The Mech Touch novel Chapter 272

Out of the three mech manufacturers in consideration, Ves had already picked his favorite. Vaun Industrial and Vikaris Mechs both had their benefits, but Andar Neverland’s Elemental Mech Engineering took the cake.

Unfortunately, his board didn’t think so. When Ves returned to Marcella’s conference room next day, he encountered a bunch of bewildering stares as he laid out his choice.

Even Marcella seemed dumbfounded. "Ves, EME is the least attractive partner by far. They have the least amount of production lines and they pay out the least in terms of credits. It doesn’t make any economic sense to go with the worst offer."

According to the licensing terms they negotiated up to this point, EME promised to pay the LMC only 2.5 million credits per Blackbeak. This contrasted sharply with the 3.5 million credits per mech offered by Vaun and a whopping 5 million credits per mech offered by Vikaris.

"If you’ve visited all of their production facilities with your own eyes, you’ll know that EME is better than the rest. Mr. Neverland’s company offers a number of benefits that the other two manufacturers won’t be able to realize."

"Let’s hear it then, Ves."

"First, and most importantly, quality control." Ves raised his finger to emphasize this priority. "Even though the bronze label Blackbeaks are our lowest tier products, they will still sell for at least 50 million credits per copy. Such a price demands we ensure that every mech is up to snuff."

The director from Bentheim shook his head. "That’s not a sufficient reason to choose EME over Vaun. Certainly, the Haston-based Vikaris Mechs has a spotty track record in terms of quality, but Vaun has a lengthy track record of producing high quality mechs at an extremely fast rate of production. Right now, the spike in demand for the Blackbeak won’t last, so it’s imperative we push as many Blackbeaks into their hands before the hype runs out."

Most of the other directors agreed with his reasoning. Vaun Industrial possessed the scale and professionalism to meet any of their client’s demands. With a seemingly endless amount of production lines spread over three massive complexes, they could increase their production on a dime if the Blackbeak turns out to be an enduringly popular model.

Ves shook his head. "Is Vaun able to maintain a consistent output? No doubt. Yet their production lines aren’t configured in a way that brings out the best qualities of the Blackbeak. I designed my knight to be assembled one by one, which is the production method that EME used for their own mechs. It’s a bit slower, I can admit that, but it preserves some of the craftsmanship the Blackbeak is intended to convey."

Nobody really understood his point. The goal of mass producing the Blackbeak was to produce as many copies as possible at the lowest price for a given level of quality. That Vaun used a matrix of production equipment to assemble their mechs should be to their benefit.

Marcella tried to explain the rationale to Ves. "The bronze label is meant to present accessibility and cost savings. It’s okay if a couple of parts don’t perform as expected. They also won’t care about the craftsmanship put into their products. They simply want the best performance without going bankrupt."

"Vaun Industrial is a massive manufacturer as well." Someone else said. "If our most optimistic projections of the Blackbeak’s demand turn out to be true, then EME will be hard-pressed to squeeze out more mechs than they are already pumping out. Four production lines don’t amount to much."

"We can always contract a second manufacturer if needed." Ves waved away the excuse. "If the Blackbeak turns out to be a bestseller, then our negotiating power will obviously be higher than now. We’ll easily be able to impose a higher licensing fee on our next partners."

His grandfather added a rare word of support. "Ves is correct. Right now, nobody is able to determine for certain whether the Blackbeak possesses any mass appeal. It’s a mech that sells for a premium price, so even with all of the heightened interest in the model, we won’t be selling thousands of copies at an instant."

Someone with a marketing background echoed those words. "A high level of attention doesn’t automatically translate to a high number of sales. A new model like the Blackbeak still has to prove its worth in the field. The duel was a good start, but it’s only a single incident. At this price level, many buyers will be reticent on purchasing an expensive mech without a substantial track record."

Not everyone agreed with that assessment. The board split in half whether the Blackbeak would sell the most at the start or down the line.

Marcella turned back to Ves. "You haven’t finished laying out your reasons for choosing EME."

"Thank you, Marcella. Let me tell you the second reason."

He activated a projector and showed them all a summary of Andar Neverland’s biography. At first glance, it didn’t contain anything of interest, mainly due to the mech designer’s continuous obsession with improving his Klemson striker design. He had never expanded his catalog with anything other than variants of the original Klemson.

"What are we supposed to look at?"

"When I visited EME and talked to Mr. Neverland, I noticed that he doesn’t spend much time talking about his roots. He only briefly mentioned that he got his passion for Striker mechs from his mentor. Look at this biography. Can you spot who his mentor might be?"

"It’s the Honorable Alazar Crux!"

"The Senior Mech Designer?"

"It’s him!"

Everyone took notice of the illustrious name. Officially, the Bright Republic didn’t retain any Master Mech Designers, so those at the rank of Senior pretty much called the shots. In the hierarchy of Bentheim mech designers, Alastar Crux pretty much sat near or at the top.

In turn, it was a big deal if the Honorable Mr. Crux mentored Andar Neverland.