134 : Using the Olympics as an opportunity
trend Chemistry,
“How long is this? Mr. Hwang.”
It’s coming soon by car, but I haven’t been able to show my face on the excuse that I’m busy.
“Welcome, boss. Were you busy with the shipyard? Even if I tried to tell you that I had developed a new material, I was too busy to tell you.”
I shook hands with President Hwang Hye-seong for a long time and shared my pleasure.
Recently, Daesae Chemical was almost entirely entrusted to CEO Hwang Hye-seong, and all he had to do was ask for the development of a new material.
There was no difficulty in grasping the current status of fabrics because Daesae International received reports on export performance.
Although sales have slowed down a bit lately, the fabric business was still generating millions of dollars in sales each month.
Military supply to Vietnam and exports of tricot fabric to Southeast Asia were the two main axes, but after the recent regime change in Indonesia in a coup, the Southeast Asian supply sharply decreased.
“The company has become very clean. There is no construction site atmosphere at all.”
“Yes, as you said, the expansion to 6 polymerization towers is all done. Now, we are focusing on improving the production efficiency of each plant.”
Now, mainstream chemistry has just entered a stable period.
Facility investment is focused on a new food source, the Kavla joint venture plant.
“The container dormitory is gone, too.”
“Haha, yes. Haven’t you repeatedly said that the company only thrives when the employees are comfortable? Employee dormitories were provided as apartments and three canteens were built. One of the fun things I do is to pick and eat from the restaurant menu at lunchtime.”
President Hwang Hye-seong boasted of the workplace.
A delicious cafeteria is an important welfare for office workers.
“good. The staff’s expressions are bright, and it’s heart-warming to see them go through polymerization like that.”
If you experience the plant for a long time, you can tell by feeling whether the polymerization reactor is working well or not.
When things go well, they meow softly like a gigantic cat giggling.
The current Daesae chemical plant was just like that.
“Thank you for noticing. I’ve been working really hard all this time. In particular, two recently operated polymerization reactors were designated exclusively for polyurethane. It can be said that a mass production system has been established.”
“There should be no problem with Polytech’s supply now.”
“That’s right. It is also possible to respond to any increase in additional export volume. But…”
President Hwang Hye-seong replied confidently, but then blurted out his words. I guess you have some questions
“Please speak.”
“If two polymerization reactors are allocated exclusively for polyurethane, the production volume is enormous. Where are you going to sell that much volume?”
“ha ha ha. Worried about where to sell? Don’t worry. If we go to the Mexico Olympics and do some civil engineering work, it will sell like hot cakes all over the world.”
“Are you doing civil engineering with polyurethane?”
“Is there any reason to use polyurethane only as a fabric material? It is also very good as a construction material.”
“You use fabric materials as construction materials, what the hell…”
Polyurethane has a very wide range of uses because it can make polymers with various characteristics by slightly changing the composition of raw materials.
It is an important industrial material with an annual consumption of nearly 10 million tons in the 21st century as it is used in various cushion elastic materials, automobile interior materials, building panels and foam insulation materials, paints, adhesives and even functional fibers.
It will fit into the top five of the finest materials developed by mankind.
It’s not the world’s first, but our Daesae Chemical developed it on its own and succeeded in mass production.
Such polyurethane became known to the public in earnest starting with the Mexico Olympics.
First of all, it was replaced with polyurethane from the Olympic track. It was called the magic carpet by track and field athletes because of its excellent track repulsion and elasticity.
The existing tracks were paved with clay baked at high temperatures. It was good that the rainwater drained well, but it was too hard, so the risk of injury to the players was high.
So, a polyurethane track appeared, and it greatly helped shorten the record by absorbing the shock and bouncing some of the players when they stepped on the track.
In the 100m final at the Mexico Olympics, an American athlete set a new world record with a time of 9.95 seconds, playing a decisive role in breaking the 10-second barrier.
Therefore, I can go to Mexico and do polyurethane business.
Obviously, the Mexican Olympic Organizing Committee must be thinking about a new track.
“Have you ever thought that it would be nice and comfortable if the road was soft when walking?”
“No, why do you think that? Is that possible?”
“It is quite possible. Why not just cover the road with polyurethane?”
“Are you saying that roads are paved with such expensive polyurethane?”
“Of course, it is not a normal road pavement. It’s expensive, so it’s meant to be used for special purposes. When used on a running track, it is excellent for improving records and preventing injuries to athletes.”
Polyurethane began to gain fame after being applied to all sorts of Olympic items, including tracks, sportswear, and shoes.
In Korea, it became known as spandex.
“You’d have to believe the boss said so…”
CEO Hwang Hye-seong doesn’t seem to believe it easily.
“Leave it. After the Olympics, polyurethane will also be used to cover promenades in wealthy villages.”
“Putting this expensive thing on the promenade… There are so many rich people in the world.”
That is what Korea looks like in the 21st century.
Of course, such consumption is possible only in the United States now.
“I will sell a lot, so show me your products first.”
“First, check the quality of the polyurethane pellets in the warehouse, then go to the development room.”
“So be it.”
President Hwang Hye-seong led me to the warehouse.
The moment I opened the warehouse, there was a gasp.
“How many tons have you accumulated?”
“Didn’t the boss tell us to secure as much stock as possible? 200 tons should be enough.”
“Good job. You are hot.”
With this amount, the Olympics were no problem at all.
It was enough to pack the track over and over again.
To be honest, it bothered me.
The president said he would not be able to take over Korea Machinery because he had no money, but the warehouse is stocked up like this.
After all, when you run a company, you cannot be completely honest with politicians.
You need to use your money as efficiently as possible.
If you recklessly take over a deficit company to benefit from the government, you will become a dog in an instant.
“I am glad you are satisfied. Then let’s go to the development room.”
CEO Hwang Hye-seong entered the building next door.
It was like going through several security doors in the development room.
***
“I prepared all the fencing suits, sneakers, and swimsuits you mentioned. What would you like to see first?”
In the development room, various samples and reports were well organized along the walls.
Except for the fact that there were no computers, it was no different from a 21st century product development room.
“Let’s start with the fencing suit.”
The fencing suit was the easiest product to develop because it was simply made with Kevlar.
In the 21st century fencing competition, it is compulsory to wear kabla fencing suits to protect players.
The Mexico Olympics don’t have that provision yet, so I can go and make them wear kabla fencing suits.
It would be very good in terms of increasing Kavlar sales, as well as advertising the Nike brand.
Isn’t kabla a symbol of advanced technology?
“As the president said, I made a fencing suit with kabla. It is very safe to stab with a fencing sword because the kabla is stacked in several layers.”
CEO Hwang Hye-seong stabbed the clothes several times with a fencing sword, not knowing where he got it, but there really wasn’t a single scratch.
“awesome. Passed.”
It was like Kabla here.
There was nothing to add or subtract, I thought I could just take this sample and promote it.
“Perhaps fencing is an aristocratic sport, so the fencing clothes themselves are extremely expensive. If you say you are sponsoring the Mexican players, I think everyone will line up.”
That was right.
There is a saying that the reason Korea did not have a national fencing team until the 1990s was because the equipment was expensive.
“It sells well. Shall we look at the sneakers then?”
“Look here.”
President Hwang Hye-seong brought a box and opened it.
I was told to treat it with top security, so it seems they put it in a locked box and managed the samples.
“Obviously, it seems to pass. Can I try them on?”
“Yes, of course. Try running.”
I tried running in place wearing special sneakers.
“Haha, that’s cool. It feels like running on clouds.”
“As you said, the shoe leather was replaced with Polytech, and polyurethane was laid on top of the Kevlar prepreg as the outsole, so it is very light and, above all, has a great shock absorption capacity.”
Polytec is a material used in military boots, and Kablar substrate is used in bulletproof helmets. Worked well for running shoes as well.
Moisture permeability and waterproofing were basic.
“Awesome. It far exceeds my expectations. After all, our technicians are the best.”
I taught them about 21st century ideas, but I didn’t expect them to make them so well.
The thickness and elasticity of the polyurethane inserted between the outsole and the insole of the sneakers were amazing.
With this elasticity, the energy will be returned intact when the runners step on the ground.
It is a groundbreaking running shoe that increases acceleration and endurance at the same time.
“We worked closely with a company that supplied military boots to Daesei to optimize the elasticity of polyurethane for sneakers. Quality you can trust.”
“Both security and quality should be fine.”
The military supply company was the best partner company because it thoroughly checked security.
“By the way, I made it as the boss requested, but it is three times more expensive than normal sneakers. Will this product ever sell?”
President Hwang put on a puzzled expression at the end of his words.
“It sells. A lot of that too.”
“Haha… is that so?”
I can’t believe it.
It must be because sneakers are more expensive than custom-made shoes.
“You will be surprised when you see the results later. By the way, the Nike brand is engraved on the side in a large size instead of this small. It looks very good.”
“That big?”
I hand painted the Nike brand over and over again.
“Sure, it should look good when it is broadcast on TV.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll fill it up on the side.”
Aren’t these sneakers called world record makers?
When athletes pass the finals, they will be seen countless times on TV or in newspapers.
It will become a luxury product that has both fashion and technology.Read at noblemtl
Just imagining it already makes me happy.
“good. Now, is the final product a swimsuit?”
The 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico marked a technical step forward in sports science.
It was partly because the venue was at a high altitude, but thanks to technology, 20 world records were set in track and field and 15 in swimming.
More than 100 Olympic records have been broken.
Indeed, it was an Olympics with tremendous achievements in record-breaking.
Especially in the swimming event, sportswear manufacturers such as Reebok and Adidas came out with their own swimsuits and brought innovation to the swimwear market.
“Yes that’s right. Our staff tried it out and went swimming, and said it felt like the water splitting on its own. haha.”
“Is it because you made it so well? Show me.”
“Here it is.”
President Hwang Hye-seong brought another box and opened it.
Inside was a sleek bathing suit.
“The coating is really smooth. great.”
Polyurethane has extremely high water repellency, so if the coating is this good, you may feel that water really repelles it.
“I only made the skeleton with polyester and applied polyurethane. I raised the polyurethane ratio as much as possible, but 80% is currently the best.”
20% polyester and 80% polyurethane was a great fabric manufacturing technique in the 60s.
In the 21st century, 100% polyurethane is worn, but even with 80% content, elasticity was sufficient.
At that level, it will cling to the body and reduce water resistance, as well as relieve muscle fatigue during the game.
To be honest, compared to the wet and fluttery swimmers wearing the standard swimsuits, the swimmers are a few meters ahead.
“If you wear this, will you set a world record?”
“Hahaha, that’s overrated.”
It’s not exaggerating, it’s true.
The Mexico Olympics will be an arena of high-tech textile materials, but I will be the final winner.
“Let’s see. President Hwang has become a world-class functional material expert beyond Korea. Congratulations.”
“Congratulations. I just did what the boss told me to do. Still, I know that this is a great thing. Even if you look at mass-produced products, not new products, you will be surprised at DuPont and Dow Corning. It’s to the point where I just shrug my shoulders.”
“Of course you should shrug. Over time, honorary doctorates will pour in.”
“Your boss should get your doctorate. Anyway, are you leaving for Mexico right away?”
“Once we get a sample, we have to start right away. Please fill the trunk with fencing suits, sneakers, and swimsuits.”
“No problem. Please bring a lot.”
“okay. After the Mexico Olympics, we will be able to give special bonuses to the development team.”
Compensation commensurate with performance was natural.
“A special bonus, everyone will like it. I had a really hard time.”
“Please say something else. With this Olympics as a starting point, Daesae Chemical will dominate the polyurethane market around the world and gain a reputation as a world-class material company.”
“……”
CEO Hwang Hye-seong was at a loss for words.
It seems that just imagining it left me speechless.
“Please contact me when the sample is ready.”
“Yes, boss. I will hurry.”
Before we depart, we should stop by the Mexican embassy to gather information.
Shouldn’t we know who the head of the Mexico Olympics promotion committee is and where his office is located?
Since the Olympics were famous for their large-scale deficits, if you say you want to sponsor, the Mexican Olympic Committee will meet you without hesitation.
The picture is very interesting.
It’s business, but Korea is still an underdeveloped country that can’t even dream of hosting the Olympics.
Once again, the potential of our country seemed great.
This is because while Mexico’s economy collapsed due to large-scale deficits starting from this Olympics, Korea’s 1988 Olympics served as an opportunity to solidify its status as a middle-income country and rise to the ranks of advanced countries.
After all, Korea is a special case.