Expansion!

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[SIZE=10.5pt]The past few months had been a turning point for GEAR, and in particular, Sera. As CEO of the corporation it was her job to ensure that production and manufacturing was on schedule, resources were acquired and procured when and where needed, and that cost effectiveness was as high as attainable. That, in and of itself, was a challenge in its' own right, however, those were simple logistics. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]The real trick was producing results that shareholders and investors were interested in seeing. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]After consulting with the board of directors several key aspects were drawn up. The first of which being their locations and manufacturing plants. With the recent opening of Vanir Technology's Foundry, GEAR would now have leasing access to the galaxy's largest shipyard and manufacturing facility within neutral space. [/SIZE]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[SIZE=10.5pt]That was certainly a start, but the CEO's ambitions were greater than opening up a single new manufacturing facility. They would also require additional R&D offices, as well as shipping and receiving facilities to accommodate for the influx of new materials for production. Installing such facilities required a keen perception to maximize effectiveness of transportation, product life spans, and overall convoy safety. Raiders and pirates were in no short supply, and frequent loss of cargo would very easily bankrupt any corporation, especially one that could not yet afford fleets to protect its' assets in transit.[/SIZE]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[SIZE=10.5pt]Given that GEAR had already well established roots on both Umbara and Phindar, the Twi'lek and her board designated Coruscant to be their additional facility that would be opened in tandem with the Foundry. These four locations were ideal in location as well as shipping routes, with the collapse of the One Sith imminent. This would drastically reduce the cost of external shipping, cargo security and multi-manufacturing delays. Opening several plants, of which all were capable of performing production of the full GEAR catalog would help reduce research, build, and shipping times by over 65%[/SIZE]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

[SIZE=10.5pt]With the addition of two new plants, the conclusion was drawn that an expansion of the previous catalog was necessary to maintain profit margins that had been seen leading up to this point. Adding labor force, operating costs for two new locations, and additional charges would need to be covered in some manner, and the funds currently being produced, while impressive, would not suffice to sustain the business in the long run without an expanded catalog in the company's future.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt] Arms and armor manufacturing were thus selected as appropriate choices. Given the scale and scope of GEAR's productions, small munitions and armor development was preferential to the far more taxing and space demanding proposition of starship or even vehicle manufacturing. By maintaining the smallest possible foot print the company would be able to maximize profits with their current catalog while simultaneously expanding that catalog without needing to drastically overhaul their facilities to accommodate for such drastic design and size changes.[/SIZE]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Fortunately for GEAR, they had already negotiated the lease agreement with Vanir for use of the Foundry when it was launched. The cost to build one of their facilities would be negated, thus paying only a fraction of the cost to setup an additional facility. This meant that the team could focus solely on constructing the new location on Coruscant as quickly as possible. Moving forward Coruscant would be responsible for all personal tech manufacturing, shifting and repurposing the Umbaran headquarters to primarily weapons and armor technology, while the Foundry's primary goal was left to classified R&D. Phindar would remain responsible for droid and other automaton development as it had in the past. Each division of GEAR would thus have dedicated research teams for the sectors, with the capability of production lines exchanging priorities if given the necessity.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Several months it would take to construct the facility on Coruscant, once the Galactic Alliance had taken hold of the world and secured it. The restoration process of the world underway, and with no threat of further invasion, given the broken back of the now defunct One Sith, Seraphina felt secure in her move that their assets would be protection from harm in the future. Workers began flocking to the complex, eager to begin work anew. Tens of thousands were brought on to man various production lines, engineering teams, research crews, shippers, carriers, cargo loaders, and more. In the blink of an eye the once vacant space became a bustling center for industrial manufacturing.No longer under the oppression of Sith rule, workers themselves could feel safe working on a daily basis, without the fear of reprisal from a shadow government that thought nothing of killing its' people.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

With Coruscant finally up and running, all attention was turned now to The Foundry. This facility's primary purpose would be classified R&D for all new products, prototypes, and contracted designs. Guarded by Saeva as provided by Vanir, as well as independently contracted private military guards, it would ensure that company secrets maintained the highest level of security at all times. All workers were diligently screened for any prior history of criminal activity, and all data was required to be tracked in extensive logs. Transmission to and from the facility without the express consent of the CEO was strictly to be forbidden. Guards posted at entryway and exists ensured that no data left compromised from the facility, and no employee was permitted after business hours for any reason. Unlike the other, less secure locations, the Foundry was the heart of GEAR, whilst the Umbaran HQ was the soul. Without one, the company would surely die.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Florien? Please contact the members of the shareholder committee. I wish to announce that our fourth and final location is ready for operation." The human gave a nod and quickly made the call. Several minutes later half a dozen faces appeared before the Twi'lek on the large HoloProjector in the main conference room at GEAR. "Greetings ladies and gentlemen. This call will be brief, but it will surely please you to hear." Her hands fell behind her back, a small smile on her face. "The facilities at both Coruscant and The Foundry are operational and ready to begin production and transfer of duty. You'll also be pleased to hear that we have already fully staffed our positions, as well as stationed temporary trainers from our primary locations abroad for role familiarity." A resounding applause followed by the members of the committee, as well as a series of congratulations and well done. The news would quickly travel public, and stock share would rise overnight by three fold in anticipation of growing sales and profit margins.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Over the course of the next several weeks production would begin to trickle from one facility to the new Coruscant based plant, while the Umbaran HQ began preparations to launch a new line of armor and arms that had been in the works but sidelined until after the official announcement and move had been completed. This was mostly due to bureaucratic red tape involved with beginning to research products not previously suited to the business model.The resounding backlash would likely cause a severe dip in stock out of investor fears that perhaps the company was going off the rails. In fact it was just the opposite, and such had to be shelved until such time that the expansion was completed, allowing the new divisions to operate as a fully funded business unit.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Standing by the podium in front of a HoloNet broadcast, Seraphina prepared her brief speech to the gathered crowd and viewers. "Investors, shareholders, customers and business partners. Thank you for joining us here at GEAR. Over the past several months you have surely heard of the company restructure that we've begun to undertake. It has been no small task, however I am proud to announce that we've launched a new operational facility on Coruscant, and a new development site aboard the Foundry, hosted by our partners at Vanir Technology. This opportunity will grant us the ability to better serve our customers abroad, to decrease production times, increase sales, increase product output, increase our QA, and continue to offer jobs to those who wish to work for our wonderful company. I need to personally thank each and every member of GEAR for making this possible, for without you, we could not be where we are today. Thank you."