256: Chapter 256 Technical Issues of Photovoltaic Panels

When the news spread, all of Africa was in an uproar; after all, in their eyes, this was a matter of national pride.

Previously, it was always other companies that officially obtained funding from Wall Street and then developed; now, they could do it too.

The most important thing was that the funds obtained would definitely subsidize them, the local users, and that was the reason worth celebrating.

"AfriLink is going public, with a valuation of 12 billion dollars."

"Is Said going to become the richest man in Africa?"

"No, the ultimate major shareholder is Transsion; they have been setting things up here for so long, and finally, they are ready to start harvesting."

"Your version is too outdated; the current major shareholder is Naspers, it's Van Dijk, they are the real controlling party."

...

When Mr. Adebayo saw these comments, he was in his office having a video conference with Shen Fei.

"Boss, Van Dijk is trying to downplay his presence over there. Should we start a counterattack as well?"

"No rush, let's wait until the leeks have been harvested.

We still need our influence during the listing stage, just a simple rebuttal will do."

Mr. Adebayo nodded, then briefly reported on other work, as there was nothing else for the time being.

"Keep an eye on the listing. If there are any issues, come to me anytime."

"Understood."

On the eve of the listing, Mr. Adebayo couldn't sleep in his hotel.

Although AfriLink's listing had nothing to do with him, he was still a bit excited; after all, this was his first time doing something like this.

He opened his computer and took a look at AfriLink. It hadn't gone public yet, so there were no shares. But he saw something else.

Transaction records.

Someone was making a private agreement acquisition.

Not new shares, but old shares. Someone was acquiring old AfriLink shares at a price 5% higher than the issue price.

He picked up the phone and called the company's risk control director.

"Check and see who is buying."

Half an hour later, the call came back.

"President Mr. Adebayo, we found out. It's the Standard Bank of South Africa."

Mr. Adebayo thought about it seriously: "Does it have anything to do with Naspers?"

"Yes, but the connection shouldn't be significant.

This should be a decision made by the Standard Bank of South Africa itself. They have acquired about 2% of the shares through three offshore foundations over the past week, with a total amount exceeding 200 million USD."

One of the major shareholders of the Standard Bank of South Africa is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Having an extra banking background was not a bad thing for them.

Most importantly, Transsion had already stepped away from the table. How it develops no longer had anything to do with them.

Now, the most important thing for him was to satisfy his craving for ringing the bell.

...

On May 5th, the person in charge of the Guangzhou photovoltaic factory, Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan, had been suffering from insomnia for several days.

It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, but that he couldn't.

The mass production yield rate of the photovoltaic panels was stuck at 85% and wouldn't go up.

"Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan, the data for this batch is out." An engineer handed over a report. "Do you want to take a quick-acting heart pill first?"

"No need, I've already prepared myself mentally."

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan took it and glanced at it, but his vision still went dark.

At this moment, he really needed a quick-acting heart pill.

The yield rate for the two days was 85.1%, which was 0.4% lower than last week.

"What's going on?"

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan was very anxious; the yield rates of the other brother companies climbed up as soon as they said they would, but only theirs remained stuck here, refusing to budge.

Although an 85% yield rate was perfectly fine for mass production, it would increase the defect rate by 15%, which would increase costs significantly.

The engineer stammered for a long time, and finally said:

"It's still the issue with the encapsulation equipment.

That laminator has uneven temperature, leading to edge bubbles. We have adjusted it countless times, but the parameters still don't work."

This laminator was imported from Germany and cost 12 million at the time. The manufacturer said it was the best laminator in the world, capable of achieving a 95% yield rate.

But on Transsion's production line, it just wouldn't work. It wasn't an equipment problem, but a process problem.

Transsion's photovoltaic panels used new materials, and the requirements for temperature, pressure, and vacuum degree were completely different from traditional photovoltaic panels.

The equipment imported from Germany was designed according to traditional processes and was not suitable for Transsion's new materials.

"Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan, how about... we change the equipment."

"Change to what equipment? This company makes the best laminators in the world. Changing to another one would be even worse."

The engineer didn't speak.

After all, if the technology produced by the best manufacturer in the world wasn't suitable for their process, if they switched to a second-rate company...

Although it was possible to achieve perfect results by sheer luck, they didn't have the time to gamble.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan picked up his phone, thinking of calling Shen Fei; after all, the boss had plenty of "technology."

When photovoltaic panel mass production started, he promised Shen Fei that he would bring the yield rate to over 90% within three months. Now that so much time had passed, he was still hovering at 85%.

He picked up the phone and made the call anyway.

"Boss, the photovoltaic panel yield rate is stuck at 85%. The laminator isn't working well; the temperature is uneven."

On the other end of the line, there was no questioning, only a brief inquiry: "Is it an equipment problem?"

"Yes, the laminator imported from Germany is not suitable for our new materials."

"Got it. I'll have someone send a new piece of equipment over."

"Huh?"

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan let out an exclamation. He knew the boss had ways, but he didn't expect it to be so simple and crude...

"Boss, where is the new equipment coming from?"

"Don't worry about it, it will arrive this afternoon."

...

That afternoon, a brand-new laminator was delivered to the Guangzhou factory.

No brand, no nameplate, no markings whatsoever; it was definitely a product lacking any credentials.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan circled the equipment several times, unable to tell which company manufactured it.

"Whose is this?"

The delivery person shook his head: "I don't know. The boss told me to deliver it."

The doubts in Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan's heart completely vanished. This time, the pilot run must hit over 90%.

So he immediately had people install the equipment on the production line.

Power on, debug, trial production.

The first batch of photovoltaic panels came off the production line, and Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan personally watched the test data.

The final result gave everyone a big surprise.

92%

They rubbed their eyes; everyone thought they had seen it wrong.

After all, one piece of equipment...

The yield rate of the second batch even reached 93%, and the third batch even reached 95%.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan stood in front of the test bench and sighed instantly. It wasn't that the yield rate wasn't good, but why hadn't he talked to Shen Fei sooner?

If he had done it sooner, the Great Northwest might already be covered in Transsion's photovoltaic panels.

After the technology press conference some time ago, people from over there had communicated with them. Although they didn't explicitly state their position, the appreciation in their words was quite obvious.

"Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan, this equipment... is too amazing."

The engineer held a photovoltaic panel and shouted excitedly.

Deputy General Counsel Zhao Mingyuan didn't speak. He picked up his phone and called Shen Fei.

"Boss, the yield rate has broken through 90%, it is currently around 94%."

"Good."

Shen Fei's words were very plain, as if he had expected it all along.

"Boss, whose equipment is this? Can we buy a few more?"