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Saeder-Krupp

Saeder-Krupp is a AAA megacorporation and member of the Big Ten best known for being entirely owned and run by a dragon named Lofwyr. Although the company mostly focuses on heavy industry, it has been known to spontaneously branch out into whatever industry catches Lofwyr's eye at any given time, most notably magical research.

Structure

Saeder-Krupp's organization rarely stays consistent, since Lofwyr is prone to restructure the entire corporation to meet his whims. The dragon gets personally involved in every project the corporation works on, so corporate workers are expected to be both loyal and open to micro-management. Those that don't tend to find themselves ejected from the company if lucky and a snack for the hungry dragon if not. On the rare occasions when Lofwyr does delegate any more than necessary, it is to those that have been with the company for years and have repeatedly demonstrated the upmost obedience.   The one exception to this is the S-K Prime divisions, one for each region in which Saeder-Krupp operates. These are regulatory divisions which report directly to Lofwyr but work independently from him. As such, they have a fairly consistent internal structure. Executives within these divisions are organized into small task forces that are assigned to investigations into other S-K divisions as needed, usually when those division fall behind projections.  

Divisions

Most of Saeder-Krupp's operations are run through subsidiaries, but it does still maintain a few business directly. The organization of these divisions shifts with Lofwyr's whims, but the general industry they focus on and subsidiaries they manage usually remain the same. These include the S-K Heavy Machinery division, which run electric systems and factory engineering, S-K Finance, which maintains a massive network of banks, and S-K Chemicals, which produces consumer and industrial chemicals.    Smaller industries that Saeder-Krupp gets involved in, including magical research and aerospace, are usually handled entirely by subsidiaries with a basic mangerial structure built on top. Lofwyr's projects in these fields tend to be short-term, so Saeder-Krupp will often use these managerial structures to buy out other corporations and projects, strip them for parts, and then sell what remains.

Public Agenda

Saeder-Krupp's tendency to operate through subsidiaries makes getting sense of their goals difficult. Lofwyr holds several grudges, most notably with fellow dragon Dunkelzahn, so operations to undercut those rivals are frequent. Otherwise, Lofwyr seems to move between dozens of different projects at any given time, where some are focused on cornering industries the company is already involved in and others are focused on branching out into new industries.

History

Saeder-Krupp formed in 2010 when a man named Michael Beloit seized control of BMW and merged it with heavy industry giants Saeder Munitions and Krupp Manufacturing. Combining the resources of the industrial giants and the seat at the Corporate Court held by BMW, Beloit rapidly expanded the corporation to corner the European market and eventually extend into the Asian and Middle Eastern markets as well. While this rapid expansion worked out well for Beloit's finances, it also put him at odds with countless people, both internally and externally. When he died under suspect circumstances in 2032, most corporate watchers were certain that he had been assassinated but no direct evidence can indicate who by.    For five years after Beloit's death, Saeder-Krupp was run by his widow, Wilhelmina. Paranoid and enraged by what happened to her husband, Wilhelmina purged the company of any dissidents, putting extensive power into her own hands. She then took advantage of the raging Euro-Wars to further bolster Saeder-Krupp's hold on Europe. She likely would have become an internationally powerful figure were it not for the arrival of Lofwyr in 2037, who quickly took control of the company. For the prior twenty years Lofwyr had been slowly accumulating shares in the company through mediaries and had indirectly influenced the company for years before Wilhelmina had taken control. After joining the Council of Princes in 2036, Lofwyr stepped out of the shadows and directly seized control. Wilhelmina attempted to reassert her control, but Lofwyr made clear that he would see that as a declaration of war; Wilhelmina took a permenant vacation to Zurich-Orbital and has not appeared on the public record since.    Under a new agenda Lofwyr described as "European Reconstruction," Saeder-Krupp bought out dozens of different organizations across Europe, including the EU's space agency and millions of dollars worth of war surplus. He had hoped to centralize European industry under his command, but found that dozens of different policlubs had vested interest in a non-homogenous Europe. Rather than directly entering open conflict with Lofwyr, these policlubs banded together to make Lofwyr's plans for Restoration as costly and tiresome as possible. Although Lofwyr still seems to see these plans as ideal, they have long since become secondary priorities.    Although Lofwyr's plans for a complete monopoly have not come to fruition, his control in Europe is unmatched by any other megacorporation. During the recent conflicts between Fuchi Industrial Electronics and Renraku Computer Systems, Saeder-Krupp managed to intercept assets from both corporations without catching the ire of either one. This has become standard practice for the company by the 2050s; use subsidiaries to keep the other corporations in the dark, seize assets when the opportunity arises, and grow in power while the rest of the world is looking elsewhere.

Foreign Relations

Although Saeder-Krupp does have a strong hold on Europe and the Middle East, several countries explicitly ban the corporation from operating within their borders. Tir Tairngire is the principle example, due to conflicts of interest, but the California Free State and the Native American Nations also maintain sanctions against Saeder-Krupp. This means that Saeder-Krupp shouldn't technically have very much business in North America, but thanks to subsidiary corporations Saeder-Krupp is still able to operate in the region, albeit to a lesser extent than Lofwyr desires.
Founding Date
2010
Leader
Location

Running for Saeder-Krupp

Lofwyr prefers keeping his plans as hidden as possible, so he tends to operate through subsidiaries more often than directly through the corporation. Runners often do jobs for S-K without ever realizing who they were working for or what the end goal is. Lofwyr tends to punish failure severely, so a talented bounty hunter can often find work with the company. On the other hand, Lofwyr rewards proper professionals well and keeps an extensive record of those he does business with, so consistently good runners can find some of the best opportunities with Saeder-Krupp, so long as they keep up the quality.

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