Lyme Metallurgical Design in Frankfurt. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Marketing Commissioner Kolpitz received a phone call early in the morning, claiming to be from the Chinese embassy in West Germany, who said that a metallurgical delegation from China wanted to visit the company and discuss cooperation with the company.

Kolpitz immediately informed the company's general manager, Hanfmann, who reacted with half-belief when he heard the news, he had heard that in the past two years, the distant eastern country had begun to open its doors, and the streets of Frankfurt could be seen from time to time with groups of Chinese wearing uniform suits. So far, however, no Chinese delegation has patronized his company, and he can't think of what kind of services he can provide to the Chinese.

"When you reach out to them, be polite, listen to their needs, and don't say yes or no. Hanfman instructed Colpitz on the phone.

Kolpitz sat nervously at his workstation waiting for the Chinese to arrive, and he even asked his colleagues whether the Chinese had any etiquette or taboos, and a colleague who claimed to have studied Eastern culture told him that the Chinese seemed to be accustomed to greeting each other with fists. Colpitz then studied the fist salute by surprise, intending to be able to show friendship to the Chinese when they arrived.

The Chinese came quickly, with a group of six people, five men and one woman. The company's front desk secretary ushered them into the meeting room, and just as they sat down, Colpitz walked in with his assistant Gibby.

"Hello!"

Kolpitz greeted the crowd in stiff Chinese, and at the same time gave them a newly-learned fist salute. I don't know if the oriental culture expert taught it wrong, or Korpitz learned it wrong, his fist salute was crossed between the fingers on both sides, so that a group of Chinese mistakenly thought it was some German folk custom, so they also learned and compared it.

An oolong was placed, and the guests and hosts sat down separately. After introducing themselves, Kolpitz welcomed the guests from afar as host, and then Luo Xiangfei, the head of the Chinese delegation, began to speak, and He Lili acted as an interpreter for both sides in the process.

"Mr. Kolpitz, it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to visit your company, we are from the Metallurgical Bureau of the National Economic Commission of China, and our mission in Germany is to find a partner in Germany to help us with the design and procurement of a 1780 mm hot rolling line. We would like to hear from you that we are one of the most prestigious metallurgical technical service companies in Europe. Luo Xiangfei said.

Kolpitz replied, "Dear Mr. Luo, thank you very much for your trust in our company. As a senior metallurgical technical service company, Lyme is very happy to provide a full range of metallurgical technical consulting services for merchants all over the world, especially from the East. You just said that you would like to get a 1780mm hot rolling line, can you please be more specific about the requirements so that we can consider how to serve you? ”

"Absolutely. Luo Xiangfei said, turned his head to Ji Ming, deputy director of the technical department, and introduced the technical details as Ji Ming's work.

Ji Ming opened a notebook and began to state the relevant needs. According to the previous consideration of the Metallurgical Bureau, the annual processing capacity of this hot rolling production line should be between 3 million tons and 3.5 million tons, including heating, rough rolling, finishing rolling, finishing and other processes, capable of producing thin, medium and thick plates and coils, equipment including heating furnace, descaler, rough rolling mill, flying shear, finishing mill, coiler, cross-cutting unit, slitting unit, straightening machine, palletizing machine, etc., hoping to achieve fully automated production. It is hoped that the price of the complete set of equipment will be controlled within 320 million US dollars, or about 960 million West German marks.

When it comes to the translation of these technical contents, He Lili's German is not enough, and Feng Xiaochen took over in time and translated to Kolpitz. He speaks German fluently, and the use of professional vocabulary is also very accurate, which convinced Qiao Ziyuan, Yang Yongnian and Ji Ming.

Kolpitz is worthy of being a professional metallurgical technology consulting expert, and he understood what Ji Ming said as soon as he heard it. He recorded Ji Ming's requests in his notebook, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two, asking for individual details, or reminding Ji Ming of something he had inadvertently overlooked.

The requirements put forward by the Chinese side were not very complicated, and it was very easy for a professional metallurgical technical consulting company like Lyme to help design and procure a hot rolling line. What Kolpitz doesn't understand is why the Chinese want to make a detour and let their company assist in procurement, like this kind of conventional equipment, it is completely possible to negotiate directly with the equipment manufacturer, and the role that Lyme can play in it is not very large.

Could it be that the Chinese have not made any other demands? Kolpitz thought to himself.

After listening to Ji Ming's words, Kolpitz made a simple calculation in his notebook, and then said: "According to the goal you proposed, I hope to purchase all the equipment and complete the installation and commissioning within the budget of 960 million West German marks, which is a little nervous. However, please rest assured, LEM is a very professional consulting organization, we can carefully design a most reasonable procurement plan according to your requirements, choose the most suitable supplier for you, and strive for the best purchase price for you. By the way, in this business, we charge a commission of 4% of the equipment price, which I think you should have understood, right?"

Four percent of $320 million is $12.8 million, which is not a small amount. However, before Luo Xiangfei and his entourage set off, they had already roughly understood the relevant market and knew that the price quoted by Kolpitz was reasonable, which was basically the regular quotation of this kind of service. In this business, Lyme Company is responsible for integrating the equipment of different manufacturers, helping the Chinese side negotiate prices, and also assisting in dealing with various disputes in the process of production line construction.

"On the issue of commissions, it is enough to operate according to your company's standards, and we have no objections. Luo Xiangfei said, "However, in addition to what Mr. Ji said just now, we have some other requirements for this procurement, which also need to be explained to Mr. Kolpitz in advance." ”

Really...... , Kolpitz muttered in his heart, and then said, "Mr. Luo, please speak." ”

Luo Xiangfei said: "First of all, we want more than just a set of equipment, we also hope to learn some advanced German production technology in the process of introducing this set of equipment. We hope that the equipment manufacturers can transfer part of the technology to the Chinese side, so that the Chinese metallurgical equipment enterprises can participate in the production of part of the equipment in this production line through authorized production or cooperative production, and master the relevant technology in the process. ”

"How is this possible!" Kolpitz said bluntly, widening his eyes, "no one has ever made such a request, and the producer will not agree." ”

"For producers who are willing to cooperate with us in this way, the Chinese government has promised to give priority to the purchase of their products in future metallurgical equipment procurement, and I think this commitment should be attractive. Luo Xiangfei said lightly.

The condition mentioned by Luo Xiangfei was later summarized as a strategy of "market for technology". If China wants to import technology from abroad, in addition to directly spending money to buy it, there is another way, that is, to exchange it with the market.

If China wants to engage in industrial construction, the demand for metallurgical equipment is very large. China's own technological level cannot manufacture these equipment, and if it all depends on imports, not to mention whether foreign exchange reserves can be supported, there is also an important area subject to the problem of others, which is also very difficult for the Chinese to accept.

Under such circumstances, the decision-making department put forward the idea of exchanging the market for technology, and on the condition of helping Western enterprises enter the Chinese market, they demanded that the other side transfer their technology and implement technical cooperation with Chinese enterprises such as "joint design and cooperative manufacturing" to help Chinese enterprises gradually master the production capacity of complete sets of equipment.

When making this request, Luo Xiangfei was a little apprehensive, not knowing whether such conditions could be accepted by Western companies. However, in front of Kolpitz, he did not show this mood, but maintained a calm and calm look, conveying a confident feeling of "everything is under control" to Kolpitz.

Kolpitz shrugged his shoulders and said: "Mr. Luo, I think this request of yours is impossible to achieve, German equipment manufacturers will be very happy to provide your country with first-class equipment, but to transfer this production technology to your country, this request is too much, I can't think of any company willing to accept such conditions." ”

"That's where we need your company's assistance. Luo Xiangfeitu said insightfully, "If we only purchase a set of production lines, we can contact the manufacturer directly, and there is no need to go through your company." ”

"I don't think there's anything we can do about it. Colpitz said euphemistically.

Luo Xiangfei asked coldly, "Mr. Kolpitz means that you are not willing to accept this business?"

"Yes......" Kolpitz blurted out, and then, remembering Hanfman's advice, he quickly changed his words, "No, I mean, your requirements are a bit beyond our business capacity, and I need to report to the company, and the company will judge whether we can take on this business." ”

"Well, we hope to get feedback from your company as soon as possible. If your company wants to contact us, you can convey it through the Chinese Embassy, and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible after we get the news. Luo Xiangfei said.

"Well, I think we'll get back to you soon. Colpitz said.