The Corporations That Fueled The Empire
Image Source: StarWars.com
The Galactic Empire was a force of evil in the Star Wars galaxy, conquering and destroying worlds, instituting a regime of fear and repression, and serving the interests of the Sith. However, they could not do it alone. Not only did they get support in the form of the galaxy’s criminal element, but the corporate element played their part too. Many supplied the Empire with significant resources, and today we’ll be exploring seven of the biggest offenders.
7. Ubrikkian Industries
Image Source: Wookieepedia
One of the more unique examples on this list, Ubrikkian Industries, is not a company that would likely have come to mind for many in the galaxy as creating vehicles for the Empire. Instead, their focus was largely on the civilian sector, though clearly the Empire came knocking eventually. Ubrikkian developed the Imperial Troop Transport, seen in shows like Rebels and The Mandalorian, which could also haul cargo when needed.
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Heavy armored and capable of considerable speed as it jetted along using repulsorlifts, the ITT shows that one did not have to be a military contractor or have strong connections to the Empire to be roped into their war machine. Their Imperial vehicle saw service for years and persisted after the fall of the Galactic Empire, where it turned up in the hands of remnant factions.
6. Tagge Corporation
Image Source: Wookieepedia
As opposed to Ubrikkian Industries, Tagge Corporation (or TaggeCo) was a civilian organization with deep, clear ties to the Empire. Run by the Tagge family of Tepasi, it was operating as far back as the High Republic, but had Separatist loyalties during the Clone Wars. Their fervent support for the Empire that followed was likely to make up for this slip in loyalty, but also because the Tagges focused on power and resources.
They were primarily in the resource extraction business, but had various divisions focused on weaponry and common consumer goods, and possessed private ships and space stations. While they were not above thwarting Imperial ambitions for acquiring certain technologies (due to their own corporate interests), they were generally still a loyal organization that supported the Empire throughout the Galactic Civil War.
5. The Mining Guild
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A consortium of mining interests that engaged in monopolistic practices and hoarded considerable resources, the Mining Guild is one of a few galactic corporations to get a name drop in a non-Prequel Star Wars film. Like other entries on this list, the guild sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, though this also had the unfortunate effect of pulling several reluctant worlds that the Guild politically dominated into the CIS fold.
After the wars, the Empire and the Mining Guild worked closely together, with the Guild providing the Empire with critical resources such as fuel and dispatching their mining vessels to targets of Imperial interest. It was they who scarred Lothal’s surface with ore crawlers and aided the Ministry of Antiquity in excavating the Lothal Jedi Temple as seen in Star Wars Rebels. The close association between the Mining Guild and the Empire can be seen in how the Empire allowed them to use a special variant of TIE for defense purposes. Unlike many other groups on this list, the destruction of the Empire saw the Guild’s significant decrease, and they were in a weakened state by the era of the First Order and Resistance. They also seemed not to have made deals with the First Order, another rarity on this list.
4. Arakyd Industries
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Arakyd Industries was probably one of the most significant companies in the Empire for its involvement with creating Imperial droids. Initially, manufacturing droids for both the Republic and CIS during the Clone Wars, they fully focused on Imperial contracts after the war. Their most notable creations are the viper probe droid and the KX-series security droid. Both have proven pivotal in the history of the galaxy. The viper droids led to the discovery of the Rebel base on Hoth, but also being present across the galaxy to inform on all sorts of rebellious groups.
Meanwhile, KX droids have become an iconic part of the Star Wars franchise thanks to K-2SO. They have also played a major role in the Jedi game series, in the Dark Droids crossover event of Marvel comics, and are likely to continue appearing in future stories. Arakyd supplied the Empire with tools in its arsenal of oppression, and when the Galactic Civil War ended, they were among those corporations who made deals with the First Order behind the back of the New Republic, in this case, to manufacture various droids for the fascist military organization.
3. BlasTech Industries
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Just as the real-world wars of the modern age require firearms, so too do the conflicts in Star Wars. Blasters, of all different sorts, are a common sight in the galaxy, and many come from the factories of BlasTech Industries. But for as much as their gear has helped the good guys, their majority focus is absolutely on the bad guys, namely, the Empire.
Millions of E-10s and E-11s entered service in the name of the imperium and were used in all kinds of terrible crimes and events by the Galactic Empire. We know little about BlasTech as a company, but it is clear that their bottom line was profit. Even after the fall of the Empire and contracts with the New Republic, BlasTech began to make weapons for the First Order, providing supplies to both sides of the Cold War that eventually turned hot.
2. Sienar Fleet Systems
Image Source: Wookieepedia
One of the most important companies to the Empire was Sienar Fleet Systems. Run and supported by the noble Sienar family, they went bankrupt during the Galactic Civil War despite aiding the Republic. In the aftermath of that state’s reorganization into the Empire, Raith Sienar headed the company and ushered in the creation of the TIE fighter. This starship ultimately became a defining vessel for the company and a symbol of the Galactic Empire. It was endlessly iterated on to produce shuttles, bombers, and specialized strike craft under various divisions, projects, and patrons. Sienar also produced a range of other, far less well-known tools of the Imperial arsenal, such as weaponry.
Sienar remained very loyal to the Empire, even if the family behind the firm had a notable defector in the form of Gracalia Sienar, who fought for the Rebellion. In spite of this treason, Sienar still controlled vast resources, owning whole planets from which they operated test sites, and supporting the Empire’s ruthless expansion and war machine with their vessels. Much like some of the Empire’s other biggest corporate allies at the end of the Galactic Civil War, the company merged and splintered, its remnants manufacturing starships and weaponry for the First Order.
1. Kuat Drive Yards And Kuat Systems Engineering
Image Source: StarWars.com
Perhaps no other company had such deep ties to the Empire as Kuat Drive Yards. Through various subsidiaries, and for years before the rise of the Empire, they supplied the Galactic Republic with ships and material for the Clone Wars, even before they began. Their deep involvement with these events meant they were seamlessly brought into the Empire as manufacturers of the new Imperial Star Destroyer. They built other ships for the Empire as well, and also developed the AT-AT and other models of new walkers in-house, superseding the specialized focus of their subdivision, Rothana Engineering.
The great shipyards of Kuat also constructed vessels for civilian use, much like Corellian Engineering Corporation, but their biggest impact in this era was their considerable support of the Imperial Navy. After the defeat of the Empire, like other companies on this list, they changed their name and aided the First Order, but their deception went even deeper. Some members of the company were aware of the Sith Eternal, and over a period of decades, funneled resources to Exegol, where the Final Order constructed a fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers to terrorize the galaxy. Its evils are perhaps the most vile of all the companies on this list, and one can only hope in a post-Sith world, they are fundamentally and properly reforged, if not dissolved, and their assets put to use for good.
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