Chapter 281 Export Preparation

Sur Electric's location in Jamnagar is near the airport, with convenient transportation access as it is adjacent to the state highway and not far from the port to the west.

This port city has just entered the fast lane of development, and there is a busy scene everywhere with a lot of work to be done.

Ron entered the market very early and is fully qualified to be picky. His Sur Electric Appliances will be the largest enterprise within a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

With this kind of super financial sponsor, the local government can get whatever it wants.

It is no exaggeration to say that Sur Electric will be the core pillar of Jamnagar in the future.

The GDP of the entire city depends on him alone. Maybe in a few years Ron's words will be more effective than those of local officials.

Of course, that was just a fantasy, his Sur Electric Appliances had not yet started construction.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for next week, which will be attended by Gujarat politicians and local dignitaries.

Ron has been wandering around the warehouse area these past two days, where the temporary factory of Soul Electric is located.

He couldn't wait. Two years for the first phase of the project was too long and by then the opportunity would be gone.

In order to expand the market size as much as possible, he directly rented several warehouses here and converted them into factories.

This process is much faster and can be completed in two months.

Only six assembly lines have been moved here temporarily, selling both 14-inch and 18-inch black and white TVs, with a full range of products.

The production line was shipped directly from Donda and Jamnagar itself has a port so it can be installed right after unloading the ship.

Most of the spare parts are provided by Mumbai, still by water. If they are not enough, Todai can provide support.

In short, relying on convenient shipping, the factory here in Gujarat can be put into production in just three months.

However, this is only a temporary stopgap measure. In the future, most parts will be produced locally, including core parts such as cathode ray tubes.

Now we are all racing against time, so the manufacturing cost here is slightly higher than the Mumbai factory because of the additional shipping costs.

"How is the factory's production capacity?" Ron was inspecting the workshop.

"Many of the workers are newly trained. We estimate that in two months, the monthly production of televisions of each model can reach 20,000 units," answered the person in charge of the local factory, an old employee transferred from Mumbai.

“The factories in Jamnagar are all assembly lines. Once the workers become skilled, the output can be increased.”

"Yes, boss."

The parts shipped from Mumbai and East University are inspected when they leave the factory.

The factory's job here is simply assembly, which doesn't require much technical expertise. Theoretically, as long as there's a sufficient supply of parts, production capacity can continue to increase.

“Are there any issues with the local dealer?”

"No, they've been waiting to pick up the goods for a long time. They used to have to go all the way to Mumbai, but now they can do it right at their doorstep, which saves a lot of costs."

"That's right. Soul Electric's production capacity has always been in short supply. We don't have to worry about that here in West India anymore."

Why did Ron establish a branch factory? Besides expanding production capacity, it was also to consolidate new markets and, incidentally, to enhance the brand awareness and expand the influence of Soul Electric.

In addition, it is also to share the business risks. We cannot put all our hopes on Mumbai.

Once the policy in a certain area changes, other branches can continue to operate.

Of course, cost and tax are also major considerations. The labor cost in Gujarat is much lower than in Mumbai, and a salary of 2,000 rupees is already very high.

Tax dispersion is also one of the benefits. It can dilute the total profit in the Mumbai area, so that the income tax can be lowered.

The six production lines in the workshop have already started operation. Thousands of workers are busy here, and everyone has a smile on their face.

They may be clumsy at first, but they really want to do their job well, and they cherish it.

Sur Electric Appliances has a good reputation and is not the kind of black-hearted factory that eats people without leaving any bones. Who could be dissatisfied with it?

Ron was also very satisfied. He and the BJP had agreed that the factory had the right to fire employees.

Don't even think of the hereditary system of positions.

It's okay to cheat outsiders, but don't cheat your own people. Ron is not a good person.

While he was inspecting the workshop, Anil suddenly came in and whispered a few words.

Ron nodded, and soon a burly man was brought in.

“Vinod!”

"Ron Baba!"

The big man wanted to do the foot-touching salute, but was stopped by Ron, who held the other's shoulder and patted him with satisfaction.

"After spending so much time in Dubai, the sand has toughened you up."

“That place is actually no different from Mumbai. Whoever has the stronger fist speaks louder.” Vinod laughed.

"I can see that you can talk freely in there." Ron led him into the office.

"The travel agency has sent tens of thousands of people abroad in the past two years, so we can always find people who meet their needs."

"Yes, it is necessary, otherwise the Mumbai gangs would not be so polite to us."

"Ron Baba, do you have any mission for me to come back this time? Don't worry, I know where the boss of the Daud Gang is hiding." Vinod was eager to try.

"No, it's not a gang thing." Ron waved his hand. "This is serious business."

"Business?" Vinod looked around. "You mean..."

"How about these TVs? Aren't they great?" Ron asked with a smile.

The TVs assembled in Jamnagar are already improved versions. While the core components remain the same, the main changes are in the overall design.

Parts such as the casing, knobs, and decorative panels are all produced by Sur Electric.

According to Ron's aesthetic taste, some elements from later generations are casually incorporated into the design, while also taking into account local customs.

The TV designed can easily beat all the inferior products on the market.

They are lighter and more agile, completely different from the previous angular and tough style.

"I can't put it into words. This kind of TV is beautiful, the kind that makes you feel comfortable."

"It seems everyone has similar opinions. Do you think people in the Gulf countries will like it?"

"Of course, I promise, I've been there a long time and I know what they like."

“This is the business I want to do, exporting Sur TVs to the Persian Gulf countries.”

"Ron Baba, do you mean to bring these goods on board secretly?" Vinod blinked.

"No, it's not smuggling. We want to do it openly."

“Have you already taken care of the officials there?” Vinod’s eyes lit up.

"Unfortunately, no," Ron shrugged.

"Ah, so what do I need to do?"

If Vinod was asked to deliver bullets to a gangster, or find out their background and threaten them, he would do it without a second thought.

It's really difficult for him to suddenly change his career to such a serious business as selling televisions.

He is a rough guy and doesn't know anything about business operations.

"What you need to do is very simple. Just bring a batch of prototypes and ask well-known dealers or shopping malls if they are interested in Soul TVs."

"Are we exploring the way first?"

"You can say that. Remember to emphasize to them that our goods are cheap enough, only half the international price."

“Wow, that’s definitely no problem!” Vinod shook his head. “There are many poor people in Arab countries too. After all, there’s only one Dubai.”

"That would be best. If they show strong interest, we can contact their official agencies through formal channels." Ron handed him a document.

“What is this?” Vinod looked through it curiously.

"The process of technical certification in Gulf countries, as well as instructions on how to apply for an import license."

“I don’t quite understand this,” Vinod shook his head awkwardly.

"I'll send a few assistants to work with you, and they'll take care of these tasks."

“That’s easy.” Vinod breathed a sigh of relief.

He was fine with fighting, that was his specialty, but when it came to dealing with the authorities, he was completely clueless.

"You will only be responsible for taking the lead this time. If there is anything you can't handle, just call me and I will fly to Dubai myself."

"Ron Baba, you should have come earlier. The girls there are not bad."

"Nonsense, what else do I need?" Ron smiled and waved his hands.

"Anyway, don't worry, I'll take care of it when I get back."

Vinod left happily. He now lives in Dubai and has become a local boss there.

Of course, Ron had to use existing resources to export televisions to the Gulf countries.

It is impossible for him to smuggle. For such a large enterprise, he must export on a large scale.

However, there are too many Arab countries and it takes too much time to contact them one by one.

So Ron plans to go through GCC and G-Mark certification (Gulf Cooperation Council) first. After affixing this mark, Sur Electric's products can be circulated directly among member countries.

Vinod's task was to take the lead, complete the preliminary preparations, and at the same time find out the local market's reaction to Sur TV.

The factory in Jamnagar will continue to be expanded, and by the time the production capacity is increased, the export procedures may have been completed.

In order to speed up the expansion as much as possible, Ron made multiple decisions at the same time.

After staying in Gujarat for another week and completing the signing ceremony at the Sur Park, Ron flew back to Mumbai without stopping.

There's nothing we can do. Just after a few days of peace, trouble comes knocking again.

Low-price dumping, what a fresh word.

In India, a country where many people can't even afford to eat, the term "dumping" is a bit inappropriate.

The antitrust complaint was filed by the Mumbai Electrical Appliances Industry Council.

Several companies jointly condemned the incident, and of course the two most important ones were Videocon and Onida.

Even Ron knew that the real mastermind was Chandani, Onida's boss.

In the last Firefly Project, it was Videocon that contributed, and Onida could only play a supporting role at best.

In this antitrust case, the other party changed their perfunctory attitude last time and became very proactive.

The reason is simple. Sur Electric Appliances has lowered the price of 18-inch color TVs.

Chandani put up with the joint venture's color TV because its price was not much cheaper than Onida's.

But what about this new Ultimate Edition TV? 15,000 rupees, that’s almost 10,000 rupees cheaper than its competitors!

This is not how a price war is fought, as that would almost cut into Onida's vital artery.

Color TV is their main product, and the production line introduced from JCV is still under construction.

This move by Sur Electric is equivalent to directly destroying Onida's existing market and all future investments.

Chandani was anxious. If he did not take any action, Onida's future would be difficult.

(End of this chapter)