Northco
Northco was founded in TN 1618 in Rapid City, when two of the area’s largest corporations, Northern Metals and Concordat Systems, decided to merge to support their mutual interests. The resulting agreement created a highly efficient internal power structure, allowing the corporations to manage their diverse subsidiaries more efficiently than other companies. As a result, the newly-born Northco’s profits soared. Soon, Northco became the leading corporation in many industries, including military hardware, industrial chemicals, and electronics.
Along with its commercial muscle, Northco’s political power also grew until the approval of Northco’s CEO meant life or death for a politician in the area. In TN 1653, Northco purchased Elementech, a smaller engineering firm, thereby gaining the rights to the Groundhog work frame and its brother unit, the Prairie Dog. This purchase proved fortunate because, in TN 1674, Northco submitted a proposal for the UMF military’s BOT project. Soon after, the Hunter was born and entered mass production.
It wasn’t long before Northco had its fingers in half a dozen other military pies, basing several successful Gear designs on the Hunter’s reliable frame. The heavier Razorback soon followed, then the Bear and Grizzly lines. The company also had a hand in the production of large vehicles, like the Argo and Behemoth heavy trucks, and even aircraft like the Orca Gear transport. Soon, Northco produced every possible type of vehicle, including civilian and industrial transports and hoppers. Northco’s iron hold on several key Gear design patents has allowed them to sit back and let other, smaller companies follow its lead, among them, Shaian Mechanics. Its size proved to be a curse, however, during the War of the Alliance. Since Northco owned most of the major factory sites in the UMF and many elsewhere, they were the hardest hit by the orbital bombardment. Several of Northco’s most innovative designs were forever lost, along with a great number of talented engineers and designers.
Today, the mammoth conglomerate spans the majority of the city states in the CNCS, with production facilities and regional headquarters in each of the major capitals. Northco’s corporate headquarters complex is nearly a city unto itself, supporting over half of Rapid City’s 2.8 million inhabitants. CEO Natalya Korolov is a major power in the United Mercantile Federation today, although there are indications that she is at odds with her political ally, UMF Treasurer Banderas. Korolov has been troubled recently by rumors that Banderas has been negotiating with some Mekong Dominion Taipans. Word on the company grapevine suggests that Korolov is already taking steps to “kick Banderas back into line” but this is mere speculation. Still, several inquiries have been made of late into allegations of unfair business practices in Banderas’ Polaris Pictures, and corporate analysts believe that Korolov may be the instigator.