Chapter 21 Assembly Line
In the days that followed, the weapons and equipment produced by the arsenal continued to support the smooth progress of Eder's reorganization plan. Eder is also overseeing other initiatives.
Just as Eder was watching Romania's industrial development, the chief of the Kalust guard gave him good news. After returning to the United States, Henry Ford spent several months researching and building the truck Eder needed. Now Henry Ford told Eder the good news.
This news is too good for Eder, now the car factories are all hand-made cars, and they are all passenger cars, and the part of cargo cars is not taken seriously. Edel develops this market first, and can open the market with mature products, and with the sharp weapon of the assembly line, most of the car manufacturers can be stopped. This could make a big difference to the Romanian economy. A truck can carry three times the weight of a horse-drawn wagon, which is a good boost for both dock and factory transport, which is no less than a gold mine for Eder.
Eder asked Henry Ford to bring the prototype and technical team over, and he was now desperate to see Ford's masterpiece. Twenty days later, Eder was in Constanta inspecting a steel mill and saw a technical team led by Henry Ford.
"Mr. Ford didn't expect you to come in person." Edel stepped forward and shook Henry Ford's hand. "Your Highness, thank you so much for welcoming our team in person, come and see our treasures." With the roar of cars, a relatively primitive truck drove up in front of Eder.
"Your Highness, I will introduce you to this car, his car is 4 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, 2 meters high, the cab can seat two people, the tires are made of hollow rubber and 20 centimeters wide, to ensure that it can drive on the road grass, we use a carriage according to the requirements of the crown prince, the carriage is an iron and wood structure that can be loaded 1. With 5 tonnes of cargo not crushing the axle and 150 hp to keep it moving, it's a perfect masterpiece. Henry Ford introduces his masterpiece to Eder.
"It's very good, how many kilometers can you run with a full tank of fuel?" Edel asked about the topics he cared about most. "We designed a big tank for it, and it can run 200 kilometers per hour at 40 kilometers per hour." Ford answered Eder's question.
"What is the maximum carrying capacity of this car?" Edel asked.
"We have done experiments that can drive 2.5 tons of cargo to run 100 kilometers, but the car needs to be repaired after the run."
"Do you have a name?" Eder pointed to the prototype and asked, "I haven't chosen a name yet, I'm waiting for His Highness to go for this new car." Henry Ford gave Edel a little slap on the back. Then let's call it Dongfeng, I believe it can sweep the world. Ford and the people around him nodded in acknowledging the name.
"How much can such a car cost now?" Eder asked if a truck was too expensive to be used for transportation, and that it couldn't be too expensive to replace a horse-drawn carriage.
"Your Highness, according to my calculations, now makes such a wagon, and the cost should be 1,000 dollars." Henry Ford said with a little pride, Henry Ford has his proud capital, and now a car in the United States costs about 4,000 US dollars, but it is all kinds of materials are made of high-end goods, and they are specially sold to the rich. And the van doesn't need those things, so it can bring the price down. Eder thought to himself that it was still too expensive, and the profit needed to be sold for $1,200 and almost 260 pounds. There will be no market at all, and it seems that we have to enlarge the moves.
Eder asked Henry Ford, "Do workers now make cars from one and then build another?" Henry Ford was surprised that the crown prince would ask this question, and answered truthfully. Now it's all about producing cars like this, is there anything wrong with the crown prince? Eder decided to tell him about Henry Ford's greatest creation, and it was this initiative that made Ford stand out as the greatest man in the history of automobiles. That's the great innovation of the assembly line.
This was the inspiration Ford got from the slaughterhouse, which uses what can be called a "dismantling line", in which a slaughtered cow or pig is moved in front of a large number of meat cutters, each of whom only cuts a specific part. Ford turned this process upside down, with the chassis of the car moving from one end to the other at a certain speed on a conveyor belt. In the process of moving forward, gradually install the engine, air control system, cabin, steering wheel, instrument, lights, window glass, wheels, and a complete car is assembled. The first assembly line shortened the assembly time of each Model T car from 12 hours and 28 minutes to 10 seconds, and increased the production efficiency by 4,488 times!
Eder gave Ford more of this plan, and Ford was very excited and grabbed Edel by the arms and said excitedly. "Your Highness, you are such a genius that I can make it possible for ordinary people to buy a car. You must know that nowadays cars are completely a symbol of the status and status of the wealthy, and ordinary people simply cannot afford them, and my dream is to make cars that ordinary people can use. "Eder thought to himself that this was your greatest initiative, and you didn't have to thank me for making your dream come true in advance.
"So after such optimization, how much can our Dongfeng truck cost?" "It should be down to $700 in cost, and it's only going to get lower the further it goes." Workers only do one part, the requirements for workers will not be too high, which can reduce our training time, which is also very beneficial to our expansion. Henry Ford said excitedly. At a cost of less than £145, Eder is pleased with the fact that it could be a game-changer for the transport industry.
Apparently Ford was also outstanding as a businessman and knew right away the power of this price. "Can Your Highness hand over the authorization of the Americas to Ford Company to produce." Ford also picked up this topic in advance. Eder knew that Henry Ford's heart wanted to grow the Ford Company the most, one was the president and the other was a shareholder, and everyone knew the choice. And Ford has really developed, and the Wall Street consortium will not let go of this gold mine. Eder, as a small European country, was able to get advantage under a consortium, which was not possible for a consortium with a private army.
"Well, Henry Ford, I can sell Ford for $10 a car in the Americas, and you will sell me for $10 a new model in the future." Eder is aiming for the Model T, and I believe that the current Ford Company will not be able to repay its debts, and by the time it grows to the point where it can rely on its debts, Edel will have made enough money for a long time.