dhibooks Chapter 245 The New Factory Area of Xinghuo Electronics
Chapter 245 The New Factory Area of Xinghuo Electronics
At 7:30 in the morning, the sky was overcast. In the industrial zone on the eastern outskirts of Jinan, the new factory of Xinghuo Electronics occupied three whole blocks. The walls were freshly painted white, with slogans written in red on them: "Quality is life, innovation is the soul."
A long queue had already formed at the main gate, with bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrians converging to enter the factory area. The gatekeeper, dressed in a uniform dark blue suit, held a time clock and breathed out white vapor from his mouth.
"Good morning, Sister Wang."
Good morning. Today is the Little New Year, and the cafeteria said they'll have dumplings for lunch.
"Really? That's wonderful!"
The crowd chatted and laughed as they walked inside. Most of the female workers wore scarves and gloves; the male workers wore cotton-padded jackets or work coats. Each person wore a different colored name tag on their chest.
Inside the factory area, six four-story factory buildings stand side by side. A huge red banner hangs on the exterior wall of each building:
"Strive hard in the first quarter and achieve a great start!"
"We ensured the quality and quantity of Dell's 100,000 keyboard orders were fulfilled!"
"Celebrating Xinghuo Electronics' annual revenue exceeding 500 million yuan!"
The words were golden yellow, reflecting the morning light.
A dozen or so trucks were parked in the open space between the factory buildings, some of which were loading and unloading goods. Cardboard boxes bearing the "Starfire" logo and English labels were being moved in and out by workers using hydraulic forklifts.
"This shipment is destined for Hamburg. Are all the customs declarations complete?"
"All set, Director Liu. The ship is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so it must be shipped to the port today."
"Hurry up, don't delay."
The speaker was a man in his forties, wearing a gray jacket and holding a folder in his hand; he was the head of the logistics department.
The five-story building at the very back of the factory area is an office building with a glass curtain wall and four huge red characters "Xinghuo Electronics" on the roof.
The large conference room is on the third floor of the office building.
The long conference table was full of people. On the left were the factory's management: Factory Director Ma Baoguo, Deputy Factory Director and Production Director Sun Changgui, Technical Director Li Mo, Finance Director Wu Jianguo, Sales Director Zhao Lijun, and Human Resources Director Liu Hui. On the right were several business unit managers and workshop directors.
Each person had a thick stack of meeting materials in front of them, with the cover printed with "Spark Electronics Factory 1997 Annual Summary and 1998 Planning Meeting".
Ma Baoguo sat in the main seat, glancing at his watch every now and then. He was wearing a dark blue suit and tie today, and his hair was neatly combed, but fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
"President Ling should be arriving soon," he whispered to Sun Changgui beside him.
"I just received a call from the security guard; the car has entered the factory," Sun Changgui said.
The words had barely left his mouth when the conference room door was pushed open. Ling Yun walked in, followed by Zhao Hu. Ling Yun was still wearing the same black turtleneck sweater, with a dark gray down jacket over it, unbuttoned.
Everyone immediately stood up.
"Sit down." Ling Yun waved his hand and walked to the empty seat next to Ma Baoguo. Zhao Hu sat down on a chair against the wall near the door, without entering the meeting area.
"Mr. Ling, you must be tired from your journey," Ma Baoguo said.
"It's not hard work." Ling Yun took off his down jacket and draped it over the back of the chair. "Let's get started. Who wants to report first?"
Ma Baoguo cleared his throat: "Let me start by introducing the overall situation."
He opened the folder in front of him, and without reading from a prepared statement, began to speak:
"As of December 31, 1997, Xinghuo Electronics Factory had a total of 15,427 employees. There were 13,000 production line workers, 800 technical R&D personnel, and more than 1,600 management and logistics personnel."
He paused, looked at Ling Yun, and Ling Yun nodded, signaling him to continue.
"In terms of revenue, the company achieved sales revenue of RMB 5.36 million in 1997, a 420% increase over 1996. Of this, domestic sales amounted to RMB 210 million and exports to RMB 3.26 million. The main export markets were North America (40%), Europe (30%), the Middle East (15%), and Southeast Asia (15%)."
The numbers were clear, and the meeting room was quiet except for the sound of turning pages.
"Profit," Ma Baoguo raised his voice slightly, "the net profit for the whole year was 2.17 million yuan. The net profit margin was 40.5%. The profit margin of export products was particularly high, averaging over 50%, mainly because our optical mice and ergonomic keyboards have a technological premium overseas, and we have good cost control."
Ling Yun tapped his finger lightly on the table: "What is the cost breakdown?"
Finance Director Wu Jianguo continued, "President Ling, raw materials account for 45%, labor for 25%, manufacturing costs for 15%, R&D investment for 10%, and management and sales expenses for 5%. Labor costs have increased by 8% compared to last year, mainly because we increased basic wages and overtime pay. However, production efficiency has increased by 30%, so the unit labor cost has actually decreased."
"What is the average salary of the employees?" Lingyun asked.
"Production line workers earn an average monthly salary of 850 yuan, which can reach around 1,200 yuan with overtime pay and performance bonuses. Technicians earn 1,500 to 2,000 yuan. Management earns over 3,000 yuan." Wu Jianguo flipped through the reports. "Among similar factories in Jinan, we belong to the highest tier."
"Of course," Ling Yun said, "Let's continue."
Ma Baoguo continued, "Currently, we sell through Alienware and Starry Sky gaming platform hardware stores in Europe and America, through our Qatari partner Khalid in the Middle East, and mainly through Hong Kong trader Li Wentao in Southeast Asia."
In the domestic market, besides supplying internet cafes and the Xingchen platform, it has also begun to enter the purchasing lists of domestic brand PC manufacturers. Market share...combined for mice and keyboards, is about 15% domestically and less than 3% globally, but it's growing rapidly.
"What about production capacity?" Ling Yun turned to Sun Changgui, the production director.
Sun Changgui was a dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man who spoke slowly but clearly: "Currently, we have twelve assembly lines, capable of producing 50,000 sets per day. However, our orders are booked until June of this year, especially the large orders from Dell and Compaq, as well as custom orders from Alienware. Therefore, we plan to expand by eight more lines and build a new factory this year, which has already been approved."
When will construction begin on the new factory?
"In early spring, in March. Production will begin at the end of June, at which time the daily production capacity will be increased to 100,000 sets," said Sun Changgui. "In addition, we are also selecting a site for our branch factory in Shenzhen, mainly serving South China and exporting to Southeast Asia."
"Starting in 98, computer sales will continue to grow. The computer penetration rate in the United States has already exceeded 40%, and this growth rate will continue to accelerate, rapidly spreading globally. Under this major trend, production capacity must keep up. The factory in Shenzhen needs to be large enough, and all future computer production lines should be located in the Shenzhen factory. The Shenzhen factory needs to be large enough and have complete supporting facilities," Ling Yun instructed Sun Changgui.
"The factory in Shenzhen isn't very big, and there aren't any vacant plots of land around it. This particular plot was only secured with the help of district leaders," Sun Changgui said, somewhat embarrassed.
"I'll go to Shenzhen myself after the New Year and ask my superiors for help. Let's leave it at that," Ling Yun said decisively, ending the discussion.