Boulton-Watt Company

Just after New Year's Day in 1800, thick, dirty, greyish-white snowdrifts still lined the streets of London. Around nine o'clock in the morning, a public carriage stopped not far from the entrance to Boulton - Watt's company. A large, burly young man stepped off the carriage, his neck hunched, pulling his slightly too-small cotton coat tighter around his waist with one hand, while carrying a large trunk in his other. His hands were red with cold because he wasn't wearing gloves.

The man looked around and saw the Boulton - Watt company sign. A tiger-like grin spread across his red, frostbitten face. He then picked up his briefcase and strode toward the entrance of the Boulton - Watt company.

The Boulton - Watt Company—just by looking at the name, we know that this is the company of James Watt, the improver of the steam engine and the initiator of the First Industrial Revolution. Of course, Mr. Watt was only the second largest shareholder of this company; the largest shareholder was Boulton, who owned two-thirds of the company's shares, including patent rights.

The young man walked to the entrance of the Boulton - Watt company and, in broken English with a heavy accent, addressed the waiter standing outside, who was also thinly dressed and had a red nose from the cold. "I'm here to discuss a big deal with Mr. Boulton and Mr. Watt. We've already arranged a time. My name is Grandet."

The waiter looked Grandet up and down with a suspicious expression. He knew that a wealthy France named Grandet would be visiting that morning. However, until now, he had been so focused on the luxurious carriages with fireplaces passing by that he hadn't noticed this man carrying a suitcase. Now, could this fellow, who looked even more shabby than himself, really be the "wealthy France" Mr. Boulton had mentioned?

However, since the man said his name Grandet, and all the other information he provided matched, the waiter couldn't simply turn him away because he was dressed like a penniless Scotland drifter in London. So, with a slight hesitation, he said, "Mr. Grandet, Mr. Boulton and Mr. Watt are waiting for you. Please follow me."

As the waiter spoke, he reached out and pushed open the door, while habitually extending his hand to help Grandet with his trunk.

"Ah, the contents of this box are very important, and it's a bit heavy, so I'll carry it myself," Grandet declined the waiter's help. He followed the waiter into the company.

Then, led by the waiter, he went up the stairs to the second floor. As he went up the stairs, he made a loud thumping sound, which made the waiter frown slightly and mentally label the France as a "roughneck".

Grandet followed the waiter to a door, where the waiter knocked gently and said, "Mr. Boulton, Mr. Watt, Mr. Grandet has arrived."

"Please come in," came the voice from inside.

The waiter then opened the door, and a gust of warm air rushed in. Grandet went in and saw two elderly people getting up from the sofa to welcome him.

"You must be Mr. Grandet? Please sit here; it's closer to the fireplace and warmer," the older man said.

Grandet then picked up his briefcase, walked to the armchair near the fireplace, sat down, placed the briefcase at his feet, and a waiter brought him a cup of black tea, placing it on the small tea table next to him.

"Thank you," Grandet said, then picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

"This warms me up! Damn, London is so cold! I just stepped out of the hotel and I'm already breathless from the cold. The winters here are just too cold!"

"London is actually alright, James' hometown is much colder. But you southerners have it so good, your hometown is always so warm," the older man said with a smile.

He then introduced himself and another elderly man.

"I am Boulton, the boss of the company, and this is my partner and friend Watt."

So Grandet introduced himself to them.

"Grandet, one of the shareholders of Lorraine Iron and Steel Company. I have been dispatched by the company's board of directors in the hope of reaching some business cooperation with your company. If this cooperation is successful and we both make a lot of money, we also hope that our friendship can continue."

The three exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Boulton asked, "Mr. Grandet, as far as I know, your company is part of the Military-Industrial Consortium, which has its own steam engine manufacturers. What makes your company intend to cooperate with us, rather than with Bonaparte Steam Power, which is also part of the Military-Industrial Consortium?"

"There are two main reasons," Grandet replied. "Bonaparte Steam Power's steam engines were originally designed for maritime needs. As far as I know, they paid a very high price to achieve extreme performance. Well, I mean, while their machines were excellent, they were excessively expensive. And they involved a lot of highly classified technology."

Grandet paused briefly, then continued, "I believe that both gentlemen, especially a great scientist like Mr. Watt, must be very interested in Bonaparte Steam Power engine. But even you two probably haven't seen a real Bonaparte steam engine. To be honest, I haven't either. However, I know that the Military-Industrial Complex has used many methods to increase the boiler pressure of that steam engine to about one and a half times that of the products you sell, so the ships using it are unparalleled in speed. Moreover, their machines, with the same horsepower, are smaller and more coal-efficient. You know, space on a ship is limited; carrying less coal means carrying more cargo, and sailing at a faster speed means making more round trips, which in itself brings in a lot of profit."

However, any improvement comes at a price. As far as I know, the manufacturing cost, maintenance cost, and maintenance time of this type of steam engine are much higher than those of ordinary steam engines. Only users with extremely high profit margins, such as smuggling ships and navies, or those with extremely demanding performance requirements for other reasons, would be willing to accept such an expensive contraption. Bonaparte Steam Power's current strategy is still to cling tightly to the demands of the sea; they currently do not have the capability to provide us with commonly used, low-operating-cost steam engines like your company does."

Boulton and Watt exchanged a glance. If the information the France seemed to have casually uttered was reliable, then Bonaparte Steam Power was clearly not following the same path as General Dynamics, and the threat it posed to their company was relatively reduced. Of course, what the France said might not be entirely true.

"So what kind of steam engines does your company intend to order from us?" Boulton asked again.

"We now need a specially made, extra-large steam engine," Grandet said, "Much larger than any you have ever built before."

"How big exactly?" Watt asked.

"The bigger the better. Ideally, one machine should have 10,000 horsepower," Grandet said.

Grandet's request startled Watt: "Mr. Grandet, how could you possibly need such a large steam engine? Forgive my bluntness, but I simply cannot imagine what kind of work would require such a powerful engine."

"To generate electricity," Grandet said.

The France already possessed electric motors and began using them extensively in their rural irrigation projects, causing copper prices to soar throughout Europe. Furthermore, the Britain were naturally aware that the entire continent, including Europe France, had recently replaced bronze cannons with iron ones. However, many electrical-related technologies were classified as "military technology" by the France and therefore could not be exported. Thus, the Britain had only heard of these technologies but had not yet actually used them.

"With electric motors, things that previously required individual small steam engines can now be solved with electric motors. Therefore, we only need one or a set of very large steam engines at the power generation site. Currently, generator sets and electric motors are still under technological control and limited by raw material availability, limiting their use to a few specific sectors in France. However, I believe they will eventually be extended to more departments and regions. Therefore, Mr. Watt, in the not-too-distant future, all small and medium-sized steam engines, except for those used on ships, will lose their viability. Therefore, I suggest your company prepare in advance and invest all its resources in the development of very large steam engines. Only very large steam engines capable of continuous operation for long periods, serving as the power source for power generation, have a future."

At this point, Grandet took a document from his briefcase and handed it to them. "These are our technical requirements for this type of steam engine."

Watt took the document, lowered his head, and examined it carefully. After a while, he looked up, his face full of confusion and regret, and said, "Your performance requirements are too high, and your reliability requirements are even higher, and these two requirements are conflicting. As for the price you offered... although I don't want to say it, I have to admit that, both technically and in terms of cost, we are not capable of taking on such an order. Moreover, I'm sure there isn't another manufacturer in the world that can take on such an order. Therefore, I suggest that your company reconsider these requirements."

"What if we could supply you with large quantities of low-cost steel?" Grandet said.