Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 187 Capacity Expansion & Branch Office Layout

The delivery ceremony for the first batch of bearings ordered by Guangzhou Automobile Group had just concluded when Lin Chen led key members of the technical department into the production workshop of the Zhangcheng main plant. At 3 a.m., the roar of the machine tools was more urgent than usual, and the steam from the quenching pool, carrying the smell of rust, condensed into tiny droplets under the light bulbs. Old Liu, in charge of workshop scheduling, handed over a report with bloodshot eyes; the red numbers on the table were painful to look at—after three consecutive months of full-capacity production, the equipment failure rate had increased by 17% year-on-year, and the scrap rate of core processes had risen from 1.5% to 2.8%.

"General Manager Lin, the No. 3 grinding machine jammed again last night. Old Wang and his apprentice worked until late into the night to barely get production back on track." Old Liu's voice was full of exhaustion. He pointed to the pile of semi-finished products in the corner of the workshop. "Guangzhou is urging us for the next batch of goods, and several home appliance factories in East China are also pressing for orders. We're currently robbing Peter to pay Paul. If we keep going like this, the equipment will break down." Lin Chen squatted down and stroked the hot machine tool casing. The heat from his fingertips made him frown. Suddenly, a prompt popped up on the system panel. Next to the red "Equipment Overload Warning" text was a data curve showing the main factory's capacity saturation rate at 120%.

When he returned to his office, Su Qing was already waiting for him. A thick market research report lay spread out on the table, with a map of the East China home appliance industry cluster highlighted in red, highlighting several key areas. "I've compiled statistics on order sources over the past six months. East China accounts for 42%, and South China's auto parts orders account for 38%. Logistics costs in these two regions alone account for 15% of the total costs," Su Qing explained, pointing to the marked locations in Wuxi and Dongguan. "Wuxi is backed by the Yangtze River Delta home appliance industry belt and has a complete steel supply chain; Dongguan is adjacent to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with a concentration of auto parts suppliers. These two places are the best choices for setting up a branch office."

Lin Chen picked up the research materials for Wuxi, which detailed the local industrial land prices, labor costs, and tax policies. Three months ago, when he went to East China for research, he specifically visited the Wuxi industrial park, which not only had a government-designated precision manufacturing zone but also offered a three-year tax exemption policy. "What about Dongguan?" He flipped to another stack of documents and saw the words "Chang'an Town Auto Parts Base" marked by Su Qing. "I remember there are quite a few foreign-invested enterprises there, and the supply chain should be very mature."

"Dongguan's advantage lies in its concentration of the automotive industry, but its land costs are 12% higher than Wuxi's." Su Qing opened her calculator and quickly recited a set of data. "However, Dongguan's export customs clearance efficiency is higher. If we ship our goods to Guangzhou Automobile Group from Dongguan, we can save two days of logistics time. I have already contacted the investment promotion bureaus of both places, and they are both willing to provide standardized factory buildings. Moving in is no problem." Lin Chen looked at the dark circles under her eyes and knew that behind these data was a week of continuous sleepless nights compiling the data. A warm feeling welled up in his heart.

A week later, Lin Chen, along with Lao Wang from the technical department and Su Qing, split into two groups. He went to Wuxi to finalize the factory details, while Su Qing led a team to Dongguan to coordinate equipment procurement. Director Zhang of the Wuxi Industrial Park personally greeted them at the highway exit. As the car entered the park, Lin Chen noticed the neat rows of standardized factory buildings on both sides of the road, and the towering cranes of the steel market in the distance. "Eight home appliance component companies have already settled in this park, and your bearing products can perfectly complement the industrial chain," Director Zhang said, pointing to a newly completed factory building. "This factory building has a ceiling height of 8 meters, and its load-bearing capacity meets the requirements of precision machine tools. There is a substation next to it, so the power supply is guaranteed."

Entering the factory, Lin Chen took out his portable laser rangefinder and carefully measured the length and width of the workshop. Old Wang squatted on the ground checking the concrete grade, gently tapping the floor with a small hammer: "Mr. Lin, the concrete grade is C30, no problem placing a heavy-duty grinding machine. However, the precision testing room needs vibration damping, otherwise it will affect the measurement accuracy." Director Zhang immediately chimed in: "That's easy, we can contact a professional vibration damping team, and the cost will be deducted from the factory rental deposit." Lin Chen nodded and took out a draft contract he had already prepared: "We need a three-month renovation period, during which we hope you can assist with obtaining a business license and tax registration."

Just as things were progressing smoothly in Wuxi, bad news came from Su Qing's side. While inspecting equipment suppliers in Dongguan, she discovered that the used grinding machines they provided had serious precision deviations. "I had the technicians test it on-site, and the radial runout of this grinding machine exceeds 0.02 millimeters, which simply doesn't meet our production standards," Su Qing said anxiously on the phone. "The original delivery date was one month, and finding a new supplier will definitely delay the project." Lin Chen reassured her, "Don't worry, contact the equipment dealer in Shenzhen first. I remember they have new imported German equipment, it's just a bit pricey. I'll come see you as soon as I finish things in Wuxi."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen immediately adjusted his schedule and boarded a train to Dongguan that afternoon. In the equipment showroom in Shenzhen, he saw the German-made precision grinding machine. Its technical parameters perfectly met his requirements, but the price was 50% higher than his budget. "The core components of this machine are imported, its precision is consistently within 0.005 millimeters, and it comes with a five-year warranty," the distributor pointed to the nameplate on the machine. "If you place an order now, it will be delivered within a month, and we can even send an engineer to your location for debugging."

Su Qing did the math: although the equipment cost would increase, it would shorten the debugging cycle and reduce subsequent maintenance costs. Lin Chen, watching the equipment's demonstration, suddenly remembered the "Equipment Improvement" skill in the system; perhaps they could reduce costs through technology integration. "We can buy this equipment first, but we need you to provide detailed technical drawings," he negotiated with the distributor. "In addition, we need to send technicians to learn debugging from your engineers, and we also hope you can provide training on subsequent equipment maintenance."

With the equipment issue resolved, personnel allocation at the branch offices became the next challenge. The main factory was already short-staffed with technical experts, and supporting the startup of two branch offices simultaneously was a serious manpower shortage. Lin Chen convened an all-staff meeting and proposed a "key personnel assignment + local recruitment" plan: "Ten technical experts will be selected from the main factory and assigned to the two branch offices as workshop directors and technical supervisors for a two-year term, during which their salaries will double, and they will also receive a share of the branch office's profits." The news immediately caused an uproar in the workshops, with many young technicians volunteering.

Old Liu's son, Xiao Liu, was the first to sign up. He had been in charge of grinding machine debugging at the main factory for three years and was highly skilled. "General Manager Lin, I want to go to the Wuxi branch. They have a lot of orders for home appliance bearings there, which is a good opportunity to hone my skills," Xiao Liu said, holding his technical certificate with anticipation in his eyes. Lin Chen looked at him, remembering Old Liu's previous concerns, and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I approve it, but you must remember that when you get to Wuxi, you not only need to do a good job in your technical work, but also mentor the new local employees and pass on the technical standards of our main factory."

After the personnel reassignment was completed, Su Qing began to set up the branch company's financial system. She and her finance department staff worked overtime for two consecutive weeks to develop the branch company's financial accounting standards: "The two branches will operate with independent accounting, but the procurement of core raw materials will be handled centrally by the head office to reduce procurement costs. Detailed financial statements must be submitted monthly, including production costs, sales revenue, and profit, to ensure clear cash flow." To help the locally recruited finance staff get up to speed quickly, she also specially compiled the "Chen Qing Financial Operations Manual" and organized a week-long training session.

The renovation project at the Wuxi branch is in full swing. Three layers of anti-vibration pads have been laid on the floor of the seismic testing room, and the ventilation system in the workshop has been installed. Lin Chen brought Lao Wang back to Wuxi to inspect the preparations for equipment installation. "The foundation for the grinding machine needs to be dug one meter deep and poured with reinforced concrete to ensure stable operation," Lao Wang instructed the workers as they laid out the wiring. "The circuits need to be wired separately to avoid interference with other equipment." Lin Chen, meanwhile, was communicating with the local power supply department to ensure a stable power supply during equipment debugging.

Just then, news came from the head office that several home appliance factories in East China had suddenly requested to deliver goods ahead of schedule, shortening the original three-month delivery period to two months. "They said the peak season for downstream home appliance sales has come early, and they urgently need our bearing parts." Old Liu was pacing anxiously on the phone. "The head office is currently operating at full capacity but can only fulfill half of the orders. If we can't deliver, we'll have to pay a penalty." Lin Chen frowned, walked into the workshop of the Wuxi branch, looked at the grinding machine being installed, and suddenly had an idea.

"Have the Dongguan branch suspend preparations for automotive bearing production and prioritize the production of appliance bearings," Lin Chen decided immediately. "I'll contact the equipment distributor in Dongguan right away and have them send engineers to debug the equipment ahead of schedule, aiming to complete the installation within a month. In Wuxi, expedite the renovations and have one production line put into trial operation in two weeks." Su Qing sounded a little worried on the phone: "Will this delay the automotive bearing production plan? Won't Guangzhou Automobile Group have any objections?" Lin Chen said, "I'll communicate with Guangzhou Automobile Group and explain the situation; they should understand. After all, the order volume for appliance bearings is much larger, and we can't break our promise to our customers."

The next day, Lin Chen rushed to Guangzhou Automobile Group and found Manager Wang in the purchasing department. "Manager Wang, I'm truly sorry, but due to a sudden advance order for home appliances in East China, the construction schedule of our branch office needs to be adjusted, and the first batch of automotive bearings may be delayed by half a month." Lin Chen handed over a detailed adjustment plan. "To compensate for the delay, we are willing to offer a 5% price discount on subsequent orders, and we will prioritize your supply needs." Manager Wang reviewed the plan, pondered for a moment, and said, "We can accept the delay, but you must guarantee the quality of subsequent supplies; you cannot lower standards just to meet the deadline."

With the order adjustment issue resolved, the construction progress of the two branch offices accelerated significantly. The first production line at the Wuxi branch completed commissioning first, and Xiao Liu, along with 15 locally recruited employees, began trial operation. The first day's production of 500 sets of appliance bearings passed inspection, achieving a 98.2% pass rate, far exceeding expectations. When Lin Chen received the news, he was in Dongguan supervising the installation of grinding machines. He smiled and said to Su Qing, "It seems our technical inheritance is fine; Xiao Liu hasn't let me down."

The equipment debugging at the Dongguan branch is nearing completion, with German engineers performing precision calibration on the grinding machines. Lin Chen personally operated the machine, inputting the optimized parameters from the integrated system into the equipment. After debugging, the grinding machine achieved a precision of 0.003 millimeters, even higher than the standard in the equipment manual. "Mr. Lin, your technology is amazing! The precision of this equipment is the highest I've ever seen," the German engineer said, giving a thumbs up. "I must record your debugging methods and bring them back to Germany to share with my colleagues."

Two months later, the Wuxi and Dongguan branches held simultaneous production launch ceremonies. In the Wuxi branch's workshop, six production lines were neatly arranged, operating at full capacity to produce appliance bearings. The products were transported directly to appliance factories in East China via dedicated logistics vehicles. Meanwhile, the Dongguan branch restarted production of automotive bearings, and the first batch of products passed the Guangzhou Automobile Group's testing. Lin Chen stood on the roof of the Dongguan branch's office building, looking at the bustling logistics port in the distance. Su Qing walked up to him and handed him a financial statement.

"These are the financial statements for the first month of the two branch offices. The Wuxi branch achieved a net profit of 80 yuan, and the Dongguan branch achieved a net profit of 60 yuan. Adding the profits from the main factory, our total net profit this month has exceeded 200 million yuan." Su Qing said with a smile. "Moreover, logistics costs have decreased by 12%, and raw material procurement costs have decreased by 8%. The branch office layout is performing even better than expected." Lin Chen took the report, looked at the numbers, and was filled with emotion. From starting with 800 yuan to now having three factories progressing simultaneously, this journey has been inseparable from the trust and dedication of the team.

After the production launch ceremony, Lin Chen convened a meeting with key employees from both branches. "Chenqing's current scale is due to everyone's concerted efforts," he said, looking at the familiar faces below the stage—both veteran employees dispatched from the head office and newly recruited key personnel. "The Wuxi branch should continue to cultivate the East China home appliance market and strive to achieve a 30% market share next year; the Dongguan branch should focus on the auto parts sector and become a core supplier to Guangzhou Automobile Group as soon as possible. I believe that as long as we work together with one mind and one goal, Chenqing's future will be even more brilliant."

After the meeting, Xiao Liu approached Lin Chen and handed him a technical improvement plan: "President Lin, we discovered during production that the sealing performance of appliance bearings can be improved. This plan can extend the bearing's lifespan and reduce production costs." Lin Chen took the plan, carefully reviewed it, and his eyes were full of admiration: "This improvement is excellent. I'll immediately arrange for the technical department to review it, and once approved, it will be implemented in both branch offices. Xiao Liu, you have a great idea. From now on, you will be in charge of the branch office's technical research and development."

It was late at night when Lin Chen returned to the main factory in Zhangcheng. He walked into the workshop and saw Lao Liu inspecting the equipment. He went up to him and greeted him, "Lao Liu, you've worked hard." Lao Liu turned around, smiled, and said, "It's nothing. Now that the branch company is up and running, the pressure on our main factory is much less, and the equipment failure rate has also decreased. Yesterday, Lao Wang told me that we're going to develop new alloy materials to further improve the performance of the bearings." Lin Chen nodded, looking at the well-functioning machine tools in the workshop, and suddenly remembered the dilapidated factory buildings from when they first started their business. Back then, he and Su Qing started with just one second-hand machine tool; neither of them imagined that a few years later they would build three modern factories.

Su Qing walked in carrying a new market research report, her face beaming with excitement: "Lin Chen, several heavy machinery manufacturers in the north have contacted us, wanting to purchase high-precision bearing components. Should we consider setting up another branch in Tianjin?" Lin Chen took the report, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the demand data from the northern market. He knew that establishing a branch was just the beginning; what Chen Qing wanted to do was become a leading precision manufacturing company nationwide and even globally.

Moonlight streamed through the windows into the workshop, illuminating the "Chenqing Precision Manufacturing" sign. Lin Chen and Su Qing stood in the center of the workshop, looking at everything before them, their hearts filled with anticipation. They knew the road ahead was long and fraught with challenges, but as long as they stood shoulder to shoulder, leading their team in the struggle, no difficulty was insurmountable. The call to expand production capacity had been sounded, and Chenqing's legend continued to be written.