Stark Industries <WIP>
Stark Industries is an American multinational company, and the largest tech conglomerate in the world by market share.
It was founded in 1939 by Howard Stark, originally as an aviation firm. When America joined World War II in 1941, the company began producing military aircraft and munitions, and in 1943, sponsored the first Stark Expo, which replaced the cancelled 1943 World Fair.
Howard Stark remained CEO of Stark Industries until his death in 1991, when Obadiah Stane was appointed interim CEO until being suceeded the following year by Howard's son Tony.
Tony Stark expanded the personal electronics branch of the company, and in 2008, after being kidnapped and held prisoner by the Ten Rings, he made the contraversial decision to completely shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing arms.
In 2010, Stark stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Pepper Potts. Under Potts's leadership, Stark Industries stock prices finally recovered from the closure of the munitions manufacturing, and Stark Industries became a major player in the field of green energy.
History
Howard Stark learned engineering as an apprentice mechanic working on private airstrips. Despite having no formal engineering training, in 1938 he filed a patent for an axial-flow turbojet engine. Although early jet engines had been in development in Germany since 1935, the first successful flight of a German plane using a self-powered jet engine (as early designs required a secondary external power-source) wasn't until 1939, and Stark's design was both cheaper to manufacture and more reliable than German and early British designs.
Despite being only 21, with no engineering qualifications, Stark managed to sell the prototype directly to one of the customers at the airstrip where he worked, securing sufficient funding to begin a small manufacturing concern the following year. They initially served primarily private customers, but in 1940 signed a contract to begin manufacturing engines for the U.S. Airforce.
By the time America joined World War II in 1941, Stark Industries had expanded to two factories, one of which Stark converted to munitions manufacturing. Due to his existing relationship with the U.S. Military, this transition was extremely successful, and Stark Industries expanded rapidly over the following two years, and by 1943 was succesful enough to sponsor the 1943 Stark Expo.
The profile of Stark Industries was further raised when Howard Stark was invited to become part of project Rebirth, the first succesful human Super-Soldier experiments.
Founding Date
1939
Type
Corporation, Conglomerate
Alternative Names
Stark International | NYSE: SIA | NASDAQ: STRK
Leader Title
Location
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
Related Plots
AccuTech
Callisto Aerospace
Cordco
Damage Control (previously)
Stark-Fujikawa
