With Militech dropping the hammer, those hit-piece articles vanished from the internet overnight.
People finally saw that I wasn't playing around, and more importantly, they realized how much muscle a giant like Militech actually had. Once we stopped engaging and let the cold shoulder do its work, the drama withered away, and the internet moved on to the next shiny object.
A heavy fall rain finally broke a week-long heatwave. While everyone was enjoying the cool air, I was busy thinking about how fast this year was burning by.
At nine sharp, I grabbed Tyler, Terry, and the rest of the crew. We piled into the company shuttle and headed out to the Binhe Industrial Park, about sixty miles away.
Months ago, I'd decided we needed to get serious about our own manufacturing, and the team had been scouting targets ever since. Tyler's squad finally zeroed in on a contract manufacturer out in Binhe.
We'd gone back and forth with them for weeks, but we were still butting heads on the price tag and a few key terms. Today, I was going to handle the final negotiation personally to put the deal to bed.
On the road, Tyler pulled up a briefing on the cabin screen.
"The plant is called Atlas Intelligent Manufacturing. It's a joint venture between a foreign firm and a local outfit," he said. "It's massive—over 1,000 acres, with about 5.5 million square feet of floor space. We're talking eight major buildings and twenty-six separate workshops. They've got over 2,200 employees on the payroll. The facility is solid, and the equipment is relatively new. With a little maintenance, we could have lines running almost immediately."
"If it's that big and modern, why the hell is it dying?" I asked.
Tyler chuckled. "It was actually a cash cow. Being inland meant lower labor costs than the coast, and they had plenty of other logistical perks. But the global landscape shifted, and labor costs started climbing everywhere. A lot of foreign firms started ditching their domestic assets to chase cheaper labor in Southeast Asia or Latin America."
"Atlas got hit by that exact strategy shift. The foreign partners want out, but the local guys don't have the cash to buy them out. Plus, their orders were tied to those foreign partners. Once that capital left, the pipeline dried up, and everything stalled out. They're currently underwater, and they've got about four months of back pay owed to the staff."
"Last year, the workers actually marched on the street over it. The city and the industrial park committee are desperate to get this off their books. They're thrilled we're interested. They've already promised to fast-track every permit and piece of paperwork we need."
I cracked a grin. "Sounds like the city is looking for an escape hatch. But are you sure this isn't a dumpster fire we're walking into? We can't just throw money at a problem we can't exit later."
"My team has been all over it," Tyler said, tapping the screen. "We did a deep dive on the assets, the debt, and the books. It's not bad. The plant is only three years old. Before the capital flight, they were breaking even. If they'd had another year of runway, they would've been in the black. The debt is about $12 million in wages, plus another $25 million in supplier bills. It's manageable."
"The foreign shareholder is Chinese, Weili Technology—you know them. They're an industry staple, but they're retrenching and pulling out of the domestic market entirely. The other partner is Japanese, Kawazaki Industrial, a local group started by some guys who got rich in the 80s. They're hidden giants in local traditional trade. This was their first big tech venture, and they definitely bit off more than they could chew."
Tyler swiped to a photo. "This is Yuzuki Hanmaru, the chairman of Kawazaki. He's fifty-one, ex-military, and made his first fortune in garments. He's tough, long-sighted, and knows how to grab an opportunity. He's the one who pushed for this tech pivot, but he's been taking a ton of heat from his board. He's desperate."
"Guy looks familiar," I said, squinting at the screen.
"Same here," Terry added. "Can't place it, though."
"Forget it," I said. "We'll see him in an hour. We'll figure it out then."
Tyler smiled. "Yuzuki's been dying to meet you. I turned him down a dozen times, but he's been pushing hard. He's got some other ideas for the deal—he's not looking for a straight exit."
"Oh?" I leaned back. "Let's see what he's got."