manynovel #486 - Win-win cooperation
#486 - Win-win cooperation
In Jincheng, within the Main World, Ren Zhong's office welcomed an unexpected guest today.
Professor Hu Rentao arrived with a visitor.
Over the years, although Professor Hu's cooperation with Ren Zhong didn't involve cutting-edge material technology, it achieved significant success in several weak areas of domestic materials science through a series of practical research results and abundant horizontal project funding. His title also advanced from associate professor to professor, and he established a veritable material research center.
"Boss Ren, this is Mr. Xu Tian, chairman of Xin Shuo Materials Company," Professor Hu Rentao introduced, his voice carrying a hint of pride. "Chairman Xu has shown great interest in the special steel cable we are researching and hopes to join our project to jointly develop a high-strength, multi-purpose steel cable."
Mr. Xu Tian, a middle-aged man with a short, stout build, wore a kind smile on his face. His eyes revealed the shrewdness of a businessman and a desire for new technologies.
He proactively extended his hand, grasping Ren Zhong's. Ren Zhong could feel the strength and determination in the other's palm.
"Hello, Chairman Xu!" Ren Zhong's voice was steady and powerful, his eyes flashing with anticipation for cooperation and respect for Xu Tian. Although he didn't have the power and influence of the Bright Sword world in the Main World, his aura was still strong enough to make Xu Tian aware of his importance.
After all, before coming, Xu Tian had some understanding of Ren Zhong. He knew that Ren Zhong had several well-run enterprises in the country, did well in foreign trade, was willing to spend money on scientific research, and, most importantly, had reliable sales channels abroad, with international trade exceeding one billion each year. He was a low-key, wealthy tycoon in Jincheng.
"Boss Ren, please forgive my intrusion," Xu Tian's tone carried a hint of politeness, but more so an urgent desire for cooperation.
Xu Tian nodded as he listened to Ren Zhong's words, feeling more at ease. He valued this cooperation very much. As a pragmatist, he cut straight to the point, his tone carrying a hint of undeniable firmness: "Boss Ren, Professor Hu has already introduced your project to me. Our Xin Shuo Materials Company invests heavily in research and development. Combined with Professor Hu's material research, we are confident that we can develop a steel cable that meets your requirements within a year. However, because the usage scenarios for this type of steel cable are special and the cost is high, it will be difficult for us to amortize the research and development costs if the demand is not large. I want to know, how much demand do you have for this type of steel cable?"
Ren Zhong was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect Xu Tian to be so direct. Xu Tian's straightforwardness surprised him, but at the same time, it made him have greater expectations for this cooperation. He knew that dealing with such a direct and pragmatic partner would make many things simpler and clearer.
Therefore, after a slight flash of surprise in Ren Zhong's eyes, he quickly calmed down, took a deep breath, and reorganized his thoughts. He knew that the success or failure of this cooperation might depend on the following exchange.
"Chairman Xu, I admire your frankness," Ren Zhong said slowly, putting down the teapot, his tone calm. "We do need a high-strength, multi-purpose steel cable for export. This steel cable will be used in some special occasions, and the performance requirements are very strict. As for the demand, I can give you a preliminary estimate, but the specific number still needs to be determined based on our project progress and market research, so I can't give you an exact figure for the time being."
Ren Zhong paused and continued, "Our initial plan is to carry out small-batch trial production to test the performance and reliability of the steel cable. If everything goes smoothly, we will gradually expand production, eventually reaching a scale of 200 to 300 ropes per year. Of course, in this process, there is not too much concern about research and development costs. We have already invested tens of millions in the research of basic materials and the research of steel cable weaving technology. We can afford most of the investment in research and development."
"If we can reach a cooperative relationship, your company will not have to pay too much in research and development costs. The combination of strong parties to achieve the integration of research results and research teams will also help reduce research and development costs. However, in the future production process, the new type of steel cable has some special requirements for the existing production process, and it may be necessary to make some necessary modifications to the production line in the production link, which may require some investment."
"In addition, the cost-effectiveness of our product will also be higher than competing products, so in terms of production, we also need the full support of Xin Shuo Materials Company, including material supply, production, and cost control. Ensure the international competitiveness of our products."
Xu Tian nodded. Although he was not very satisfied with Ren Zhong's answer, it was already good enough. He knew that the rigging field was already very competitive in China, and it could even be said that many companies with poor technology and cost control were on the verge of bankruptcy. Although the project proposed by Ren Zhong and his team has high technical difficulty and requires a large investment and patience, once successful, the return will be huge and will greatly help the upgrading of his company's products.
After all, the development of technology is always endless.
"Boss Ren, I understand your needs," Xu Tian said with a smile. "Our Xin Shuo Materials Company has rich experience and technical accumulation in the field of materials. We are confident that we can meet your requirements. As for the cost issue, I believe that through our joint efforts, we will definitely be able to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties."
Professor Hu Rentao sat beside them, watching the exchange between the two, and was secretly happy in his heart.
He knew that this cooperation would be a rare opportunity for his research team. Although his material research center had studied many alloy materials, it had even developed HY series high-yield naval alloys and Haynes 150 high-performance high-temperature alloys for Ren Zhong and other very technically challenging advanced materials, completing these materials in a relatively short period of time through small supercomputer simulations and huge amounts of experiments.
Although it's not a top-tier material in the main world—for example, Hastelloy has been iterated and optimized to Haynes 214, which can withstand high temperatures of 1260℃—it's considered a cutting-edge product in the aviation field, widely used in high-temperature core components such as turbine disks, jet engine combustion chamber components, turbine blades, nuclear reactor components, fuel elements, high-temperature and high-pressure boiler parts, and steam turbine blades.
Hu Rentao's team is also continuing iterative research, but these new alloys not only have changes in composition but also in production technology. It's so complex that the effects cannot be quickly obtained through super-small machine simulations. Instead, it requires experimental research to discover the rules of metal crystal combination and arrangement, and then try every means to carry out process research on these alloy crystal production links to finally obtain a complete set of new material technology achievements.
To be honest, at least more than ten large metal material research institutions in China are carrying out research in this area, but not many can complete Haynes 150 like Professor Hu.
Professor Hu Rentao can live very comfortably now just from the licensing fees for sharing the HY series alloys and Haynes 150 alloy with Ren Zhong. Therefore, Professor Hu Rentao cherishes the cooperative relationship with Ren Zhong. If Professor Hu is somewhat confident in doing alloy research, then he has zero foundation in the research of steel cable weaving and production technology. It's very difficult to do well in this area, and it may even require the introduction of a new team to do it well. This is also one of the reasons why Ren Zhong gave him research and development funds of up to tens of millions in the first phase.
If, through cooperation with Xin Shuo Materials Company, Professor Hu and his team would have an existing first-class domestic steel cable research team to support their work. This will not only greatly reduce research and development costs, but more importantly, it will also reduce the difficulty of development. It is very beneficial to quickly turn Ren Zhong's research needs into products, so in terms of cooperation, Professor Hu Rentao is more anxious than anyone else to reach an agreement. Because it will be of great benefit to his next work.
"Boss Ren, Chairman Xu, I believe that through our cooperation with Xin Shuo Materials, we will definitely be able to develop high-strength steel cables that meet the needs more quickly," Professor Hu Rentao interjected, "Our research team has made full preparations and has already started research and development work on material alloys. If Chairman Xu's steel cable research team can join, there is no doubt that it will greatly promote our research progress."
Ren Zhong nodded. He has full trust in Professor Hu Rentao's team. He knows that Professor Hu Rentao has also gone through very careful screening of cooperative partners and does not casually recommend unreliable people to cooperate with them. Therefore, the addition of Xin Shuo Materials will undoubtedly add an important weight to the success of the project.
"Very good, if Chairman Xu has no problem here, then I have no problem here either. Let's settle it like this." Ren Zhong no longer hesitated, stood up, and extended his hand to Xu Tian, "Chairman Xu, I hope our cooperation can achieve complete success. Let the company's project department draft and sign the specific cooperation agreement."
Xu Tian also stood up and tightly grasped Ren Zhong's hand. "Boss Ren, then we have a deal. Next, we will solidify the cooperation agreement in the form of a contract. I believe our cooperation will be very successful. Let us look forward to the birth of this high-strength multi-purpose steel cable together."
Xu Tian has already confirmed that even if this project has no other uses, Ren Zhong's orders alone will not make this project lose money, so he agreed without hesitation.
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As for the further promotion of their technology in slings and other aspects with the new achievements, these are additional. The two parties can carry out long-term cooperation in technical research and sharing. In addition to the arresting gear that Ren Zhong urgently needs now, Ren Zhong also has more steel cable needs in the development of large cranes in the Bright Sword world. In the future, he can think of a good way to achieve some technology transfer here with Xu Tian.
Now it is only the first step of cooperation between the two parties. When this project is successful, look back and see what kind of method to use to transfer their technology to the Bright Sword world.
Ren Zhong did not completely rely on the technical capabilities of these third parties. What he believes in is Professor Hu Rentao. Professor Hu has been deeply involved in materials for so many years. Although the frontier is not high, there are places to fill the gaps. In terms of research level and team training, Professor Hu has built an alloy research center composed of him, four or five material doctors, and more than a dozen graduate students. The research and development capabilities are already very strong in universities.
Moreover, Professor Hu also obtained some scrapped steel cable samples for research through some channels. In addition, the current relevant information is much better than in the Bright Sword world. Even after giving Ren Zhong the initial materials, Professor Hu also obtained the experimental technical data of John Bull's early arresting gear materials through the relationship of some overseas professors.
Professor Hu has always focused on this kind of archaeological or retro research, reproducing many people's products. Many of them are useless in the real world, but no one has suspected him. As long as the money is in place, some decrypted material processes will be sold.
This is also the reason why Ren Zhong insists on developing in the main world. Some of the latest top-secret information or even research that has not yet started in the powerful countries of the Bright Sword world may have been decrypted or reduced in density and opened to more people in the main world.
With these declassified materials, research teams like Hu Rentao can obtain some early materials to do preliminary research, and then continuously iterate and optimize them to eventually form their own products.
After the cooperation agreement was signed, Xin Shuo Materials took out some hard goods. The top-level 70-ton sling steel wire they produced, the raw materials came from a large domestic steel factory in the main world, but the specific research and development and intellectual property rights were developed by Xin Shuo Materials themselves. Their boss, Xu Tian, was originally a material expert. After starting a business using his own achievements, although he started corporate operations, he still maintained the characteristics of a technology entrepreneur, built a material technology research center by himself, and obtained some key technologies. Now, the patents for their main products come from the boss's early research results.
Therefore, after these technologies and team personnel are combined with Professor Hu Rentao, the two parties learn from each other's strengths and quickly come up with a preliminary technical result, achieving a 70-ton level arresting effect. Although it is worse than the 85-ton and 93-ton destructive power of the rogue Eagle MK7 series, the take-off weight of the J-9 carrier-based aircraft itself is also lighter, at least it can control more than 5 tons lighter. In this way, it is basically enough for early ground landing training and early system research and development.