Chapter 1431: Industrial Chain
This was also why Joseph had the Engineering Design Institute heavily support Schramm in the first place.
Previously, traditional oil extraction involved heating raw materials like rapeseed and flaxseed to rupture their cell walls, then using a waterwheel to drive a screw press, squeezing out the oil.
Due to the limited power of waterwheels and crude mechanical structures, multiple pressings were required, along with the addition of some water to soak the raw materials, to ensure most of the oil was extracted.
The primary culprit for oil spoilage is oxidation.
The traditional pressing process was extremely slow, leaving the raw materials exposed to air for extended periods. This meant that freshly pressed oil essentially had more than half of its shelf life already diminished.
Furthermore, traditional pressing methods required repeated squeezing, which caused many fragments of the raw material to mix into the oil. These fragments contained a large amount of protein, making them highly susceptible to decay.
Consequently, oils pressed by traditional methods were difficult to preserve for more than a month. Most people bought oil from the mills as needed.
These oil mills could only be built by rivers, and the quantity produced each time could not be large, otherwise, any unsold oil would spoil. As for merchants, they were even less willing to transport and sell edible oil.
This led to consistently high prices for edible oil. Even residents in large cities like Paris could only enjoy oil for a few months during the rapeseed or olive harvest season each year. During other seasons, they had to rely on boiling cured meats to add a little richness to their diet.
At this point, the oil in the raw material had barely undergone any oxidation.
Additionally, the Steam Oil Press could fully extract oil in a single pass, avoiding the repeated "kneading" of raw materials that led to impurities mixing into the oil.
Moreover, the high efficiency of the Steam Oil Press ensured that extraction was completed before the raw materials cooled, further guaranteeing a high oil yield.
All these advantages constituted a complete revolution for the edible oil industry.
Now, olive oil from the Provence region had begun selling in large quantities to places like Paris and Lorraine—bottled "premium pure oil" could easily stay fresh for eight months.
Rapeseed oil from the western regions would not spoil for even ten months.
This made edible oil transportation a burgeoning business, and over a dozen new oil shops sprouted up in Paris.
On top of this, the price of edible oil in Paris was now just over 60% of its former cost and was still continually decreasing.
"A large oil press must have been built in Brittany, right?" Joseph asked casually.
Delattre and the mayor exchanged glances. "Not yet, Your Highness," Delattre said, a little awkwardly. "That's why we had to purchase a Steam Oil Press ourselves."
Joseph couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. "I recall Brittany has high yields of rapeseed and flaxseed. Why hasn't an oil press been built?"
The Mayor of Saint-Malo quickly explained, "Your Highness, in the past, all the rapeseed produced here was bought by merchants from Paris or Poitou."
Joseph nodded. "I suggest you could mortgage the cannery to secure some funds, and I'll have the Industrial Development Fund invest some money to build an oil press here, making use of the rapeseed and flaxseed resources.
"The extracted oil can supply the cannery, helping it reduce costs and improve the quality of canned goods.
"In turn, the cannery can produce tin oil barrels for the oil press, or even directly assist the oil press with canning and sealing.
"Afterward, both edible oil and canned goods can use the same transportation channels to major cities like Paris and Bordeaux, significantly reducing transport costs."
This was the supply chain model of later generations.
Rapeseed cultivation—oil pressing—fishing—food processing, forming an industrial chain. The cannery wouldn't need to maintain an oil pressing workshop, and the oil press would save on the cost of glass bottle packaging. Tin oil barrels were just over a third of the price of glass bottles and could be stacked a dozen layers high for transport, making them very convenient.
The Saint-Malo officials immediately looked at Manager Delattre.
His eyes were already gleaming, and he nodded repeatedly. "This, this is a brilliant idea!
"The seaming machine can be slightly modified to seal oil cans. Even if we want to fill larger cans, say 6 to 7 kilograms each, it's not impossible, though it would require assistance from the seaming machine manufacturer...
"As for us, if there's an oil press nearby, we could even add flaxseed oil to all our canned goods, and the cost wouldn't exceed 4 deniers!"
Joseph continued his line of thought. "If the output of canned goods and edible oil is sufficiently large, I believe people will be willing to invest in railways here. You wouldn't even need to wait for the Ministry of Transport's plans."
He hadn't expected that a casual visit to Saint-Malo would lead him to design a behemoth of a grain and oil industry.
And these industries alone would be enough to more than double Brittany's entire economy in a short time!
While the Saint-Malo council excitedly discussed the proposal to raise funds for the oil press, Joseph's motorcade was already on its way back to Brest.
In the carriage, Queen Mary exclaimed repeatedly, "I never imagined there could be such enormous factories in the world. They say almost the entire city now relies on this factory for its livelihood."
Joseph smiled and nodded. "Yes, Mother, this is the power of industrialization.
"A humble fishing village, with the assistance of machinery, can rapidly develop into a prosperous city.
"Once the oil press is established, the people here will easily earn 30 francs a month."
An income of 30 francs a month was already quite close to that of workers in Paris. It was equivalent to creating an area with Parisian economic standards in a border province like Brittany.
Of course, incomes in Paris were also steadily rising. Especially after the various railway lines gradually opened, some skilled workers could even earn a monthly salary of 50 francs.
Queen Mary suddenly remembered the years when she held power. Let alone building giant factories in Brittany, even Paris's finances almost collapsed...
She scoffed with a self-deprecating laugh, "It's a good thing I started 'slacking off' so early, otherwise I would have likely hindered you from showcasing this astonishing talent."
She then remembered something else. "Oh, by the way, I just heard Count Eman say that among these machines, you hold even more patents than your father?"
Joseph waved his hand. "Honestly, most of the time I just provided a few ideas. Father is the true mechanical master!"
He then changed the subject. "Have you ever foraged the sea before?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"It's accepting nature's bounty by the seaside. There are still a few days until the warship launch ceremony; I'll take you foraging the sea in Brest."
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