This Is How I Became a Chaebol

018 : cat sand

As soon as I entered the factory, I knew at once why Galfsa had abandoned this place.

The plant piping was rusted in places.

Oil refineries operate at high temperatures and emit toxic gases, so stainless steel pipes must be used in major parts, but cheap steel pipes were used randomly.

If a cheap steel pipe was used in the plumbing near the distillation column (a tower that filters crude oil), the entire plant would have been blown away in a large explosion.

When Galp realized that the construction of this factory was a rush, they built and moved to a new factory to preserve their own lives.

“But, Mr. Wu. Do American factories make refineries out of steel pipes like this?”

CEO Hwang Hye-seong asked with a puzzled expression.

Even the small-sized polymerization reactor in Comet Nylon uses stainless steel piping.

“It can’t be. Someone changed the stainless tubing on site.”

“Yeah, swapping?”

I don’t know who it is, but I stole the material.

It would have been possible in the 1960s, when supervision was full of all sorts of corruption.

“A factory like this is likely to have been government-level construction, so it means that the construction company would have worked with public officials to exchange materials.”

It was absurd to see the scene of corruption in government-level construction in the 1960s, which OBs talked about like legends.

Government-level construction is literally a construction project ordered by a public institution, and construction materials are provided by the state.

In the words of OBs, in the 1960s, construction companies were so messed up that how much material they stole from government-level construction was considered as technological competitiveness.

It was said that it was a daily routine to steal rebar and pipes because the building was supposed to just stand.

“What kind of people are the Americans to tolerate such poor construction? Otherwise, the entire area will become a sea of fire.”

“That’s why I said it would be a government-level project. The design was proposed by Galp, and the construction of the plant would have been undertaken by a domestic company. Domestic contractors and public officials were joking around saying what a fool.”

Perhaps, when Galfsa was first brought to Korea, the Korean government offered a factory site and factory construction as a preferential treatment.

For this reason, construction, design services, and supervision were separated in turn in Korea through the 1960s and 1970s.

Of course, that didn’t mean that the poor construction disappeared. Because when it comes to money, poisonous mushrooms grow everywhere.

“Ugh, to hide that it’s a steel pipe, it’s wrapped in insulation. Like stainless piping, to cheat.”

“Iknow, right. It’s a bigger problem than welding pipes made of different materials. If left unattended, corrosion will get out of hand. We have to rip out all the steel pipes as soon as possible.”

puck. puck! blank. blank.

I grabbed a metal pipe lying on the ground and tapped on the plumbing.

The steel pipe was rusted enough to pierce a hole, but the stainless steel pipe was still worth fixing because it produced a clear sound.

Above all, the distillation column looked quite intact.

It seems that even a thief could not steal the materials of the distillation tower.

“… ripping it off? President Wu, are you thinking of fixing this place?”

“What can you not do? Think about it, think of polymerizing nylon or polyester with a plant of this scale. Hundreds of tons or even thousands of tons per year is no problem.”

The plant is a medium and grandiose industry.

Whatever the product, 10,000 tons must be produced annually to secure international price competitiveness.

Since it was in the 1960s, I shortened it to thousands of tons.

“Ugh! Even polyester? Thousands of tons?”

“Imagine. Nylon is also doing well, so how about making polyester? A snowball gets bigger the more you roll it.”

At my words, CEO Hwang Hye-seong’s eyes widened.

Even in his eyes, it seems that the plant here is spitting out silver thread.

“Ah… ah… that… that’s true, but isn’t this the oil mill? In order to polymerize chemical fibers, the polymerization furnace must be clean above all else, so how can I use oily piping?”

That was an accurate point.

This is why it is difficult to recycle oil refineries.

But, what era is it now?

Isn’t it the Republic of Korea in the 1960s with an overflowing labor force?

It is an era where extreme labor is possible to tear everything apart, grind it with a sandblaster, wash it with soap, and wipe it clean with a rag.

“We can make a sandblaster.”

“A sandblaster?”

“It’s a sandblaster. Attach a nozzle to the air compressor to spray the sand. Oil residue can be scraped off in an instant.”

I drew a picture on the ground.

“This idea.”

President Hwang Hye-seong understood as soon as he saw the painting.

Building a sand blaster is simple enough, but it’s a powerful machine that can even strip ship paint.

Hardened oil residues fly away at once.

“Chief Hwang, please share some work with me. I’m going to see the branch manager of Galfsa, so ask the ironworks around here to make some sandblasters. Please hire a welding technician as well.”

“You want to recruit welding technicians?”

“Absolutely. I will give you at least 500 won per day, so please collect as much as possible from veterans.”

“You really do not hold back in your work.”

All of this is possible as long as there is sufficient funding.

Because $130,000 was deposited in Singapore, and David asked me to pay back $100,000 later.

In addition, additional orders from Singapore are flooding in, so there is no problem.

“I have to remove the horns as well.”

After the Korea-U.S. summit, investment money will flow like a flood into the Ulsan petrochemical complex.

At that time, this abandoned factory will also attract attention, so I have to preoccupy it first.

“You’re thinking of taking over this big factory, that’s a big deal.”

President Hwang Hye-seong made a somewhat concerned expression.

“Are you worried that I will fail? Don’t worry. Galfsa will grab me by the crotch of my trousers and ask me to take this factory.”

I had already thought of a weapon to seduce Galfsa.

In the meantime, I just saw this abandoned factory.

After all, you have to do a site visit before starting anything. In business, information is vital.

“… um… is that really going to happen?”

“Leave it. Come on, let’s hurry up. Come on.”

“Yes, boss.”

President Hwang and I immediately broke up.

Hwangsajang headed to the ironworks alley, and I drove to the outskirts of the industrial complex.

There is always an aggregate store on the outskirts of an industrial complex that is expanding like this, and the items I want to seduce Galfsa are also handled at the aggregate store.

‘Will the aggregate dealer handle the material here?’

It was a good opportunity to try my luck.

**

「Ulsan Aggregate」

“It was easy to find.”

Driving out of the factory, I was able to quickly find an aggregate store.

“Boss, are you there?”

I went straight to the office without hesitation.

“welcome. What are you looking for?”

“Is there activated clay here?”

“Activated clay?”

“It’s Bento.”

“ah!! Are you Bento? There is.”

Bentonite should be called activated clay if it is purified in Korean, but it is almost called bento in the field.

Bento has so many uses, it’s used as an additive in cement and paint, pottery, industrial waste water coagulant, soil improver, wool bleach, and even cat litter in the 21st century.

Generally, it is a material used as special sand, but it is also a material that has made a mark in the history of the oil refining industry.

In the late 1960s, it was discovered that mixing Bento into crude oil and refining it increased the efficiency of gasoline and diesel extraction by more than 10%.

Bento was a catalyst to increase purification efficiency.

Of course, after that, it is replaced by silica alumina with better efficiency, and in the 21st century, it is completely replaced by a rare earth material called zeolite that shows extreme efficiency.

In the 21st century, this is why bento is only recognized as cat litter.

That means that if I bait Galfsa with Bento, it’s unlikely to cause a negative butterfly effect in my future. .

Besides, if I apply for a patent for zeolite, I wonder if Korea or oil refining technology will compete for the lead with the US, not the world’s top 5 in the 21st century.

“How many?”

“There are about 10 tons.”

“10 tons…”

10 tons?

“Recently, pottery companies that used Bento have gone bankrupt. Tzu-tsuk, who uses pottery these days! In the yard where everyone changes to sudeng…”

The 60’s are the 60’s.

This means that stainless steel bowls are perceived as more luxurious than porcelain bowls.

Anyway, it seems my luck is going to pierce the sky.

That’s why Bento remains like this.

“What is the price of bento these days?”

“It’s 20 won a kilo.”

“Then, let’s pay 10 won a kilo.”

“What kind of…”

“I buy all 10 tons. Can I give you 100,000 won? I’ll give you 10,000 won as a down payment.”

“Ugh!”

I counted out 20 500 won bills and handed them over.

At times like this, I thought it would be nice to have a 10,000 won bill at least.

“I’ll give you the remaining 90,000 won by bill, so cover the bento with a tarp. You can verify the authenticity of the bill by calling Daesae Unemployment directly or by going to the bank if that is not reliable.”

I handed my business card to the aggregate dealer.

“Uh… where can I deliver it?”

“Don’t worry, I will carry it when you need it.”

I ordered delivery for no reason, and the information that I was buying Bento could spread.

There was nothing wrong with being careful.

“Can I take one bag in advance?”

“As much as you like. You gave me a down payment of 10,000 won.”

When I bought all of the bento, the president of the aggregate store politely bent his waist at 90 degrees.

“If there are more bentos that cost 10 won per kilo, I buy more. If it’s more expensive than 10 won, I don’t need it.”

“Hey, do you need more bento? Then I’ll look into it.”

“Then please do your best.”

The aggregate dealer seemed to think of me as a guy who tried to corner Bento, so I felt like he was even slightly mocking me.

Yes, Bento was a useless material at this time.

Please keep thinking like that.

“I need sulfuric acid to turn Bento into a catalyst, so where do I go?”

I sat in the car and thought for a while.

To make bento a catalyst, water and sulfuric acid had to be mixed and stirred.

That way, Bento grains, which are just special sand, have holes like Jeju Island basalt, so they have great reactivity with crude oil.

In the 21st century, sulfuric acid would be all you need to find a chemical specialty store, but…

“Aha! Plating plant!”

Isn’t that the 60’s?

As a representative polluting industry, it entered the realm of specialized companies in the 21st century, but now, if you search a little, you will easily find a plating factory.

I laughed at the thought of tempting Galpsa with such a footstep.

I love 21st century technology!

***

Galpsa Ulsan factory front gate.

“Galph Oil”

A company that uses the orange sun mark as its logo.

As one of the world’s 7 major oil companies, wherever it makes money, it is a company that builds and looks at oil refineries, regardless of whether it is in Asia or the Middle East.

“Whoa, calm down. Woo Chan-soo!”

I took a deep breath at the main gate of Galpsa.

It took some time to make a catalyst by pouring sulfuric acid on Bento, but it was enough time until the reception.

Before meeting the branch manager here, I had to organize my thoughts to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

Business should always be structured and planned. Especially when it comes to getting investment or starting a joint project.

“Galpsa…Galpsa…how did it start?”

I groped from memory.

Galfsa can be said to be the subject of love and hatred in the Korean oil refining industry.

As the first investor in the Korean oil refining industry, he was a pioneer in arranging opportunities for many foreign companies to invest in Korea, but as much as that, he was a company that pulled out money through straws in Korea.

“Maybe Galfsa decided to invest around this time, right? So, aren’t you going to attend the welcome party?”

Ulsan City Hall holds a party to welcome the World Bank delegation on the outside, but in reality, it will be for the purpose of finalizing the investment in the Ulsan petrochemical complex in the presence of both the US Department of Commerce and Galfsa.

In the original history, Galf provided a loan of 25 million dollars to the Ulsan oil refinery, about 6.8 billion won at the exchange rate at this time.

Since the Korean government invested about 2.5 billion won in the Ulsan oil refinery, an American company invested nearly three times as much as the Korean government.

It was officially called a commercial loan, but it was just an investment to acquire shares.

In exchange for the money, Galfsa acquired a 50% stake in Korea National Oil Corporation and even management rights, and controlled the Korean oil business as it pleased.

It also raised the selling price of various petroleum products by 400% at a time, using international oil prices as an excuse, and committed an atrocity by handing over the naphtha business rights of the Ulsan plant to Japan.

This was possible because Korea had a monopoly on the oil business, from crude oil transportation, oil refining, and petroleum product distribution.

“Since the investment of 25 million dollars has already been decided by the headquarters, the discretionary power of the head of the Korean branch will be about 2.5 million dollars.”

This is because the branch manager’s discretion is always about 1/10 of that of the head office.

In the end, it is the conclusion that if we can get the closed plant and the naphtha business right within 2.5 million dollars, we can make a deal with the Korean branch manager.

“Bringing the naphtha license to an abandoned plant for $2.5 million… I think it’s crazy.”

It was ridiculous that a guy with about $200,000 in operating funds was trying to make a deal for $2.5 million.

I couldn’t give up though.

This kind of plant business is my field of specialization, and if I get the naphtha license and even the abandoned plant, I will be able to fly high in the sky with both wings.

If you secure the naphtha business right and spin all kinds of chemical fibers, you will make money like crazy.

It was even a righteous thing.

In addition to all kinds of abuse in the 1960s and 1970s, Galfsa earned more than 100 billion won from stock disposal when leaving Korea in the early 80s.

It was equivalent to recovering 14 times the initial investment.

It is an aid scam comparable to the IMF Runstar, so the more I tighten Galfsa, the less the outflow of national wealth.

“let’s go!”

Let’s take a big bite!