Chapter 118: Busy putting out fires, want to settle out of court?

Author: Rabbit who loves drinking black tea

Chapter 118: Busy putting out fires, want to settle out of court?

"Ovid, what happened to you in China?"

"Why did such low-level evidence fall into the hands of NTN?"

"Do you think the American judiciary can't find any evidence to attack us?"

"I asked you to open up the Chinese market, not to provide bullets to NTN."

Ovid, who was originally sleepy, suddenly woke up.

"me……"

Ovid, who didn't know what happened, didn't even dare to argue at this time.

This is the call SKF CEO Tom Johnston gave himself.

"Stop me and me."

"Let me ask you, are there any manufacturers in China joining forces with NTN to deal with customers?"

NTN in the United States has backstabbed SKF.

Johnston must confirm whether the evidence is true or false.

Admitting it or not is one thing, knowing it or not is another thing entirely.

He had a hunch that there must be a reason behind SKF being in the eye of the antitrust storm this time.

"It can't be said that they are joining forces to deal with customers. They are just having some linkage with NTN and other bearing manufacturers in accordance with the unspoken rules of the industry."

"The so-called price manipulation among suppliers is actually just setting a price range for bargaining with OEMs in advance. The real pricing still needs further consultation to determine."

"It is not so much that we monopolize prices, but rather that the car manufacturers have created an environment for price manipulation."

Ovid's understanding represents the opinions of other parts giants to a certain extent.

After all, the nature of auto parts is indeed different from monopolies in petroleum, tobacco and other fields.

There are few parts that only one supplier can monopolize production in the world.

What's more, it's just a few technologically advanced oligarch suppliers, price linkage for various purposes.

And most of the time, even if there is a tacit understanding, the price is not too exaggerated.

For example, a part costing 100 yuan would normally be sold for 115 yuan.

After they form a tacit understanding, they may sell it to the OEM for 130 to 150 yuan.

However, the possibility of directly taking advantage of this and selling it for two to three hundred or even higher is still very low.

This is also the reason why most of the time, OEMs turn a blind eye to such things.

"Okay, you don't have to explain these things to me."

"Do you think the American judiciary can listen to my explanation or your explanation?"

Johnston also rose from the grassroots level of SKF to the position of CEO step by step. Although he could understand what Ovid said, it no longer made sense.

"During this period, the Huaxia branch should give me some peace of mind. Don't rush into trouble at the cusp of the storm."

"There shouldn't be anything special going on in the Huaxia branch, right?"

Johnston has now heard that the EU is also preparing to launch an antitrust investigation.

There are even actions in Japan.

He was really worried that something might happen to China.

"Forehead……"

Holm inexplicably thought of the next lawsuit with Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd.

Is this something special?

"Ovid, have you done something else?"

"The business development of Huaxia Branch in the past year has not been very good, but things have become more and more complicated, right?"

"What's going on? Please tell me quickly."

"I don't want to be caught off guard by information from China again."

Johnston's roaring voice came from the microphone, making Ovid very flustered.

The other party had already said this, so naturally he didn't dare to hide anything anymore.

Who knows if this could be a trap?

"Johnston, if you want to talk about what happened in the Huaxia Branch in the past year, there is one thing that is quite special."

"I have also reported to the headquarters before that a local company in China called Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd. has taken wheel bearing orders from our customers such as Modu General Motors and Modu Volkswagen."

"Now they are maliciously offering low prices to OEMs in areas such as transmission shaft bearings and engine crankshaft bearings, which makes us relatively passive."

"So during this period, Huaxia Branch is suing the other party for infringing our patent."

"They in turn falsely accused us of infringing on their patents."

Hearing what Ovid said, Johnston couldn't help but frown.

"When it comes to cases involving patent infringement, the legal department at the headquarters will regularly report to the management. Why haven't I heard of it before?"

Ovid was also a little embarrassed when he was asked this question.

He had unanimously agreed to Xue Wenqiang's suggestion.

But I didn't expect that Nanshan was so stubborn that he actually sued SKF.

However, over at the Patent Office, Nanshan does have a number of patented technologies related to bearings.

Some of them are quite technical.

Even SKF is covetous of Nanshan’s heat treatment technology.

But these actions were all done behind the back of the headquarters.

When there is nothing going on, it naturally doesn’t matter.

At this time, it's a bit embarrassing.

"Is such that……"

Ovid carefully spent five minutes and quickly explained the situation of SKF Huaxia and Nanshan.

It was okay not to hear this, but once he heard it, Johnston became even more angry.

"According to your statement, our SKF company in China was beaten back step by step by a local private enterprise?"

"You even hesitate to bring up trumped-up patent infringement cases to suppress the other party?"

SKF has always relied on technological advantages to maintain its number one position in the bearing industry.

It’s not like I haven’t experienced patent troll cases before.

But you have to look at who your opponents are.

If it were a lawsuit against a giant like Schaeffler or NTN, Johnston would definitely not say anything.

But now there is a quarrel with a local small business in China. No matter whether he wins or loses in the end, Johnston feels that he has lost.

"Johnston, this Nanshan is different from ordinary Chinese companies. They are more evil."

"According to what we previously reported to the Automobile Bearing Division, their bearing technology has its own unique features."

"That's why the business department previously agreed to our joint ventures with local Chinese state-owned enterprises such as Xifeng Bearing, Modu Automobile, Spring City Automobile, etc."

Ovid felt a little wronged himself.

He had previously reported some matters regarding Nanshan Technology Co., Ltd. to the headquarters.

However, China is far from the most important market for SKF, and it is not even ranked among the top three.

Therefore, most matters concerning the Huaxia Branch are decided in each business department and never reach the hands of the CEO.

Even if each business department would mention relevant information at the company's regular meetings, Johnston would probably forget it after hearing it, and would not deliberately understand the stories behind the establishment of these joint ventures.

Besides, everyone doesn’t want the CEO to see that he established a joint venture because he was forced by a small Chinese company.

"Don't worry about it during this time."

"Now that the situation is at the forefront, no matter how the lawsuit turns out, it will not be good for us."

"You can arrange for someone to find an out-of-court settlement."

"During this period, I don't want to hear any more news about the Huaxia Branch!"

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