New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 121

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 121. Black Gold and White Gold (5)

I took a moment to catch my breath and gather my strength.

Now that Apple had taken the bait of iPod contract manufacturing, it was time to reel in the big fish called semiconductors.

“And since Daehyeon Electronics’ Semiconductor Business Division can quickly supply the D-RAM they produce, there won’t be any disruptions in production.”

“That would also be a strong point.”

“And in the future, chips that Apple designs can also be produced by the Semiconductor Business Division. There’s no place better than us for producing chips without information leaks.”

Creating innovative technology was already difficult work.

But maintaining security while producing stably was several times more challenging.

Especially in the electronics industry, technology leaks could instantly close gaps of several years, making them inevitably sensitive about security.

“The iPod doesn’t have dedicated chips yet. Although we’ve made some custom modifications, there’s not much difference from commercial chips.”

“That may be true now, but I think there will come a time when dedicated chips become necessary as the iPod continues to evolve. That’s why I’m thinking of preparing in advance from now.”

“Are you suggesting we prepare together from the design stage?”

If we could participate from the design stage, nothing could be better.

It would also mean that our factory would definitely produce the dedicated chips.

Of course, to do that, we had to have the technology and facilities that Apple wanted.

“If we maintain a cooperative relationship from the design stage, we can prepare facilities and production lines even before the design is completed.”

“I can’t stop you from preparing in advance. But I can’t promise that preparing like that will guarantee exclusive production of dedicated chips.”

This was natural from a finished goods company’s perspective.

They would want to reduce risks through diversifying parts supply.

Unless a trust relationship was built that could overcome such risks, exclusive production would be impossible.

“I understand that point well. Stable supply is most important. But if it’s a production line that worked together from the design stage, not only quality but also production speed will be incomparable to other places.”

“Certainly, Tiger Fund is the only semiconductor company that can consult from the design stage.”

“There’s no need to decide right now. Let’s start with iPod production and D-RAM supply first. You can watch directly how much Tiger Fund invests in the semiconductor factory, then decide after that. It won’t be too late.”

Trying to reel in a big fish all at once is an amateur’s method.

You have to push and pull appropriately while maintaining tension to finally catch it securely without losing it.

“Let’s first increase the D-RAM supply volume. Since we were already receiving D-RAM supply from Daehyeon Electronics, there shouldn’t be any problems. And let’s see the small device factory with our own eyes along with the working staff and finalize the contract manufacturing.”

“We’re ready to fill in any lacking facilities or equipment. Please take your time to look and decide.”

They were already halfway over.

There was no suitable contract manufacturing factory other than Daehyeon Electronics Small Device Production Factory.

Producing iPods here was almost confirmed, but now was actually the important part.

We had to make a solid impression so we could handle the next product line too.

***

We visited the Daehyeon Electronics Small Device Production Factory.

The area alone was a whopping 30,000 pyeong, definitely not a small scale.

However, since the Daehyeon Electronics Entire Industrial Complex reached 320,000 pyeong, this factory, which was only 10% of that, could look relatively small.

Jobs, myself, and Apple’s working staff checked various parts of the factory.

The factory manager and all executives at department manager level and above came out to introduce the factory to us.

“Certainly, just looking at the scale, it’s not bad conditions.”

“This factory can easily produce at least 100,000 units per month. The workforce alone exceeds 1,000 people, and there’s plenty of land available for factory expansion.”

The current monthly sales volume of iPods was around 100,000 units.

From the initial launch until now, 100,000 units had been selling consistently, and this was because the iPod production capacity limit was only 100,000 units.

Looking at demand alone, up to 300,000 units per month was possible.

So if the small device factory produced just 100,000 units, all of them could be sold.

“If parts supply is properly maintained, production volume could double.”

“I understand that the parts currently not being supplied properly are HDDs and LCD displays.”

“Toshiba promised to increase HDD supply volume, but LCD supply is difficult.”

“Korean companies also produce LCDs. Wouldn’t it be better to diversify supply?”

“Actually, that’s also one of the reasons I came to Korea to discuss this problem.”

Jobs didn’t have just one reason for coming to Korea.

Although meeting me was the biggest purpose, he also intended to contact various companies and proceed with parts supply negotiations.

“Is there a particular reason for using only Japanese LCDs?”

“It’s because of reliability. Korean small LCDs haven’t been completely verified yet.”

“Korean companies already have the capability to stably supply small LCDs.”

“Actually, my thinking changed after meeting Mister Lee. Mister Lee directly proved that Korean companies’ technological capabilities are sufficiently high.”

Should I call it a butterfly effect?

As Jobs visited Korea twice to meet me, he naturally began to take interest in Korean companies too.

Thanks to that, trust that hadn’t existed before was gradually building up.

“HDDs have been promised increased supply from Japan, and if we also contract with Korean companies for small LCDs, the parts problem should be somewhat resolved.”

“Finally, batteries remain. Hong Kong’s ATL is supplying lithium-ion batteries, but their production volume is still very small.”

A solution existed for that problem.

It was a solution I had thought of even before Jobs visited Korea, and it was also a method included in part of the plan I had made.

“Tiger Fund will step forward and try to solve that problem.”

“How do you mean?”

“I understand ATL is a new battery company that’s only been around for about 2 years. It seems they can’t expand their scale due to insufficient investment funds.”

“Are you saying Tiger Fund will invest in ATL?”

“We’ll try to significantly increase production volume through large-scale investment.”

Right now it’s just batteries supplied to iPods.

But miniaturization of electronic devices was an unstoppable trend, and the lithium-ion battery market would certainly grow dozens of times over before long.

Therefore, we absolutely had to preoccupy the battery market.

And my first target was Hong Kong’s ATL.

Since it would become a core gear of the structure I was designing and building, I was considering not just equity investment but even corporate acquisition.

“If that happens, we could certainly greatly increase production volume.”

“Of course it would be difficult right now, but within 1-2 years, production volume will become several times higher than now.”

“Having Tiger Fund nearby is very reassuring. Of course, it’s also because Mister Lee is at Tiger Fund that makes it trustworthy.”

The remaining parts could be procured somehow.

The important thing was to perfectly plan core parts supply, and if we met just that condition, this small device factory could soon become Apple’s Asian production base.

“We’ll match the defect rate of products from this factory to the world’s lowest level.”

“If it’s work that Mister Lee is handling, that should naturally be the case. Then I’ll be going now. I have meetings scheduled with LCD companies soon.”

Jobs left the factory with his working staff.

Only then did the factory executives who had been tense let out big sighs of relief.

“Everyone worked hard.”

“Oh, not at all. Thanks to the Branch Manager, our factory got a chance to come back to life!”

“Let’s save that talk for later, and I think we need to have a more realistic conversation now. Can we hold an executive meeting right now?”

“We’ll prepare right away!”

The first executive meeting I was convening.

Even calling them executives of Daehyeon Electronics Small Device Factory, there weren’t many of them.

One factory manager and 4 department managers.

It was a small number for a factory with 1,000 employees.

But since Daehyeon Electronics handled many tasks, the number of executives wasn’t large.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo, Branch Manager in charge of Tiger Fund Korea Branch. Sorry for the late introduction.”

“Not at all! We’re just grateful that you came to visit us like this.”

Factory Manager Myeong Jin-seob spoke with sincerity.

That didn’t mean the conference room atmosphere was entirely good though.

Some executives thought that a fund acquiring the factory meant the goal was resale or asset disposal.

I decided to appease those executives’ hearts first.

Trust relationships had to be built for factory management to become easier too.

“Tiger Fund has no intention of selling this small device factory in the short term. Rather, we plan to grow it further.”

“Then there won’t be any restructuring?”

“The principle was set from the time of acquisition. We’ll proceed with only the minimum necessary restructuring, and unless there are special problems or serious underperformance, we’ll all work together.”

This was content specified in the contract as well.

Minimal restructuring.

As Chairman Oh Hee-geon had told me, I planned to take everyone except thieves and robbers.

“Thank you. All executives and employees were greatly concerned about employment issues.”

“You don’t need to worry about that issue. In fact, we plan to hire a large number of new personnel. And factory expansion is already planned as well.”

“How much do you plan to expand the factory?”

“The scale will depend on how well our factory makes products. As you saw today, Apple has become our new client. If we can give clients trust, it’s possible to expand the factory scale by dozens of times or more.”

To expand the scale, skills had to back it up.

While Daehyun Electronics’ small device factory had accumulated considerable technical expertise, that alone wasn’t enough.

“We’re confident in product manufacturing. Our factory is famous for having very low defect rates.”

“Simply lowering defect rates isn’t the end of it. From now on, we’ll be producing sensitive small devices. To do that, we need to completely change everything starting with the environment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if not to semiconductor factory levels, we need to strengthen dust-proof facilities several times more than now, introduce robotic arms, and add employee training to give clients trust.”

The current factory environment wasn’t bad either.

Perhaps because Jobs and I were coming, the cleanliness was very excellent, and facility management was neatly done.

But from my perspective, it was full of inadequate parts.

The production line flow wasn’t optimized, and the work distribution was also bothersome to look at.

“Adding more dust-proof facilities can increase cleanliness, but the cost isn’t trivial.”

“All costs will be covered by Tiger Fund. Factory Manager, please just help employees adapt well to the suddenly changed rules and environment.”

“I’ll do my best to work hard.”

Having left Daehyun Electronics’ embrace, now Tiger Fund had to embrace the factory.

To do that, Tiger Fund had to manage accounting and financial work.

“Finance and accounting will also be handled by Tiger Fund. We’ll create an environment where all executives and employees can focus only on the factory.”

“….”

“Thank you.”

The reaction was more lukewarm than expected.

Why would they react like this when I’m saying I’ll reduce their workload?

Still, for the meeting atmosphere, I just continued with the next words.

“Annual salary and even benefits will be maintained as they are now. From children’s education fund support to housing loan funds and performance bonus systems will all be maintained as is. Of course, it will be difficult to purchase Daehyun Electronics products cheaply from now on, but you’ll receive corresponding welfare points.”

“Thank you so much for caring to that extent.”

The executives regained smiles on their faces once again.

Only then did I bring out the last words I had prepared.

“The small device factory will now be reborn as an independent corporation. The name is Nexcon.”

“Our factory’s name will become Nexcon?”

“That’s right. Factory Manager, you are now Nexcon’s inaugural president.”

I personally handed over the nameplate I had prepared in advance, engraved with the factory manager’s name.

Instantly the conference room filled with thunderous applause, and relief and anticipation crossed the executives’ expressions.

So they could fully enjoy that joy, I quietly slipped out of the conference room.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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