Keimuri Gear
In various incarnations, Keimuri has been a feature of the Norlight vehicle industry for more than two centuries. The company was founded by Gerolm Keimuri in TN 1705 in Kenema as a manufacturer of high-performance civilian vehicles. Keimuri all-terrain vehicles and racing motorcycles became quite popular with Norlight enthusiasts, but Gerolm unfortunately died seeing his life’s work come to naught. In the economic collapse following St. Vincent’s War, Keimuri saw its sales drop, several of its production facilities damaged and its infrastructure in a shambles. Like many other corporations, Keimuri had to close its doors in TN 1730.
Gerolm’s daughter, Liayna, was not satisfied to watch her father’s work fade away. A brilliant engineer and planner, she sought out several skilled business advisors and set about recreating the family business. In TN 1735, Keimuri reopened its doors with Liayna at the helm and moved aggressively into the military market, with high performance upgrades for military Gears as their specialty. By TN 1743, Keimuri was recognized as an important player in the Northern Gear industry and was widely known as Keimuri Gear. That same cycle, the company got the chance to prove its worth when the Northern Guard requested a new scout Gear to supplement the Bobcat; Keimuri answered with the innovative Ferret, which entered production in TN 1750.
The Ferret enjoyed a great deal of success in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and Keimuri released the Wild Ferret electronic warfare Gear in TN 1775. Northco sensed a threat to its market and embarked on a campaign of dirty tricks in the TN 1780s that cost Keimuri dearly. After a financial scandal rocked the upper management of the firm, it went into receivership and its resources were sold off. Northco itself purchased the research and development labs and moved them to Rapid City. The production contract for the Ferret was purchased by a small corporation known as KustomGear. KustomGear began selling civilian models to private individuals and the Ferret became a cult favorite at vintage Gear shows.
In TN 1919, a group of Keneman business people, allied to a group of disgruntled Shaian Mechanics engineers, decided to revive the old corporation. Calling themselves the Keimuri Consortium, they raised enough money to purchase KustomGear and retool the factory. Reclaiming the Keimuri name, the consortium began to rebuild its market and made a very credible offer to replace the oft-updated Wild Ferret with an entirely new Gear; their offer was accepted first by the United Mercantile Federation Army and later by the Northern Guard. Their new design was named the Weasel and was expected to enter service in the middle of the TN 1920s. Unfortunately, its development was plagued by problems and the Weasel only entered limited production in TN 1930. The superior armor and electronics on the Weasel, however, give it a good chance to displace the Shaian White Cat once it enters mass production.