Chapter 179 Benefits of Product Certification

After a long and intense two-hour battle, Doug Williams experienced many twists and turns at the poker table, but in the end he had no choice but to lose more than 2,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Ma Qing, who was standing by, only lost about 500 yuan by not cheating. It must be said that the facts have proved that these two people really do not have any extraordinary talent or good luck at the poker table.

The two people who lost money did not get emotional because, after all, neither of them could be considered as real gamblers. Playing cards was just a form of entertainment for them. After apologizing to their poker friends at the table, they went to the lounge next door to take a rest.

“Mr. Ma, what exactly do you want to talk to me about today? Tell me quickly. You’ve been keeping me hanging like this, and I can’t concentrate on playing cards. Look, I lost money today.” Doug Williams actually blamed his failure on Ma Qing.

“You are so funny. According to what we Chinese say, you can’t poop because the earth has no gravity.” Ma Qing pointed to the paper box that had been placed on the table early in the morning and said slowly: “I made a little thing, come and see it.”

Doug Williams couldn’t wait to open the paper box and took out the Polestar XJ001. In an instant, he was deeply attracted by this beautiful little guy. Doug Williams fiddled with it for a while and then opened this object that can be regarded as a representative of new era aesthetics.

The beautiful sound is like a clear stream, which immediately comes out from the speaker of the radio and flows gently in the air, as if it has a magical power to soothe people’s tired hearts. It is also like a smart bird singing on the branch, and the melodious melody floats out from the speaker of the radio, adding a touching color to the whole space.

“Is this Kyoho’s new product?” Doug Williams was puzzled. From plastic products to electronic products, the leap is really too big.

Polestar Electronics’ products have not yet been officially launched, and as a foreigner, he had no idea that Ma Qing had such an industry.

“This is the latest product of another company under my umbrella. How is it? Are you interested?” The first reason why Ma Qing found Doug Williams was that he wanted to know what level of product Polestar-XJ001 is in the minds of foreigners.

“I’m very interested, Mr. Ma, please give me the North American agency rights for this Polestar. I can definitely make it a big seller in North America.” Doug Williams asked excitedly, “By the way, how much does this thing cost?”

“The factory price is US$22 and the suggested retail price is US$32 per unit. How about it? Is it competitive?” Ma Qing said slowly.

“No problem. Even at $40, the quality is well worth it.”

“Okay then, the factory price is $25 and the suggested retail price is $39. This way everyone can make a little more money.” Ma Qing immediately changed the price.

“…” Doug Williams never expected to get such a result. He said with a bitter face, “Can you just ignore what I said and use the original price?”

“Okay, let’s use the new price. You can make more money. Don’t play tricks on me. Let’s not talk about this for now.” Ma Qing was too lazy to continue talking nonsense about the price. “It’s impossible to give you the agency rights in North America. The most I can give you is the agency rights for the East Coast of the United States and Canada. Moreover, I won’t give this agency rights for free.”

“Mr. Ma is very kind. He did not let me participate in the bidding and directly gave me the agency rights. I am very grateful. Now, tell me, how much is the franchise fee?” Doug Williams thought very clearly.

“I don’t want money. Too much money is meaningless.” Ma Qing raised his chin slightly and pretended to be profound. “You always talk about how awesome your Doug Williams family is in the United States. I want to ask you to do something.”

“What happened that makes you not even want the money?” Doug Williams didn’t believe that someone would not even want the money. He thought to himself that Ma Qing’s matter must be very troublesome, like a turbulent undercurrent hidden beneath the calm lake.

“Don’t worry. It’s not that difficult. It’s very simple. Of course, the prerequisite is that your family really has that much power as you said.” Ma Qing took out a newspaper from his pocket slowly. The newspaper seemed to be an ark of hope. It contained a report on last year’s Chicago Good Design Award in the United States.

The Good Design Awards in Chicago, USA, was established in 1950 and has a history of nearly 20 years. It is like a shining design beacon, illuminating the way forward for world design. It is one of the most prestigious and oldest design awards in the world and is held annually.

It is committed to discovering and celebrating the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product and graphic designs. It acts as an impartial judge, aims to promote a better understanding of contemporary design and reward creative leaders in the design and manufacturing industries.

“You can get the Polestar-XJ001 to win an industrial award, right? It’s actually a small thing.” Ma Qing said, pointing at the radio, which seemed to have become a warrior waiting for glory. “If you can’t even do this, I think there is no basis for our cooperation.”

“That’s it?”

“No, there is also the designated certification of the International Audio Engineering Association. If you can handle these two things, the agency rights we agreed on will belong to you. In fact, these two things don’t cost much, but I’m far away in Hong Kong, so it will be very troublesome to handle them. To be honest, it’s a bargain for you.”

Founded in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) is the world’s only professional association dedicated to audio technology. It is like a sacred temple of audio technology. Its members come from engineers, scientists, and other individuals who are interested in or involved in the professional audio industry. Members mainly include engineers who develop audio equipment or products, and people engaged in audio content production. They also include acoustic workers, audiology experts, scholars, and people from other disciplines related to audio.

“Chicago Good Design Award and certification from the International Audio Engineering Association, Mr. Ma, you are really different from the Hong Kong businessmen I know. You really think long-term.”

Doug Williams had to admit that Ma Qing’s mind was indeed different from that of ordinary businessmen. He always wanted to do something fancy to show off.

But this is indeed good for the product. “These are the two conditions. If I can do it, you can waive my agency fee?”

“It will be done within a month. If time wasn’t so tight, I wouldn’t have asked you for help. In fact, you and I both know that it doesn’t cost much to get these two things done, because the Polestar-XJ001 itself is very good. But I need the results urgently.”

Ma Qing stated his request. At that time in 1969, it would not cost much to handle these two things according to the procedures, but it was hard to say if they could be expedited.

Doug Williams frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. After a moment, he raised his head and said slowly, “Let me have a day and I’ll call and ask. If I can do it, I will definitely do it. If I can’t do it, I won’t waste your time.” His eyes revealed firmness and sincerity, as if he was making a solemn promise to Ma Qing. “Okay, Mr. Doug, your way of doing things has won my respect.” Ma Qing nodded slightly, with an admiring look on his face, “No matter what the result is, I will definitely make you my friend.” At this time, Ma Qing’s tone was sincere and firm, as if he was announcing the beginning of a precious friendship.

After saying goodbye to Doug Williams, Ma Qing found the European agent of Jufeng Company and made the same request, but this time he required the German iF Product Design Award and the British BSI certification.

The iF Product Design Award was founded in 1954 and is held annually by the iF Industrie Forum Design, Germany’s oldest industrial design organization. It has been internationally recognized as a prestigious award in the field of contemporary industrial design, and is known as one of the world’s three major design awards along with the Red Dot Award and the IDEA Award.

British BSI certification is a document certification that proves the quality and safety of corporate products. The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the world’s first national standardization organization. It is a non-profit civil society organization recognized and supported by the British government. It was established in 1901 and is headquartered in London.

The modern product certification system first appeared in the UK. In 1903, British manufacturers began to use the world’s first certification mark, the BS kite mark, on rails that met size standards.

In 1919, the British government promulgated the Trademark Act, which stipulates that only products that have passed inspection by a third-party inspection agency can use the kite mark.

The British Kite Mark Committee was established in 1921 to manage the issuance and use of the kite mark. In 1922, registration of marks for various products began.

In 1926, the British Kite Mark Committee issued the first “Kite Mark License” to the British Electric Company.

The BSI safety mark was first used on household appliances and other safety equipment and products in 1975, and Ma Qing wanted to put the BSI safety mark on Polestar products in 1969.

After finishing these things, Ma Qing could only wait for news, but fortunately, the next day, both agents sent positive news, which made Ma Qing feel relieved and prepared to hold the global bidding meeting of Polestar Electronics in a month.

After dispatching two staff members from Rongfa Trading to assist Polestar Electronics in preparing for the bidding meeting, Ma Qing was completely free.

This gave Ma Qing time to return to the product development room of Zhiwei Technology. In fact, the product development of microcalculators was in great trouble.

“Boss, we have already made the calculator, but…how should I put it, we are actually using other people’s parts. It is really difficult to industrialize it in Hong Kong.” Shelkov gave a work report to Ma Qing on behalf of the calculator R&D trio.

The two core components of the calculator, the microprocessor (MCU) and the display screen, can only be purchased from outside. We cannot make this production line, and these two production lines are simply not available for purchase. The best result is to order customized products.

But in this case, Polestar Electronics is actually an assembly plant, and the product prices are extremely high. According to speculation, a calculator may cost $290. Such a price…

Ma Qing looked at the calculator in his hand and fell into deep thought. He had designed the entire operating framework and theoretical logic of the product, but he was unable to manufacture the hardware. Although he could build a production line, he absolutely did not dare to do so. This was totally inexplicable.

In 1969, the large-scale integrated circuit chip MK-6010LSI designed by Mostek integrated all the transistors needed to complete the various functions of a calculator. It was applied by Japan’s Busicom to its product NCR18-16, opening the history of single-chip calculators.

This not only greatly reduced the power consumption of calculators, allowing them to be powered by batteries, but also made portable calculators possible. At the same time, it significantly reduced assembly costs, prompting the emergence of a large number of calculator manufacturers.

It was too late. What should I do? “I’ll take this calculator away first. You guys can continue to optimize the product. Now that it’s already been made, we have to find a home for it.”

Ma Qing spent the entire afternoon in his office. There were not many options before him, but first he had to apply for a patent for this pocket calculator.

And then cooperate with foreign countries? Currently, the only four countries in the world that have the ability to produce such chips and integrated circuits are the United States, Britain, France, and Japan.

The United States has no choice. It already has a Japanese son and a Korean backup son. If it goes, does it have to be the third dog? Bah, I would never do that.

As for Japan, he ruled it out. He could not convince himself to cooperate with Japan. His past experiences and complicated international relations had brought his willingness to cooperate with Japan to a freezing point.

What about France? Ma Qing couldn’t help but frown when he thought of the French’s efficiency. The slow pace of work and the cumbersome administrative procedures made him full of doubts about cooperation with France.

Now it seems that the UK is a good choice. Since our base is in Hong Kong, we should be able to gain more benefits by cooperating with the UK.

He seemed to see a glimmer of hope, and tried hard to find the best development path in this complicated situation.

The problem now is indeed thorny: how to get in touch with the British upper class? This is obviously not something that can be easily solved by finding a few British businessmen to start a company together.

The patent for this pocket calculator will undoubtedly be an important opportunity. It is like a magic key that can quickly commercialize primary semiconductor chips at this stage, thereby forming a complete industrial chain and effectively promoting the development of the entire industry.

Ma Qing was secretly planning in his mind, he knew very well that the value of this patent was huge. If he wanted to hand over this precious “key”, how could the British Empire not bleed a little?

He began to carefully consider various possible strategies and conditions, thinking about how to gain the greatest benefits in the negotiations with the UK. At the same time, he also realized the importance of his own security and planned to raise his security level to a higher level.

(End of this chapter)