Nouveau

Part 3: The Grasslands Flags and banners flew high above the Wildelande as two masses of men and might stood opposed to one another. Breastplate and arms shone in the morning light. Men took short breaths in anticipation, kissing small talismans around their necks, and lighting slow wicks for their guns. “Just as we planned,” Captain Leyus said. “My men will hold the center. Bertol, Garek, you two will go into the long grasses and attack them from the sides and behind. You must move fast yet quietly. Attack only when you see the backs of their heads.” The Principality of Saint Mark had been expanding its influence in the Nouveauterran southern coast since 930 AF, however it hadn’t faced a unified force. They would encounter their main adversary for the rest of War in 951. The Langbord Confederacy, headed by the Neberseck. The Confederacy was made of a number of villages, fiefdoms, clan democracies, and semi-nomadic peoples in the grasslands beyond the monsoon ridden coast. This area, often called The Buckle, is a grassland with rich soil and plentiful rainfall, making it easy to live in, but also easy to invade. It was around this time that Markans wrote a number of ethnographic documents. Paired with archeology, and modern cultural anthropology, we can look at the cultural groups present in the Nouveauterran peninsula during the 900s. A historical artistic representation of the Xenoxeno, the "aliens of the alien land." Based on sociological evidence, this group of people came from a migratory era that predates the common Del Ghuldin population encountered by Markans in the 900s. Many Xenoxeno exist today, with cultural festivals and holidays celebrated by their descendants. There's a movement to have their common government name changed to Danav, meaning "of the sea." This name is more commonly used among the descendants. The common language of the Xenoxeno, Dhuku, is most closely related to pre-Bronze age Darkesian-like languages. The Xenoxeno, often nomadic, were some of the last to integrate into Markan, and eventually Nouveauterran society. A historical artistic representation of the Neberseck. Neberseck referred to both people within the official clan systems of the Neberseck, and their subjects. They are a subsection of the Del Ghuldin linguistic-cultural group, and the dominant culture seen in The Buckle during the 900s. Their direct descendants are recognized by the current Nouveauterran government as Viellegulderriene, or Old Guldurian. A historical artistic representation of the Sudermak. This cultural group present on the southern side of the peninsula was formed from itinerant populations of Min-su and Gulderian peoples who co-mingled for some time. This cultural grouping disappeared as Markan influence grew in the area, and its said that the clamping down on piratical sea people by the Markans caused the main economic engine for this group's existence to disappear. Only sparse archeological remnants exist for this group, however they're often referenced in writings from established people groups. A historical artistic representation of 10th century southern Del Ghuldin cultural members, known as Sulghuldin This group formed as a result of northern Del Ghuldin peoples who migrated south and encountered pre-existing inhabitants who were related to the Xenoxeno, another people group who had migrated to the peninsula in the 4th century BF. This cultural mixing created a group with both ancient Darkesian, and Dul Ghuldin language markers and structures. They were the dominant cultural group throughout the Nouveauterran peninsula in the 900s, and quickly integrated into the encroaching Markan culture. The Langbord Confederacy was formed with the purpose of protecting the area from mountain marauders and raiders from the jungle. The leading party of the Confederacy was the Neberseck, a massive democratic city at the heart of The Buckle. It had plentiful farming areas, and access to the Bron, a river that went from the mountains all the way to the coast. The Langbord in the Langbord Confederacy came from the area where Neberseck had settled. When the Confederacy heard of the spread of the Aelebach Federation, they began preparing their people for warfare. The Confederacy assembled many soldiers by the year 951, and when the Markans struck out from the forest, they were met with fierce resistance. The first decisive engagement at Goete von Bron in 949 led to a Markan defeat. Captain Andreosus, who had formed the Aelebach Federation in the first place, had died in 946 of black foot disease, now known as gangrene. A series of captains would be run through by the MSTC, with incompetence or lack of experience plaguing the army, as well as many defeats. Captain Leyus Florius, often referred to as Captain Leyus, was new to the MSTC Captain’s Corps, was assigned to lead the warfront in the Nouveauterran heartland. Captain Leyus had been brought on without much hope for success, as the MSTC expected that it would take a long stretch of attrition to defeat The Confederacy. To the leadership it didn't matter if it was a brilliant captain, or a disaster-case, just a warm body was enough. Captain Leyus began his tenure by observing the Langbord Confederacy in combat with other peoples. He noticed that the Langbords utilized highly organized blocks of soldiers with long spears and guns. This was only possible because The Buckle’s terrain of flat land or rolling hills without many trees, and only sparse streams and rivers. This allowed for large formations to move together without many impediments. The combination of many gunners, and pikes to defend them from melee attack meant they could rain lead on the heads of anyone, and go toe to toe with ease. Captain Leyus, upon learning of these tactics, began changing the structure of his army and that of the Aelebach Federation. Swordsmen were given long pikes, and many men were equipped in full body armor. Members of the Federation were equipped solely with long range weapons, and drilled on shooting as groups. Markans were used to more fluid combat, but they were able to adapt to fighting as in formations because of prior high discipline. Bulbi became the way to reference one-eigth of a large formation, while a bulbo was the new way of referencing a large block of soldiers, either gunners or melee fighters. By the end of Leyus’ rapid reforms, the army had evolved to fight like the Langbords except for one exception. Leyus’ and the Aelebach gunners were formed into independent units, able to move on their own to shooting positions. The first battle with this reformed army was at Grenkrümmen in 953 Captain Leyus stood his pikemen at the edge of the forest. The Langbord Confederacy’s 3rd Army was stationed in the field, facing the forest. Two Aelebach captains, only known now as Bertol and Garek, moved their masses of gunners to the flanks utilizing high grasses. The Langbords marched forward with spears lowered and guns firing. Captain Leyus gave orders to his men to crouch down, with spears and halberds still pointed out to the enemy. The gunners, numbering in the thousands, gather along the sides of the Langbord army, creating a crescent around the Langbord army. The Markans made contact with the Langbords. The Aelebach opened fire. Blankets of lead tore apart the Langbords, driving them to rout. Captain Leyus and the Aelebach would utilize this tactic to great effect for the next year, at the battles of Mäuseloch, Kleinerbeken, and Dunkelgrün, without much response from the Langbords. By the end of 955, two years later, the Langbord was severely weakened, and many constituent nations capitulated. The Langbord officially surrendered in the winter of 955, and the surrendering nations were spared the sword. However, they were forced to pay steep war debts for the next 80 years.

Part 2: Tall Palms Emperor Tenebrosus stood with his fists on his hips as he stared at the enormous map table before him. He took up a miniature figure of a soldier with a rifle, and placed it on a blank part of the map. His advisers look up at him with some confusion. “War, Emperor?” an advisor said. “Absolutely,” Emperor Tenebrosus said. “If the reports are true, there is wealth in those fields. Cut out the salesman, and get the sale for ourselves, so to speak.” “Who shall perform the fighting?” the same adviser asked. “The Company of course. We can’t spread ourselves too thin.” The Principality of Saint Mark controlled a burgeoning coastal trading kingdom in Nouveauterra by 929 AF through the Markan Seas Trade Company. The Principality garnered a great deal of wealth in the form of foods, spices, stimulants, and psychedelics. It also had the two major statios of Traiectus and Montes Magnos, as well as many local allies. Emperor Tenebrosus wanted more wealth from this trading venture, and gave the MSTC an expanded mandate: exert direct control over the coast and the interior. Captain Andreosus Mylopopos, commissioned in 928 AF, painted by Aelos Volpes Captain Andreosus, a skilled land and sea fighter for the MSTC, was elevated to the position of Field Marshall, and assigned a retinue of nearly 1000 soldiers in order to complete the task of exerting more control in the region. However, 1000 soldiers was a far cry from even conservative estimates of the required forces. The Emperor wanted thousands upon thousands of miles of jungle, grasslands, and mountain holds under his control. Captain Andreosus began his duties by talking to the locals. The locals of the southern coast were once a part of a Peombroek Confederacy, but the idea fell apart due to apathetic leadership and poor finances. Captain Andreosus took this concept and sold it to the locals once again. With Imperial financial backing, he could easily convince local leaders that their old confederacy would have legs this time. Captain Andreosus gathered together his retinue, local lords, and interested people in the Long House in Aelebach, a short hike beyond the walls of the Montes Magnos statio. The men drew lines on ball and stick maps, and talked numbers in nearly four languages. The men raised their weapons to the air, and shouted AYE in affirmation of the crafted deal after a week's worth of discussion. That shout gave birth to the Aelebach Federation, the nail to Captain Andreosus’ hammer. Captain Andreosus, with the backing of his Aelebach Federation, began to sweep the southern coast and the interior in 930 AF. The Federation contained 1000 trained men-at-arms from the Markan Imperium, 8,000 skirmishers and shock troops known as langeschnäbel, and 2,000 men at the ready from local militias. Markan warfare in the 900s evolved to suit a tropical environment. Combat was performed in loose bulbi, blended units consisting of gunners, halberds, swordsmen, and sometimes even grenadiers. (In order from left to right, a recreation of a 10th century hand-gun, a recreation of a 10th century Markan mercenary sword, and a museum recreation of a 10th century Markan royal halberd, however simplified halberds were more common in the MSTC) Bulbi were flexible and could quickly move through the forest in loose formation, assembling together for a strike in a moment’s notice. The blend of long and short range attack meant a bulbo could cause havoc to whoever it came across. Armor commonly seen on veteran Markan fighters Armor was light, only a helmet, and a breastplate. Some soldiers specializing in close fighting bought steel chaps to protect their legs, however some abandoned armor altogether, such as gunners or lieutenant message runners. Captain Andreosus’ army was composed mostly of this bulbi style, while soldiers of the Aelebach fought in skirmishing formation, blending long distance gunnery and archery together with intermittent close range fighting. Fighting would come in the form of skirmishes for nearly 22 years. Clan or local officials would often capitulate upon seeing Captain Andreosus’ force, however disgruntled or opposed locals would skirmish with the force until they were forced to retreat or died. It took reaching the grasslands in 951 for the Markans to encounter a formidable hostile force, the Neberseck and the Langbord Confederacy.

Part 1: Land Ahead A teenage officer stretched his body out over the rail to gaze at the far away strip of green on the horizon. The sun is high in the sky, and the water is calm. “Alert the captain,” he said, “Land dead ahead.” Marines and spare men came to the deck to see the green strip on the horizon. None of them could have conceived of what would take place in this place that would later be known as Nouveauterra. Captain Markus Fredsbringer and his fleet of 20 armed merchant vessels make landfall on the shores of Testa Viridus, so named because the land looked like a green tortoise shell in the distance, in the year 890 AF. Fredsbringer is a captain of the Markan Seas Trade Company, following orders from Emperor Ignavus of the Principality of Saint Mark, to establish a statio on this coast. Although the intentions of the mission are peaceful, the merchant vessels are laden with cannon and arms in case privateers or pirates attempt an attack on their formation. Captain Fredsbringer and his crew make landfall on the Southern Belt, at a point with dense and hardy monsoon-tested forest. They quickly establish a statio using the lumber from the nearby forest, and send back ships for supplies as well as to inform the MSTC of their success. Local people soon flock to see the sun-burned sailors in their guns and armor. Close behind them was a man in stately attire. Billowing white pants and a white shirt embellished with colored patterns, as well as tightly wrapped leather boots. The stately man’s name is recorded as Bertus of Nederwald, and after many conversations with Captain Fredsbringer, they establish a trading relationship with the people of that area, called Blauflocke. As the two converse more, Captain Fredsbinger discovers that Blauflocke is only one of many small fiefdoms in this southern coastal area. The fiefdoms spawned from the density of the forest, and the natural choke-points created by the environment. It also means said trade deal only applies to Blauflocke. Emperor Ignavus is pleased when news reaches the Principality with tales of success. He sends more vessels, and commissions scribes and learned men to go as well in order to record the culture. A recovered map of the area from 917 AF, commissioned by Emperor Ignavus and certified by Claudius Anguis, Chief of Operations in the Markan Seas Trade Company The Principality of Saint Mark gathered enough influence and local manpower to reform the first statio in a place they call Traiectus in 902 AF. It is for the most part a fortress with a small clustering of buildings nearby, but it will grow into a vibrant city of Gué in the far future. It will stand as a marker for the kind of influence Saint Mark will have on the region. Guns, and armor. A second expedition is sent out, and lands further north than the first group. They similarly have an easy time establishing good relations with the locals, and quickly aid them in founding the statio of Montes Magnos in 915 AF, which would later be known as Pointe-d’Espoir. These two outposts work as crucial logistical and military nodes for the Saint Markan empire, and will be the linchpin for future expansion.

OOC: Thanks to everybody who showed up for this event❤️ It was a lot of fun planning and executing the event, as well as seeing what everybody had to offer in terms of companies for their own countries. All these companies give life to the RP world and I hope to see a few of them reappear in other stories of the RP. ---Cheers🍻 Jorf @Nouveau

Have you wanted to post in this event but couldn’t? Do you feel like you could add one or two more companies to your nation’s roster? Now’s your chance to make it real, with After Hours! After Hours will run from today 4/6, to next week, 4/13, 7AM EST. You’ll get to post whatever company you want, however there are two rules: You can’t exceed the company showing limit, so only one company per industry. This includes people who’ve posted for the main event already. You have to label which day the company would have appeared. Here's the original calendar from the main event. Here’s a format to make things standard: [Company Logo] [Name] [trade name or name used in advertising] Industry: [insert industry here], [the day it would best fit in*] *Either April 1, April 2, April 3, April 4, or April 5 [Country of Origin] [Description] Description word count should be between 100 and 350 words (to reduce clutter). Add any pictures and logos you feel would show the company best. If the company was previously featured in an RP event, or a news event, feel free to link it in the post. Community-wide posting rules apply. Good luck and have fun guys. The main event had a great showing, so I’m excited to see what people think up for After Hours.

My name is Alan Villers, and on behalf of the expositioners, our partners in the city of Gué, and the government of the Commonwealth of Nouveauterra, thank you. It’s you who make 3E possible. Every visitor, speaker, and corporation who comes brings another piece of Esferos together into the light, for all of us to see. Again, thank you for coming to the Esferos Economic Expo. Transportation The J Trolley, and the 411 bus are nearby for visitors to use. There is also a taxi queuing area which you can utilize. Safe travels!

Speaker Series Day 5 Research to Rollout: The Pipeline from Discoveries to Utilizable Technology Moderator: Alexander Regnos, President of the Université de Gué Key Points “Many of the things we own or use started as an experiment in a lab,” said Alexander Regnos. “Computers, aspirin, dish soap, the list goes on. This session is about how those items move from the lab to everyday life. What we can do better, what we can throttle back on, and what it is that we’re really doing, when it comes to research and implementation.” “The line between laboratory and the marketplace has gotten thinner with time,” said Gwen Meredydd. She is a researcher, author, and commentator from Nieubasria. “Many companies, especially in technology or the sciences, have their own internal research functions, usually to make improvements to copyrighted technology. We’re mainly looking at research that comes from public-first institutions, like universities, non-profits, and government funded research groups, and how research from these areas can spring out onto the world stage.” “Overall this relationship has been beneficial,” Eugen Mladic said. He is an investor, businessman, and entrepreneur from Varanius. “These public institutions make incredible concepts and advancements, which a free market can fairly utilize. This isn’t to say there are no losers, but that is the nature of the old game. There are X number of customers, and if you don’t get enough of them as a business, you fail. But everybody knows this when they go into business. These public research institutions are for the public benefit, and if the public benefits, then who are we to say that something is going wrong.” “There are more than a few cases where science that leaves the lab ends up being used for ill intentions,” said Camila Quikwasser. She is a researcher, news commentator, and advocate from Cambria. “Gasses and pathogens used as weapons of war, intrusive monitoring software, AI generated fakes. The problem is that a market that’s quick to take science and make a profit is too quick to use what they don’t fully understand. Make a buck now, learn later. With brand new technologies or practices, we have to learn now, or suffer the pains of learning later on. There might even be problems that we’ll learn about far too late in order to do anything to stop them.” “Just like any good bread, you have to let it rise,” Alexander Regnos said. “Knowledge can do so much for society, but just as some of you have said, what ‘so much’ means can either be very positive, like improved quality of life, or very negative, incredible pain and suffering. My two cents would be that any nation should have a mechanism for tight enforcement, in case things really do go wrong with a new technology or method of doing.

Société Mont Sud d'Utilité Publique [Société Utilité Publique Mont Sud in Common] Industry: Research Country: Nouveauterra Société Utilité Publique Mont Sud (SUPMS) formed in 1395 as the result of legislation passed the year prior, which allowed the Ministry of Development to form public benefit corporations. These PBCs (or Société Utilité Publique) were given government funding as well as mandates to aid in technological development, sustainment and growth of novel businesses, and furthering public research interests. The site managing corporation for SUPMS is Lignarius Freres, a non-profit corporation. SUPMS’ facility in the southern mountain range allows for a number of different tenants: neutrino study, sound and acoustic study chambers, meteorology, and a number of small scale tenants without any special requirements. The latest advancement for the Société Mont Sud has been its expansion of classrooms and student work/study projects, through it's partnership with the Collège de Guerre Du Sud, an educational institution managed by the Ministère de la Défense.

Welcome to Day Five, final day of the Esferos Economic Expo, 1424. I am Alexander Regnos, President of the Université de Gué. Day 5 of the exposition will feature companies focusing on quantum mechanics, physics in general, robotics and AI, and general research. Tonight’s panel discussion will focus on how discoveries get turned into everyday realities in the modern world.

Speaker Series Day 4 AI Decision-making In Smart Service Networks Moderator: Hal Van Halenbaum, Mayor of the city of Gué Key Points “If you’re in a city, you’re connected to a big web of people you don’t know, but affect your life,” said Hal Van Halenbaum. “Restaurants and their delivery drivers. Electricians who respond to outages detected over a remote network. Police, firefighting officers, and EMTs who respond to pull stations, alarms, or 111 calls. These networks have a lot of data, which can do a great deal of good when wielded well. With the way AI has been implemented in industrial and production settings, let’s see how AI can be brought into the smart service network.” “Service networks are made of three parts,” Ula Rayner said. She is a social science researcher from Ageros. “Sensors, which are people or machines that monitor the environment. Connectors, which are systems or people who collate what sensors are reading from the environment. Lastly, there are agents, who get signals from connectors on where they have to go to do something, either fight crime or get a cat out of a tree. Emergency call centers were the first iteration of a unifying service network, where fire, police, EMS, and technical assistance could be deployed based on input from callers.” “AI has already aided the banking sector,” said Augusto Emilio-Nyima. He is the CEO of Emeria Lavanda in Giovanniland, one of the largest banks in the nation. “AI detects suspicious transactions and freezes accounts until account holders confirm or deny the transaction. AI can surely work in an electrical grid, detecting fluctuations and immediately deploying technicians to a service sector. Or collating mass reports in the same area to alert relative leadership of a quickly evolving major incident. When built at scale, I and many others can definitely see the benefits of AI doing the hard micromanaging and detecting that would take hundreds of thousands of analysts to do normally.” “All of the previous examples have been for very concrete things,” said Wohali Wakan. She is a CEO of a non-profit health service network in Zoran. “This will creep into other service sectors, as any innovation has. And when we have the errors that AI has in false alarms, or assigning resources too quickly, it can be detrimental to patient or client health. AI programmed to kick ‘delinquents’ out of service programs can end up calibrated to kick many people off the program, and be considered good, even if its for what we’d consider minor infractions. Moving people from one program to another in an automated manner can drain resources, and result in clients receiving services they don’t need. These issues are among many others that can happen when people are taken out of the management and action loop.” “This makes me think about a lot of other automated stuff,” said Hal Van Halenbaum. “Automated cars that have gotten into serious accidents a human would have avoided. AI writing tools making up stuff on the fly or lying. AI walking into walls in video games. Although I kid, I'm also serious. Intelligence is really complicated. We have to be really careful in understanding what intelligence we’re trying to make, and being sure to properly build and regulate it, before the AI we’ve tasked with policing a street walks off the boardwalk and into the ocean.” Credit to @Giovanniland for contributing the character Augusto Emilio-Nyima.

Fédération des Sociétés de Crédit Agricoles et Ouvriers [FSCAO] Industry: Financial Services Country: Nouveauterra FSCAO began in the 1280s as a group of cooperative banking firms (FSCA) in the countryside of Nouveauterra, serving farmers and family based businesses in agriculture. After acquiring a number of other city based cooperatives centered on working people and the working poor, FSCA became FSCAO (sometimes pronounced as Fis-ee-ow) in 1341. FSCAO is the largest banking institution by number of customers in Nouveauterra. FSCAO is for the most part decentralized, with local banks owned by their customers, and only minor fees going towards the upkeep of the overarching management system. The Board of Societies, made up of one representative per participating bank, votes on company decisions, and assigns special roles, like Chair of the Board currently held by Pierre Marcel. FSCAO’s latest expansion is in partnerships with businesses to enable cash to be deposited at a participating local business, and fed back to the customer’s bank account. FSCAO provides banking, private banking, corporate banking, and through its subsidiaries, also provides wealth management, deferred debit services, and real estate services.

Sûreté Société Anonyme de Sécurité et de Surveillance [Sûreté or Surety in Common] Industry: Security Country: Nouveauterra Sûreté S.A. began in 1330 as Sûreté d’Honoré, a small guard company in the capital of Pointe-d’Espoir. Sûreté rebranded itself in 1365 after acquiring a number of security and alarm making companies. By 1374, Sûreté began to expand worldwide with the acquisition of neighboring armored car companies as well as the creation of multiple remote monitoring centers for security purposes. Sûreté’s latest area of expansion is in securing company issued phones with remote monitoring software, as well as providing VPNs for paying clients under the tenure of CEO Fabian Daceau. Sûreté S.A. offers a wide variety of services, these include: physical armed and unarmed site security and monitoring, remote security and monitoring, background investigation and due diligence investigation, security alarm systems and monitoring solutions, armored car cash handling, mobile patrolling, cyber security and electronics monitoring.

Welcome to Day Four of the Esferos Economic Expo, 1424. I'm Hal Van Halenbaum, Mayor of the city of Gué. I’m glad you could make it. Day 4 of the exposition will feature healthcare, financial services, professional services, technology and financial technology, and security companies. Tonight’s panel discussion will focus on AI decision-making in smart service networks.

Speaker Series Day 3 Working With Nature In Manufacturing Moderator: Veleri Velevirivich Nemtsov, Minister of State for the Commonwealth of Nouveauterra Key Points “Most of what we use first originates from nature,” Veleri Nemtsov said. “Rubber tires from rubber trees, steel from iron ore, and leather from the hide of slaughtered livestock. Much of economic history is extractive, we take one thing and transform it into something new without leaving much of anything behind. Now, with new technologies and rediscovering older production methods, additive or minimally destructive manufacturing is possible where we can be neutral or even work with nature to make things new for us.” “This is basically farming, right?” Ursus Balearis said. He is a researcher and engineer from the Principality of Saint Mark. “There’s even a funny thing in that, farming is destructive too in a certain way. Land is cleared to make way for crops, at least in strict industrialized farming. But neutral manufacturing is when someone really works with nature, such as gaining something or creating something with little damage to the environment. The first efforts like this have been in hunting or fishing, controlling catches to ensure there’s still nature to extract from.” “Nature provides so much, that if we think about how we do things, the way nature does things, we realize we don’t have to just rob it in order to get things done.” Árnur Ouli, CEO of BGA, the sole automobile and public transportation manufacturer of Ageros. For context, BGA has transitioned away from ICEs to battery-electric vehicles. “Even something as complex as a car, crafted with minimalist design, powered by electricity, fueled by wind, solar, or wavewake, can have an incredibly low impact on Esferos. Water, sun, wind, all transfer energy seamlessly. Animals move in great herds for protection and efficiency. And when they move, only using what is necessary to accomplish their goals. Nature designed and made all of that and it works beautifully. Why don’t we take some cues from that designer, huh?” “At some level what we’re doing is more aspirational than practical,” said Janice Xeno, COO of Société Métallurgique Pavus, an industrial manufacturer in the Commonwealth of Nouveauterra. “We make lithium batteries from finite lithium deposits, plastic products that aren’t scalably recyclable, or chemicals which are feasibly used once. It is a worthwhile goal, but if we place our benchmark for success on perfection, we end up falling short and seeing ourselves as failing at something, even if what we’ve done up until then is good.” “This is definitely an area that will grow in the future,” Veleri Nemtsov said. “Any worthwhile business leader has to see the potential in self growing shoes, like the ones I have on right now.” Nemtsov stood up and showed his brown dress shoes to the audience. “I never knew mushrooms could be this comfortable to walk on.” Shoutout to @Gloibria for the character of Árnur Ouli for this segment.

Société Métallurgique Pavus [SMP] Industry: Manufacturing Country: Nouveauterra SMP is a developer, manufacturer, rental manager, and servicer of industrial tools and systems, headquartered in Pavus, Mare de Sang. The company formed in 1325, and reformed in 1371 with the acquisition of a few smaller manufacturers. The tools in their itinerary include vacuum machines, air compressors, air pumps, automotive manufacturing tools, heavy metal presses, and metal forging equipment. A few brands under SMP management include: Hector which makes specialty drills and stamps, Montvert which services and produces metal testing equipment, and Feu heavy and super-heavy metal presses. Its latest area of expansion is in creating overhaul packages for its current customer base, so that customers of their products can buy a full array of machines and tools which can meld seamlessly into current production processes. SMP’s current CEO Marcus Darrien of 4 years has emphasized longevity in product lifespans.