Weapons Manufacturers

[Col. StaR]

Overview:
Considered by some as a dying industry, and by others as an industry that profits off violence and war, Firearm Manufacturing has become, and maintained, a crucial part of the manufacturing economy. Estimated to bring in hundreds of millions of credits in profit, the Arms industry is a critical asset industry, producing weapons to tens of thousands of individuals whose lives may depend on their wares. Every day, thousands of weapons are bought, sold, traded, and used, and it is important for a company to keep up with both demand and technical innovation. Because of this, several smaller start-up companies have failed to survive in the name-recognition dominated industry.

History:
Arms manufacturing has been around as long as the existence of weapons themselves, but it didn't become a full-fledged industry until the Industrial Revolution period, when weapons become a commodity that had to be created with speed, quality, cost, and design in mind. Throughout the many wars in human history, arms manufacturing had remained the same, relying on a variety of weapons to suit a military's needs.

After the nuclear holocaust of WW3, several of the companies and manufacturing plans were obliterated, and a majority of those with experience or interest in the industry were either killed or unable to restart manufacturing due to the damage. For a time after the nuclear fires, weapons both new and old existed only in the hands of men, usually scavenged from disbanded armies, abandoned armories, or private owners. Weapons used in the various ensuing conflicts would be more varied than any other conflict in history, and it was commonplace to see a relatively-new North American weapon being used alongside a 200 year old rifle from Eastern Europe. Because of the sheer number of weapons being used in the various conflicts, ammunition was one of the most sought-after commodities. From archeological reports, the demand for ammunition was so high that in 2044, a local warlord had repaired and recommissioned an ancient soviet-era ammunition plant for the usage and distribution of his troops, becoming the first to restart the arms manufacturing. However, the arms manufacturing industry wasn't considered truly restarted until 2045, when the North American New Order military-industrial complex restarted factories and manufacturing plants.

From then on, learning from the New Order and taking personal initiative, did a variety of arms manufacturing occur. Progress was initially slow due to tasks such as repairing factories, restoring the manufacturing process, gathering the required minerals, finding skilled labor, and applying working designs. However, with the New Order occupation of Europe, the imperative to remove the New Order troops increased production, and soon there was a decent amount of production coming out of European plants to supply the resistance movements. After the expulsion of the New Order troops from Europe, two remaining European manufacturing companies rose up to become the dominant manufacturers in the industry: Heckler and Koch, and Fabrique Nationale.

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The Main Manufacturers:

-Heckler and Koch (HK)
The Germany-based company is currently locked into a rivalry with Fabrique Nationale to become the company with the largest market share in the arms industry. One of the few surviving companies from WW3, they were the first on the scene when it came to reconstruction and revival of their manufacturing capabilities. Utilizing robust, reliable, and fairly cost-effective designs, HK's variety of previous designs offer a well rounded assortment of weapons for a flexible arsenal.

-Fabrique Nationale (FN)
The Belgium-based company, while only a few market shares short of HK, is still a fierce rival with Heckler and Koch. Also a survivor of WW3, their manufacturing capabilities were marred by constant infighting between the manufacturers and a number of opportunistic takeover attempts. Within the last 30 years, FN has released a number of designs, such as the SCAR and F2000, which have shot their market share to rival that of HK, and it is estimated that they will overtake the German giant within 10 years time.

-Springfield Armory (SA)
Forged from the collapse of the New Order manufacturing plants, Springfield Armory was a company that had operated even before it was a company. The New Order firearms manufacturing plant had been churning out a reclaimed design of the M1 Garand before its destruction at the hands of Loyalists. As the outcome of the war was becoming apparent, freed work-slaves and soldiers escaping their demise came to house within the massive, bombed-out structure. Eventually, with the help of some inspired leadership, the individuals inside took it upon themselves to reconstruct the factory, which helped serve initially as a home, but was later restored into an arms plant to use as a bartering tool for food and goods. Taking upon the name of the original manufacturer of their original production, they became the dominant manufacturing plant in the Americas. They have effectively sought out a variety of designs from the United States and have applied them into production, producing a spread out, but will complimented, arsenal.

-Beretta (BE)
The Italian-based company would have been the dominant arms manufacturing company today, but their progress was marred by a series of corporate sabotage and inept administration. Another survivor of WW3, they did not enter production until 2053 due to a lack of reproduction designs. Entering in with only a few weapons in their arsenal, their main support came from the warring areas of Southern Europe and Northern Africa, where they sold their wares for rock-bottom prices in order to stay competitive. Keeping their competitive pricing may be what has kept Beretta afloat thus far, as their designs are considered somewhat dated. However, with the restoration of the Benelli manufacturing, and a lawsuit which stated that Benelli was a subsidiary of Beretta before WW3, Beretta's acquisition of Benelli has caused them to become the main producer of high quality shotguns.

-Steyr-Glock Arms Manufacturing (SG)
One of the many incorporations at the time, Steyr-Glock Arms Manufacturing is one of the only conglomerates that has survived thus far in the arms market. Originally two struggling Austrian-based corporations, Steyr and Glock had both tip-toed around the idea of combining forces before: Steyr still had a variety of their original designs on hand, but lacked mineral supplies and proper manufacturing; Glock also had a variety of their original designs on hand and some manufacturing plants, and were doing modestly well in the pistol market, but they also lacked mineral supplies and their niche for lightweight, compact pistols was slipping to both Beretta and HK. In a risky incorporation, Steyr and Glock decided to cooperate in a joint venture to reproduce Steyr's Scout sniper rifle, fulfilling a much needed sniper rifle niche. While outside analysts believed that this joint venture would cause both companies to fail, the Scout's success exceeded expectations, combining both Steyr and Glock's strengths to release their light weight, accurate, and reasonably-priced sniper rifle into a mass-produced market. Only a few years later, Steyr and Glock finalized their incorporation, producing both Glock's easily-handled handguns and Steyr's variety of advanced designs.

-Atlas Armaments (AA)
The most recent introduction into the arms market, Atlas Armaments is a joint venture between Atlas Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Accuracy International, and Sig Sauer. Atlas Industrial and Mechanical Engineering was the English company which cornered the European market for explosive ordinance, developing missile systems and vehicle-mounted weaponry. After purchasing English-based Accuracy International and Switzerland-based Sig Sauer, AIME's next endeavor was to bring accuracy and firepower to an individual warfighter's level. Beginning with AI's AWP and AS50, AIME purchased a near-bankrupted Sig Sauer for their factories in order to expand production; in exchange, Sig Sauer enlisted the help of AIME's engineers to augment several of their designs. In order to fully christen their new small arms development line, AIME created Atlas Armaments, and has devoted itself to advanced designs for greater accuracy.

-Izhmash Mechanical Works (IZ)
Izhmash, the Russian-based company, began as a large industrial company before WW3, enlisting the help of a dozen factories in order to produce everything from guns to cars to industrial equipment. After WW3, several of the factories were damaged, but could easily be repaired and reclaimed. Once again churning out fleets of vehicles and a variety of gear and guns for usage by Eastern European and Asian countries, Izhmash's combination of low-cost production, questionable work ethics, high production rate, and a market in Asia with virtually no competition lead to an amassed fortune. After seeing their countrymen reaching for the stars, they too decided to rebase themselves within the IRA system. Working virtually unregulated, they produced anything and everything they could. As the colonial wars created an indispensable need for weapons, IZ churned out weapons at phenomenal rates which would be used in several conflicts around the galaxy. During the First Colonial War, Izhmash was considered to be the only weapons manufacturer for the IRA, churning out weapons as quickly as they could to arm the IRA separatists. However, with the GSAF's triumph, Izhmash was forced to operate under direct GSAF supervision; when paired with Izhmash's conservative mindset and their hatred of the GSAF, tensions mounted as the GSAF taxed and regulated the company heavily. Izhmash's administrative board, either out of arrogance, pride, or ignorance, refused to change, and the company's worth and manufacturing capability crumbled as the GSAF continued to turn the vice. Bankrupt only a few years later, Izhmash was, for all intents and purposes, shut down. However, because of the sheer number and favor for the weapon in the underground markets, Izhmash's weaponry is still used and manufactured illegally. Rumor has it that, while Izhmash Mechanical Works is officially dead, its previous workers still build weapons illegally in order to continue their war against the GSAF.

-Martin-Medvedev Mechanical Manufacturing (MM)
While Izhmash's doom under GSAF oppression was seemingly imminent, two corporate administrators, Mikhail Martin and Alexi Medvedev, foresaw that the collapse would not only destroy years of history behind the company, but it would also harm the rest of the IRA's economy, as most manufacturing was done under Izhmash's corporate umbrella one way or another. Together, Martin and Medvedev planned a contingency for Izhmash's collapse, calling upon several investors to help finance their attempts to pick up the pieces. After Izhmash fell, and the IRA fell into a period of economic depression, Martin and Medvedev immediately went to work, purchasing several manufacturing plants for cars and machinery, rehiring their previous employees, and putting entire plants back in action under the newly formed, "Martin-Medvedev Mechanical Manufacturing". They continued this process for years, initially reforming more basic and fluid manufacturing plants before moving into more complex machinery, including the manufacturing of armaments. Receiving help and guidance from Konstantin Melor Makarov, Izhmash's former "Foreman of Weapon and Armament Manufacturing", Martin and Medvedev agreed with Makarov that the company needed to be flexible with the GSAF's new standards, and yet still be progressive to be competitive; in an act of good faith, Makarov unveiled several weapon schematics that Izhmash refused to develop or create. These new designs, the AK108 and AN94, became the flagship weapons for the newly created arms manufacturing branch of the company, and they were received decently from the general public: while the designs could be improved upon, people remained hopeful for the future of the company. To this day, Martin-Medvedev Mechanical Manufacturing continues to find ways to improve upon their own creations, producing weapons that operate efficiently without unnecessary burden, financially or otherwise.

-Premier Firearms (PF)
Premier Firearms is a company based in France with a simple mission statement: "deliver whatever weapon a collector would want". Often times seen as marketing to hobbyists and collectors, Premier Firearms was the brainchild of retired GSAF Federal Senator and avid gun collector Ashford Marseux. Marseux went in search of a variety of discontinued, if not ancient, weapons for his private collection. After several other collectors remarked at his array of weapons, he yearned to use every weapon in his collection, but feared they would be ruined if he tried. Using his wealth and influence, he privately hired a group of firearms experts, engineers and archeologists to carefully reverse engineer every weapon in his collection that could be used without fear of destruction. What often took weeks of research, designing, and manufacturing would result in one, perfectly crafted replica of an ancient design, exactly what Marseux requested. Eventually, after word got out about the group, nicknamed "Marseux's Gun Club", and their objective, requests and weapons from all around began to flood in. With Marseux's permission, the group actively searched for a sponsor and manufacturer who would support them and their replica designs. After every single manufacturer considered failed to meet Marseux's expectation, the group decided that the only way they could achieve the level of quality that was requested was if they did it themselves. With Marseux, even after his death, as a permanent sponsor, Premier Firearms was opened in 2345, using small teams of expert craftsmen to produce the highest-quality weapons available from the designs they had. In addition to producing replicas, Premier Firearms has a staff of research teams who maintain a catalog of existing designs, and can add in additional ones if a client requests and the information can be made available. While PF is considered the absolute best in the business of quality weaponry, their prices can be incredibly high (especially if you're asking for an undiscovered design) and the designs may be ancient. However, PF's replicas are next to perfect, making it an absolute must for collector's of Marseux's caliber.