MTL - Reborn Capital Empire-v2 Chapter 704 Rover's production line
Chapter 704 Rover's Production Line
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The next day, Guo Shouyun asked Matthew to drive to pick up Brito and his party in the morning.
"How are you, are you resting?"
"not bad!"
"That's good." Guo Shouyun nodded, "The weather is good today, suitable for visiting. Matthew, let's go!"
After a response, the car started and soon left London for Birmingham, 160 kilometers away.
Birmingham, the second largest international city in the UK after London, is also the center of heavy industry in the UK, accounting for 25% of all industrial products in the UK. .
However, the production center of British cars is not in the urban area of Birmingham, but in the city's Long Bridge below it. Because he had been informed long ago, Kevin Howard, CEO of Phoenix Group, who mastered Rover Motors, had already led the group's senior management to line up outside the Longqiao Rover Automobile Factory to greet him.
"Miss Wu, where is Mr. Guo now?"
An anxious Kevin Howard asked the tall, tall and beautiful woman in black ladies business attire with a calm expression next to her.
"Mr. Howard, isn't it the appointed time yet?"
"I just wanted to make sure."
Seeing this middle-aged man with anxiety and sadness in his expression, Wu Xiaojing understood his inner feelings very well. Since Phoenix Group took over Rover from BMW Group at a nominal price of 10 pounds, although the latter secured a long-term interest-free loan of 475 million pounds, it has cooperated with Tata Group to develop a new 'City'. Wanderer' models.
However, the ugly appearance and the "urban wanderer" with no British temperament not only failed to usher in the sales boom expected by the Phoenix Group, but instead caused a lot of scolding in the UK. Hundreds of millions of pounds of investment went to waste and completely ruined the Phoenix Group's confidence in saving Rover.
Now, Rover Motors, which has nearly $5 billion in debt, has a monthly net loss of nearly £20 million, or nearly $40 million. Inside the Phoenix Group, they want to sell this mess as soon as possible, even if they don't want a penny.
It is a pity that the consortiums and car manufacturers that they recruited interested in Rover Motors were all deterred by its huge losses after cleaning up the assets of Rover Motors. Guo Shouyun's Red Star Automobile Group is the only company that is still interested in Rover after learning about its losses.
Therefore, the Phoenix Group seems to have seized a life-saving straw. It is eagerly hoped that the rich man can collect the "losing money" of Rover Motors, so that they can be liberated from the quagmire of losses. Kevin Howard, chief executive of the Phoenix Group, is particularly pressing. Because the board of directors has given him a death order, if he can't solve this problem within a month, he will be swept away.
Under the threat of losing a great job, it's no wonder he's so active, even anxious.
"arrive!"
When Wu Xiaojing was about to say something, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a familiar car at the corner of the intersection.
With the four BMWs guarding the middle Rolls-Royce stretched sedan slowly drove in and stopped. Kevin Howard did not need Wu Xiaojing to say hello, but took the initiative to greet him.
"Mr. Guo, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kevin Howard, CEO of Phoenix Group!"
As soon as Guo Shouyun got out of the car, he saw the hands stretched out in front of him. After taking a brief look at the thin-faced man in front of him, lying with silkworm eyebrows and a slightly hawk-like nose, he stretched out his right hand in his smile with a hint of flattery.
"Mr. Howard, it's also a pleasure to meet you. But I'm a little flattered by such a glorious scene!"
"Mr. Guo is a top business elite and a world-class financial genius. Everyone hopes to meet you."
For Kevin Howard's deliberate approach, Guo Shouyun smiled and pointed to Brito, who was walking beside him.
"This is Mr. Brito from our Red Star Auto Group."
"Mr. Brito, hello!"
"Hello!"
Brito's expression was serious, but it wasn't that he didn't like seeing Kevin Howard, it was just his habitual coldness.
Kevin Howard didn't take it seriously either, and introduced the senior management of Phoenix Group and Rover to the two of them.
"I heard that Mr. Guo likes to drink tea. I have already prepared tea in the reception room." Kevin Howard said.
"Mr. Howard has his mind. But you can drink tea anytime. Time is precious. Let's go to the factory first."
Seeing Guo Shouyun insisting, Kevin Howard nodded.
"Mr. Guo's work-oriented style is really admirable!"
"Mr. Howard likes it in seconds. ... Shall we go?"
"Okay, please come with me."
Under the leadership of Kevin Howard, the group walked into the factory area, bypassed the front office building, and then really entered the back factory area.
Since Ford began to produce cars on the assembly line, the auto industry has truly entered the era of big industry. With the advancement of technology and the improvement of processing capacity, the automobile production line has become larger and more complete. Up to now, almost all major car companies have done it, from the steel plate to the whole process of the car rolling off the assembly line. The entire stamping, welding, painting and final assembly workshop has also been increased to a length of nearly one kilometer.
"Mr. Guo, Rover's production lines are state-of-the-art. Just like the 4,000-ton stamping press you see now, it's easy to process higher-quality car shells."
Stamping equipment is an indispensable and important equipment for industrial production, especially automobile manufacturing. Wearing a safety helmet, Guo Shouyun looked at this big guy with a height of more than three meters and a length of more than ten meters. With the help of various computer parameters, Guo Shouyun easily pressed sheets of thick steel plates into car shells, which were then smashed. The hoisting equipment and transfer equipment are transported to the machine tool area, and the workers use sharp machine tool cutters to cut out the position of the windows, the position of the lights and so on. Let people truly appreciate the beauty of industry, especially heavy industry.
Continuing along the production line, one process of automobile production comes into view.
"Mr. Guo, this is the most advanced welding robot from ABB in Switzerland that we have introduced. It adopts laser welding. Compared with manual work, its welding seam is more uniform, the structure is stronger, and the efficiency is three times higher than that of manual work!"
Guo Shouyun nodded, looked at it for a while, then turned around, "What do you think?"
"Swiss ABB's welding robot can indeed improve the strength of automobile welding and improve the safety of the whole vehicle, but its price is as high as 240,000 US dollars per unit, and it does not include the cost of post-maintenance. It is used in Europe where the salary level is higher. No problem. But in Huaxia, I am afraid that labor is cheaper."
"However, the yield of manual labor is not as good as that of machines, right?" Guo Shouyun said.
"Yes! Workers have different levels of welding, and they don't work around the clock like robots do."
"I still use welding robots. I would rather make less money and ensure product quality! Moreover, over time, good quality will become the reputation of our company. This is a wealth that cannot be measured by money!"
When it comes to Japanese cars in later generations, people will subconsciously think of fuel-efficient and durable; when they think of BBA, they will subconsciously think of excellent quality and face, and of course the Mercedes-Benz behind them will be smashed; when they think of American cars, they are rough and powerful. Oil cost. Specific to different car companies and car series, there are also different labels. This label is the standard for people to buy a vehicle.
What Guo Shouyun hopes is that people's impression of Red Star cars is that they are durable, solid, high-quality and cost-effective. Rover and MG are luxury cars, and sports cars are of course needless to say.
It's just that this impression cannot be achieved in a short period of time, and it must be possible after a long period of market precipitation. However, such a corporate culture and product pursuit must be established in all aspects from the beginning, and then deeply engraved on the bones of every Red Star employee.
After explaining Brito, Guo Shouyun walked ahead and continued along the production line. The whole process is over in no time.
"Mr. Howard, is this the Rover 75?"
Guo Shouyun asked, pointing to the classic car that just rolled off the assembly line, with a golden body and a retro shape, full of British aristocratic style.
"The Rover 75 is currently the most popular model produced by Rover Motors, with nearly 10,000 units sold so far!"
Guo Shouyun nodded. He had seen the information on the Rover 75, which was a new model developed by BMW after the acquisition of Rover. Using a 2.0 diesel engine, it has sufficient power and a solid chassis. The McPherson independent suspension and Z-type suspension have excellent handling performance.
Therefore, this car performed well in the market after it was launched in 1996, but the British made the old aristocracy's old-fashioned problem again. This car has been on the market until now~www.novelbuddy.com~ Except for several small changes in the middle, it has been eight years. There are no updates! This is simply unimaginable. In an age of rapid change in car design and technology, one year without change can lead to obsolete, let alone eight years.
After visiting the factory, when Guo Shouyun was about to go to the next one, he was stopped by Kevin Howard.
"What? Are there any precious things in this factory that can't be seen by outsiders?"
"No! It's just... This factory has been shut down. Except for the production line, there is really nothing to show Mr. Guo." Kevin Howard said with an embarrassed look.
Although he didn't want to expose his shortcomings, Rover's embarrassment has long been known to the outside world, and it is definitely impossible to hide it.
"So it is!" Guo Shouyun nodded. Rover Motors has a total of three production plants in Longbridge, Oxford and Coventry. Longbridge mainly produces Land Rover, Jaguar and MG series, as well as Rover Seven and Five. After Land Rover and Jaguar were sold to Ford, now only MG is left. and Rover Seventy Five. The Oxford factory and Coventry mainly produce the Rover series, as well as Austin and the City Wanderer, but apart from Rover, the latter two have only brands left, and the other has no market at all.
