my hometown."

Once you have a family, you have a country, and then you have the world. This is the family, the country, and the world.

The common people's home is a place of peace and shelter from wind and rain, but where is Li Yi'an's home?

Of course it’s the world.

After entering the new year, Li Yi'an is even busier than before. From steel companies to fertilizer companies to the construction of hundreds of other factories, he has to participate in every detail. For example, he has recently devoted himself to the "Crown" project. "Construction - the overall relocation of Alfa Romeo Company.

Perhaps he does not need to inquire about the construction of factory buildings and the installation of equipment, but there are still a series of issues that need to be coordinated.

For example, electricity - with the increase in power consumption by factories and residents, the power supply of the old power plant has long been unable to meet the demand. Although more than a thousand diesel generators of various types were picked up from the Pacific islands, it can barely maintain the supply. Electricity supply, plus Borneo itself produces oil, so oil supply is no problem.

But in the final analysis, this is just an emergency, and it will ultimately depend on large power stations.

Although the relevant technology and patents for high-power generator sets were purchased in the UK and even a set of generator sets were "picked up", it took time to build a power plant, and power plants also needed to be built in other places.

Not only power plants are needed, but coal is also needed. It can be done without coal. There is a large amount of heavy oil in refineries in places such as Balikpapan and Tarakan that can be used to generate electricity.

Because the price of oil is extremely low right now, with a barrel of oil costing only one dollar, it is still very cost-effective to use heavy oil to generate electricity, so power plants use heavy oil to generate electricity.

But even so, in order to ensure the future supply of coal for the power plant, Li Nian still requested to send an exploration team to explore the central and southern areas of Borneo.

Of course, the production of three-wheeled agricultural vehicles must be carried out as soon as possible, whether at the construction site or in the reclamation area, cars are still waiting for them!

After all, the machinery maintenance shop in Kota Kinabalu is just a machinery maintenance shop. Both in terms of scale and production equipment, it is far inferior to large professional factories.

Fortunately, agricultural tricycles are not complicated machines. Even repair shops with average technical skills can still produce qualified products.

At the end of February, the first agricultural tricycle finally rolled off the assembly line.

After learning the news, Li Yian rushed directly to Kota Kinabalu and rode it for a spin in the maintenance shop.

The noise is the familiar "boom" sound, and even the exhaust smell is the familiar smell of diesel, a bit pungent, but very familiar and friendly.

It smells like my childhood.

It feels really good, full of memories.

After getting off the tricycle, Li Yian nodded with satisfaction, and then he said to Milian:

"Rice workers, since they have been built, let's put them into production quickly. There are people waiting for cars all over Borneo. We will purchase as many as we can build! But I have to control the quality."

"Don't worry, there will never be any problems with production quality!"

Milian said confidently.

"One more thing. The three-wheeled vehicle you developed before can be further studied, but the load-carrying tonnage must be larger. Then develop a diesel engine with greater horsepower. Well, the good news is that it has more than 24 horsepower. In terms of load capacity, The standard load capacity is over 2000 kilograms!”

Although the current tricycle is said to be able to carry 2000 kilograms, it was overloaded at that time and the actual load was not that much at all.

Now that the simple version has begun production, it is necessary to consider the upgraded version. After all, enterprises need to be forward-looking in their production and research and development. Only in this way can they develop in the long run. Otherwise, it will definitely be eliminated by the market.

And in comparison, the upgraded version is more suitable for the European market, and the current one is a bit too crude.

"Really, really?" Milian asked with some uncertainty. He was hit hard before New Year's Day. He never expected that Chief Li would change his mind so quickly.

"The maintenance shop will definitely be expanded this year, and a lot of equipment will definitely be added by then. The objective factors that originally restricted the production capacity of the maintenance shop will no longer exist, but the maintenance shop should change its name. Well, let's call it..."

After thinking about it, Li Yian said.

"Let's call it Futian, Futian Machinery Company!"

"Futian, this is a good name. It sounds easy to hear and sounds easy to pronounce. It also bodes well!"

Wu Liren, the factory director on the side, immediately agreed.

The reason why Li Yian thought of "Futian" was because "Futian agricultural machinery" was widely used in another world. In his conception, "Futian" would not only manufacture tricycles, but also manufacture various agricultural machinery in the future.

After all, agriculture is fundamental, and for Borneo, which has tight human resources, agricultural mechanization is the only option to reduce labor costs.

Agricultural tricycles are just the beginning of agricultural mechanization. Agricultural machinery including small four-wheelers and harvesters will be continuously produced.

By then, Futian Machinery will have become the most famous agricultural machinery manufacturer in the world, and agriculture in Borneo will have undergone earth-shaking changes.

"The first-generation Foton three-wheelers can be supplied to the internal market first. As for the second-generation, when the scale of the factory increases this year and the technical equipment is improved, it can be exported to Europe. The post-war reconstruction in Europe will increase the demand for cars. The volume is still huge, a Foton three-wheeler that costs a few hundred dollars a piece is definitely more popular than a truck that costs a few thousand dollars a piece, and the price of diesel is only half that of gasoline, and the cost of use is also lower than that of gasoline vehicles."

As a businessman, Li Yian understands the market very well. He can see where the business opportunities are at a glance, and he can also see where the biggest market for tricycles is. It is not here, but in Europe - Europe now needs cheap and durable products. Although the auto manufacturing companies on the European continent that were severely damaged by the war are resuming production little by little, their production capacity is limited and cannot meet the demand across Europe.

As for American trucks, even after the war is over, the supply of trucks can meet market demand, but expensive trucks and a lack of foreign exchange will still restrict the number of imports by each country.

Although the load capacity of a tricycle is not as good as that of a large truck, what is its biggest advantage?

It’s just cheap!

Not only is it cheap to buy, it's also cheap to use.

It appears now just in time. Borneo can even export agricultural tricycles in exchange for machinery and equipment in Europe, which means that European countries do not need to pay with hard currency and will be more willing to import tricycles than American trucks.

And these are potential markets. First use agricultural tricycles to open up the European market, and then a variety of agricultural machinery and equipment. Eventually, Foton fully entered the European market and occupied a large share.

To a certain extent, cheap agricultural tricycles are just pioneers in opening up overseas markets.

"As for the engine, a single-cylinder one will do. It doesn't matter if it's noisier, but it can't be too big. If it's too big, the size and cost of the tricycle will go up..."

Later, Li Yian made some suggestions.

Finally, there is another job to test the agricultural tricycle.

Since it is mainly used in rural areas and areas with poor infrastructure, it must be suitable for a variety of complex road conditions. It must not only go over mountains and ridges, but also be able to drive on muddy roads in the countryside. Therefore, strict testing is required.

However, Li Yian is very confident about the next test. After all, he personally participated in the design work. The Foton agricultural tricycle has strong power, the axle is strong enough, and the materials used are also very practical, and they can be reinforced as much as possible.

The biggest problems are the noise and poor comfort, but Li Yian has left all these things behind.

After all, what people care about right now is not comfort, but practicality, being cheap and able to attract goods, which is better than anything else.

But even so, testing still needs to be tested. In early March, after completing basic testing at the factory, the first batch of 100 Foton 46 agricultural tricycles were delivered to reclamation areas and construction sites for trial use. The arrival of these vehicles was indeed To a certain extent, it alleviated the dilemma of insufficient vehicles and greatly accelerated the speed of construction...

(End of this chapter)