Leveraging SNU Alumni Network (1)
The factory registration procedure was complete.
Manager Cho had handed out snacks and fruits to the Bangladeshi workers.
The plant manager had taken the money that had been tucked inside the pig’s head and given it to them, saying, “Since you can’t eat pork, go to town and buy goat soup or samgyetang.”
The Bangladeshis flashed their white teeth and seemed even happier.
Manager Cho brought the pig head and the soju into the office and began slicing the meat.
It turned out he had also prepared shrimp paste soup.
In the office, the three men drank soju alongside the pork.
Kim Chirok spoke about his plans for the future.
“We’ll need to stock up on a lot of mixed rubber materials, right?”
“Tomorrow I’ll be visiting the supplier. We really need to mix the rubber well.”
Mixing rubber meant kneading various materials into raw rubber sheets, much like making kimchi. Good fermentation produced good kimchi; good mixing produced good rubber.
But the rubber was hard and sticky, so it required huge machines to work it properly.
The plant manager was going to fetch the mixed rubber from elsewhere. This would then be used to produce the parts that would go into Mitsutec.
Hyangnam Tech had done the mixing in-house. But because Hyangdong Tech was a new company and small in scale, they would have to buy the mixed rubber from another supplier.
Hyangdong Tech would then take that mixed rubber and mold it into finished products on injection machines, just like turning out fish-shaped pastries.
But the molded goods could not simply be delivered. Rings had to be inserted into the rubber before delivery.
The rings were made of metal, so it was a different field entirely. That was why the rings were being supplied by another company, Ilryung Precision.
Kim Chirok set his soju glass down and said, “With Manager Cho and the plant manager here, production shouldn’t be a problem. The real issue is Mitsutec sales.”
The plant manager said, “Tomorrow afternoon I’ll have to meet the Mitsutec purchasing team leader. I’ll have to beg him to give us the orders.”
“Should I go?”
“I’ll go myself. I’ll meet the purchasing team leader’s face. They’ll probably refuse to take the orders and just hand over the molds. But if we get the molds, what’s the point of starting the company?”
Manager Cho also said, “Handing over the molds is like handing over our own necks. Even if we go to the bread stand, we shouldn’t give them.”
Kim Chirok said, “If I’m going out, I’ll have to leave my business card. I’ll have it made.”
“If I go with a card that says ‘Plant Manager,’ the Mitsutec people might laugh.”
“Actually, those guys aren’t that bad. They’re just the type who tense up for no reason, so you don’t have to be scared.”
“Really. What about the corporate card? I have some purchases to make tomorrow. I’ll need to buy tools and work gloves.”
“Ah, we made two corporate cards, so the plant manager can have one. You’ll need to buy what you need.”
Then Manager Cho asked Kim Chirok, “At Mitsutec, they pay the delivery fees through B2B electronic settlement, right? But what is this B2B?”
“Ah, that’s a system that supports corporate trade settlement and financing through internet banking. It’s handled by the Industrial Bank of Korea.”
“Really?”
“But that requires good credit between the two companies. For a new company, the representative’s credit needs to be good.”
Hearing that, the plant manager said to Manager Cho, “You have bad credit, so you can’t be a president like me.”
“Haha. I know myself well. Just becoming the production manager at Hyangdong Tech is already a blessing. Thanks to President Kim and my brother.”
“You said not to call me brother at work, right?”
“Ah, sorry. Plant Manager.”
“You’ll take the Bangladeshis to Suwon Hwaseong tomorrow. They probably haven’t had a chance to go out and play since coming to Korea.”
“Haha. Yes. Since I have the corporate card, let’s rent one van tomorrow.”
The plant manager looked at Kim Chirok’s face.
Kim Chirok smiled and said, “It’s fine to rent a car with the corporate card. And for the lunch at Suwon, bring the receipt. You can settle it under employee welfare benefits.”
“Haha. That’s good.”
Kim thought that if Yoshiko came to Korea, he could rent a car too. His current car was too much of a crap car.
To impress a beauty like Yoshiko, he probably needed a high-class car.
The plant manager said again, “And our lunch will be delivered. Since we’re seven people, we can’t run the cafeteria. Luckily, there’s a Korean buffet restaurant facing the factory.”
“They deliver there too?”
“The factory right in front makes snacks and says they deliver. We can do the same.”
“Good. We don’t have to go out to eat.”
“And tomorrow, I’ll visit the mixing company in the morning and meet the Mitsutec purchasing department head in the afternoon.”
“Good luck meeting the purchasing department head.”
“It should be fine. We still have the molds.”
“I’ll go to Hwaseong City Hall tomorrow. I think we need to get the factory permit. And I’ll have to drop off the business cards.”
“It seems we need to make the business cards quickly.”
“I’ll ask them to make them fast. And I’ll prepare seven work uniforms. They’ll have the Hyangdong Tech logo.”
“That’s good.”
“And I’ll buy the necessary coffee, water, paper cups, tissues, etc. from the office.”
Manager Cho said, “We might need a trash can too? And since the foreigners drink a lot of water, it might be good to install a water purifier.”
“I understand. I’ll contact the water purifier company.”
The next day arrived.
Kim Chirok went to the business card place and requested the cards. He paid a bit more for expedited service.
He modeled the business card after the one from the H Group Strategic Planning Office.
He also ordered work clothes from the workwear sales company.
He asked them to put the Hyangdong Tech text on the left chest of the work clothes.
Kim Chirok bought coffee, trash cans, trash bins, paper cups, etc. with his car while driving around. He also contacted the water purifier company to install one.
Kim Chirok was a bit uneasy because the company he had just started wasn’t making money yet but was spending a lot.
Kim Chirok thought that going to the town office for factory registration was troublesome.
Of course, online registration is possible, but going in person might get it done faster.
[But why so many preparation documents?]
The factory registration required many preparation documents.
Business registration certificate, articles of incorporation, land and building titles, building register, factory layout plan, etc.
After getting the factory registration, there would be many good points later, like easy access to policy funds or partner registration.
Kim Chirok thought it would be better to leave such things to an administrative professional. So, he entrusted it to the administrative office in town.
The haengsa looked like an older retired civil servant.
Seeing Kim Chirok’s face, he smiled and said, “Oh, it seems like a young man is starting a big business. I’ll handle it well.”
Then he listed the documents Kim needed to prepare. He said he would handle issuing them.
Kim returned to the factory.
No one was in the factory. The foreigners were gone either. They had gone out to play with Manager Cho.
Manager Cho had rented one van today to go to Suwon Hwaseong for fun.
And the plant manager had said he would visit the rubber material supply company in the morning and Mitsutec in the afternoon.
After a while, the sound of a car came from outside.
Looking out, the plant manager had returned. But the plant manager looked dejected.
The plant manager from Hyangnam Tech used to always return with his head held high. But the plant manager at Hyangdong Tech looked like a deflated person.
Kim Chirok smiled and greeted him.
“You look tired.”
“Sigh. Business is really tough.”
“Did you meet the Mitsutec purchasing team leader?”
“They said they won’t meet until I retrieve the molds. And whether it’s blackmail or not, they say they’re starting to scrap the new molds.”
“New molds? Since they have the drawings, they could do it if they want.”
“But there’s also a possibility it’s blackmail.”
“Really?”
“The first is that to make new molds, you need money. Molds range from hundreds of thousands to millions, but the molds for the products supplied to Mitsutec will be expensive too. It will cost at least 10 million won to make them?”
“Since it’s a rich company, they might be able to afford that.”
“The second is that after making the molds and getting samples, they have to do testing, which takes some time.”
“That’s true.”
“And if the stock we supplied when we were at Hyangnam Tech runs out, they’ll have problems too.”
“So, lines will be drawn.”
“That’s why there still seems to be room for negotiation... but since they won’t meet me, they seem confident, which makes me uneasy.”
Then the plant manager drank some water.
Kim Chirok said, “Shall I make a formal letter and submit it?”
“Sending a letter in the name of Hyangdong Tech, right?”
“Yes.”
“But will they accept it? We’re not even a registered partner company?”
“Shouldn’t we do something now? We have to mobilize all methods.”
“I’ll go again tomorrow. I’ll grab the purchasing department head by the collar and make him cry.”
“Will you really do that? Wouldn’t it be better to do business with another company?”
“Business with other companies is hard. Even if I try, the order volume will be small.”
“What else can we do?”
“We came all this way with money, but we didn’t expect Mitsutec to come out so strongly like this.”
“It’s not time to be disappointed yet. The factory has just opened, hasn’t it?”
“This seems to be because the ring-making company at Ilryung Precision is trying to make rubber themselves. Those guys think making rubber isn’t even a technology.”
“It seems like Ilryung Precision, the ring-making company, is constantly lobbying Mitsutec.”
“For now, make the formal letter. I’ll meet the purchasing department head again tomorrow. I have to meet them until they scream.”
So, Kim Chirok made the letter.
He had written formal letters a few times at Hyangnam Tech. He had also written documents for court. And Kim Chirok had the formal letter format file from Hyangdong Tech.
He made the letter.
The content of the letter said that Hyangdong Tech is a successor company to Hyangnam Tech. Since the production manager and production director, who were the core technical personnel at Hyangnam Tech, had combined forces, they guaranteed the quality of the products.
The next day.
When Kim Chirok came to work, he heard the voices of the four foreigners chattering. And Manager Cho was talking with the plant manager in the office.
Kim Chirok printed the letter he made last night and gave it to the plant manager.
Manager Cho said with an anxious expression, “Plant Manager! What if the purchasing department head doesn’t meet today either?”
“I’ll grab his collar and cry.”
At these words, Kim Chirok felt heavy-hearted. He thought it was absurd for a 50-year-old production manager to grab a 40-year-old manager’s collar and cry.
But even so, if it worked out, how good would it be.
Manager Cho said again, “That purchasing guy is a tough one who doesn’t shed a drop of sweat. It would be better to meet the purchasing department head.”
“The purchasing department head is even more tense. That guy has the nickname ‘ghost of suppliers’.”
“Really?”
“During Hyangnam Tech, the managing director was in charge of him, and you didn’t see him sighing every day? It was all because of the purchasing department head’s bullying.”
“Then we’re in crisis. We invested a lot of money here.”
Kim Chirok thought he might go to Mitsutec himself once. So, he thought he might meet the president directly, not the department head.
If he said he came from Hyangdong Tech, he might be chased out by the secretary or security before even reaching the president’s office. But if he was a Seoul National University junior, maybe they would meet him. Because the Mitsutec president was also a Seoul National University alumnus.
So, Kim Chirok said in a calm voice, “Shall I meet the Mitsutec president directly?”
At these words, the plant manager and Manager Cho looked at each other and laughed in surprise.
Kim Chirok was smart, but this guy was crazy again? Their expressions said.