Chapter 91: Chapter 88: Do You Know What a Professional Is?
The next morning.
Luzhou City High-tech Zone.
A white Volvo sedan drove in from the gate and skillfully made a few turns.
Finally, it stopped in front of a building with a unit plaque reading ’Luzhou City High-tech Zone Administrative Committee.’
Moments later.
Xu Yun, along with Gu Qunqing and Tang Yiqiu, stepped out of the car. Xu Yun skillfully pulled out a pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to the driver:
"Brother Lin, thank you for your hard work. We may need to trouble you to take us again later."
The driver, referred to as Brother Lin by Xu Yun, was a middle-aged man in his thirties. His eyes lit up upon seeing the Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes, but he still politely declined:
"Ah, Dr. Xu, you are too kind. It’s just the task given by the school, nothing too hard."
Xu Yun was familiar with such routines, and he added a bit of force as he nudged the cigarettes towards the driver.
The driver, while pretending to refuse, gradually pulled the cigarettes into his hand, and finally, with a feigned sigh, said:
"Well then, I will shamelessly accept them. Ah, Yellow Crane Tower...
Dr. Xu, I’ll just stay here today, not going anywhere. Just let me know if there’s any need!"
A smile finally appeared on Xu Yun’s face, and he turned to Gu Qunqing and Tang Yiqiu, saying:
"Mr. Gu, Xiaotang, let’s go inside."
Gu Qunqing and Tang Yiqiu nodded and followed Xu Yun into the administrative committee building.
As Huadun Biotech’s registration process was still ongoing, the funds from several parties had yet to be injected into the corporate account, so Xu Yun, as the Executive Director, could not justify using a company car for business purposes.
However, it is undeniable that you need a car to discuss business with people these days; without one, certain places may not even let you in through the gate.
Therefore, Tian Liangwei and Zheng Zu discussed for a while and decided to allocate a Volvo from New Creation Fund for Xu Yun’s temporary use.
Similarly, Tang Yiqiu was kind of in the same situation—as the company’s assistant was still under recruitment, this unfortunate junior with a high level of attractiveness was roped in by Xu Yun to temporarily act as an aide.
As for Gu Qunqing, he accompanied as a consultant. His non-compete agreement expired yesterday, and he signed a short-term letter of intent contract with Xu Yun.
Once the effectiveness of Fifth Generation Imidacloprid is clearly demonstrated in pest control broadcasts, he will formally sign an employment agreement with Xu Yun.
As for the purpose of Xu Yun’s group coming here...
Their aim was naturally related to factory matters.
Luzhou City High-tech Zone is located in the west of Lu Prefecture, and was one of the first national-level high-tech zones approved by the State Council in 1991, covering an area of 128 square kilometers.
Huaxia Sound Valley, Huaxia Innovation Valley, Ke Da Xunfei, and the Advanced Technology Research Institute of the University of Science and Technology of China are all situated here.
Currently ranked sixth among the 146 national-level high-tech zones, it houses 94 listed companies.
Strictly speaking, the High-tech Zone is not an administrative district, but due to its practical operations being administrative, it fulfills many governmental responsibilities.
So, the High-tech Zone functions as an unofficial "municipal district" not recognized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, where the administrative committee can decide everything.
Unless it involves massive projects worth several billion, usually, deals involving tens of millions of contracts can be decided by the administrative committee.
After entering the administrative committee building, Xu Yun first reported his name at the reception.
A few minutes later, a figure appeared at the elevator entrance.
The person appeared to be around forty years old, wore gold wire glasses, and looked gentle and refined. He extended his hand courteously as he approached Xu Yun and the others:
"Dr. Xu, it’s a pleasure, a pleasure. I am Yang Hongzhi, Director of the High-tech Zone Administrative Committee."
Xu Yun quickly shook his hand:
"Director Yang, hello. I’m Xu Yun."
While greeting, Yang Hongzhi was also discreetly sizing up the young man in front of him, his face thoughtful.
Yesterday, around ten in the morning, he suddenly received a phone call in his office from the Ke Da Innovation Fund Office.
On the other end of the phone was an old acquaintance of Yang Hongzhi, Secretary Zheng Zu from the New Creation Fund.
Due to Ke Da’s special status in Lu Prefecture, in a sense, Zheng Zu could be considered a sort of financial patron of the High-tech Zone.
During the call, Zheng Zu informed him that the New Creation Fund had just co-invested with USTC’s Physics College and School of Life Sciences in a company, but the company’s Executive Director and major stakeholder was a young man named Xu Yun, who was also a current doctoral student at USTC.
Company nature was not elaborated by Zheng Zu, but his words implicitly suggested intentions of site selection.
How could Yang Hongzhi not understand the implied meaning in these words? He immediately pounded his chest, assured the other party that he would fully accompany Xu Yun on field surveys, and strive to provide as much policy support and incentives as possible.
Thus, this led to today’s meeting between the two parties.
Anyone that could make Zheng Zu personally make a call was generally either with a special background or exceptionally talented.
As for Xu Yun...
From Yang Hongzhi’s perspective, which was seasoned in dealing with various characters, Xu Yun seemed to lean more towards the latter.
On the first floor of the administrative committee building, there was an area resembling a hotel lobby, complete with books, tea, and sofas.
After some small talk, Yang Hongzhi guided Xu Yun and others to sit there and directly asked:
"Dr. Xu, I’ve already heard from Secretary Zheng about your purpose. There are currently quite a number of vacant factory spaces in the district; I wonder what type and size of factory your company is looking for?"
Xu Yun thought for a moment and said:
"Director Yang, our company is in the biopharma industry and we have already acquired a license. Regarding specific options... can you offer any suggestions?"
"Biochemical..."
Yang Hongzhi pondered thoughtfully, then said:
"Dr. Xu, generally speaking, factories can be divided into existing facilities and new construction sites.
The former means already built factories, while the latter, bluntly speaking, is just an empty lot, requiring planning from scratch.
I personally suggest choosing the former because the latter requires substantial investment, starting from twenty to thirty billion, divided into three to five phases, often coming under provincial or national banner.
Especially pharmaceutical factory districts, which sometimes necessitate involvement from pharmaceutical design institutes, very troublesome."
Xu Yun’s eyes flickered a few times upon hearing this, nodding in agreement.
Although Huadun Biotech holds promising prospects, it clearly does not have the short-term plans for constructing such super large factory districts:
"Then, what about existing facilities?"
After mulling for a few seconds, Yang Hongzhi asked:
"Dr. Xu, may I ask, what type of pharmaceuticals does your company produce? OTC or non-OTC?"
Hearing this, Xu Yun turned to exchange a glance with Gu Qunqing, who replied:
"Neither; we produce biopesticides, mainly used for insect control, not medicines."
"Biopesticides? Large molecule or small molecule?"
"The company registered large molecule drugs, only needing GMP, GBJ73-84, and related filings. The primary factory requirements are anti-corrosion and some other details like industrial cleanroom air cleanliness must reach class 100, HVAC must use vertical laminar flow, sterilization SIP response time must be within 7 minutes, etc..."
Gu Qunqing, being able to hold an EVP position at Sanofi South America, is well-versed in bioscience matters.
Regarding what factory configurations are compliant, what might pose potential risks, he can discern almost immediately.
Watching the eloquent Gu Qunqing speak, Xu Yun felt a rare sense of admiration.
This is what a professional is like!
Having this expert assisting will considerably reduce the hassle in factory site selection.
After some exchange, while marvelling at Gu Qunqing’s wealth of knowledge, Yang Hongzhi gradually had a few suitable candidates in mind.
He took a tablet from his briefcase, fiddled with it for a few moments, then handed it to Xu Yun:
"Dr. Xu, these twenty-three factories meet Mr. Gu’s requirements.
However, the factory sizes vary, so you might want to take a look and discuss.
If you find a suitable target, we can move on site right away for inspection."
.....