Chapter 269 The Glory of Factory 774
Ten years ago, at Factory 774 — the famous Capital Electron Tube Factory — Duan Yongping had worked alongside Wang Dongsheng for three years. At that time, Wang Dongsheng had just completed his graduate studies, while Duan Yongping only held an undergraduate degree. As a result, the following year, Wang Dongsheng was promoted to deputy section chief.
Seeing Wang's rapid rise, thanks to his high academic credentials, had motivated Duan Yongping to pursue graduate studies himself. After completing his degree, he headed south to start a new life, ultimately transforming a struggling small factory on the brink of bankruptcy into China's number one learning machine manufacturer, founding the household name "Subor."
In comparison, although Wang Dongsheng's career also progressed smoothly — becoming CFO within a few years — Factory 774 failed to adapt to the massive changes in the semiconductor industry. After several consecutive years of losses, the factory was facing bankruptcy. It was then that Wang Dongsheng was appointed as the new factory director.
In 1993, just one year later, Wang managed to raise funds and push through a shareholding reform, achieving profitability within the same year — today, components produced by BOE, formerly known as Factory 774, could be found in VCDs and cordless phones.
Duan Yongping looked at Su Yuanshan with some confusion, not understanding why he suddenly brought up Wang Dongsheng.
"Well," Su Yuanshan said after thinking for a moment, "last month, I saw a report in the electronics journal about Factory 774 — oh, it's called BOE now — where they outlined some forward-looking thoughts about the LCD industry."
Duan Yongping immediately caught on. "You're thinking about acquiring them?"
Su Yuanshan couldn't help but feel speechless.
Duan Yongping chuckled. "Their restructuring barely cost ten million. It's only been a year; their valuation wouldn't have increased much."
"Forget it. I generally don't touch restructured companies... especially these old factories where thousands of employees pooled their money to fund the restructuring. Their sense of ownership is way too strong."
Su Yuanshan smiled and asked, "Since you worked there for three years, give me an honest assessment. How strong is BOE right now?"
Duan Yongping thought for a few seconds and then smiled bitterly.
"Compared to Yuanxin, Factory 774 can't compete now. It's even weaker than Huajing and similar companies. But... 774 was one of the first aid projects back then! Over the past thirty years, Factory 774 supported a massive part of China's semiconductor industry. Even after losing some of its people to build what became the northern giant, Factory 878, 774 was still formidable."
"Although it has declined over the years, the foundation is still there. Most of the technical staff from my time are still around. They're limited mainly by their vision, mindset, and the systemic problems of the organization. The fact that Wang Dongsheng was able to turn a profit immediately after restructuring proves there's still strength there."
Duan Yongping even drew from his own experience. "When I chose to join RiHua, it was because, despite outward appearances of heavy losses, the employees were all skilled and capable. They just lacked direction, good products, and efficient rules — that's why I could turn things around so quickly."
Su Yuanshan nodded. "Got it. That clears up a big doubt for me."
Coming from a purely technical background in his previous life, Su Yuanshan had only recently begun managing businesses, and he had always wondered why so many companies seemed to succeed overnight after restructuring — he had even suspected it was just propaganda hype.
But after hearing Duan Yongping's explanation, he realized that these success stories weren't solely due to the entrepreneurs' abilities. The existing technical strength and foundation of the companies mattered a great deal.
"If Factory 774 still has that kind of strength, it's worth reaching out to them. Let's see what their understanding of LCD panels is like, whether they've started research in that direction."
Duan Yongping pondered for a moment, then asked with a smile, "But does it really matter what they think? Isn't the more important question what you, President Shan, think about the prospects of LCD panels?"
"Me?" Su Yuanshan smiled faintly. "To put it simply: future displays will depend entirely on them."
Duan Yongping's pupils shrank slightly. "Including phones, TVs, and monitors?"
"Yes. Although currently the largest LCD panels are only around ten inches and still very expensive, don't forget: LCD panels are part of the semiconductor industry," Su Yuanshan said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "As long as it's in the semiconductor field, it must bow to Moore's Law."
"How should I put it..." Su Yuanshan paused before speaking confidently. "I'm very certain it's the direction of the future."
Having worked at Yuanxin for a few months now, Duan Yongping had witnessed firsthand, both directly and indirectly, that Su Yuanshan's sense for technological trends was almost prophetic. If Su Yuanshan said something was the future, then it was. Everyone at Yuanxin, from Xi Xiaoding to the ordinary programmers, firmly believed this.
And after spending enough time around him, Duan Yongping had come to believe it too.
"I understand. I'm heading to the capital later this month anyway. I'll go have a good look and a proper talk," Duan said seriously.
"Good. For the next year or two, our main focus remains on chips, the wafer fab, mobile phones, and base stations. Our technology reserves should center around lithography machines and lithium batteries. If BOE really has technical groundwork in LCD panels, we should see if cooperation is possible — or even invest in them and designate them to push forward LCD panel R&D."
Su Yuanshan sighed. "We can't spread ourselves too thin. As much as I want to, we simply don't have the resources to tackle LCD panels ourselves."
"Understood," Duan Yongping said with a laugh. "You've even forgotten about the EM storm you're stirring up across the international internet right now."
"True... but I'm not worried about the internet. Our senior brothers leading the internet division are top-tier talents. Just give them a platform, and even a single hint can spark an entirely new product."
"Right now, the internet is still a creativity-driven industry. As long as we stay ahead, the ones behind us will only eat our dust."
Su Yuanshan stood up as he spoke. "Speaking of the internet, I'll head over there now and check out the Internet R&D Center."
"Stay for lunch first?" Duan Yongping offered.
"No need. I'll grab something quick over there."
...
Leaving the office building, Su Yuanshan and Zhou Xiaohui got into the car Jiang Qingchuan had arranged and headed to the Internet R&D Center.
Just as Su Yuanshan had said earlier, it was the one place he worried about the least.
The people in charge there were all technical powerhouses he trusted deeply.
As soon as he entered the building, he could hear a wave of cheers coming from the workstation area.
The receptionist glanced up, saw Su Yuanshan, and immediately beamed. "President Shan, you just arrived, and EM's global online user count has surpassed 500,000!"
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