Shengli Arms

Shengli Arms is both one of the newest and most advanced BattleMech manufacturers in the Capellan Confederation.

Overview
Towards the end of the Third Succession War, House Liao uncovered a subterranean Star League era BattleMech research facility on the weather worn world of Victoria. Unusually advanced for a non-Terran Hegemony facility, the factory was setup to manufacture almost all components for four BattleMech designs, though none of them save the Sling saw service prior to General Kerensky's Exodus.

Even ignoring the treasure trove of advanced technology on the site, with the CCAF's desperate need for 'Mechs and Victoria safely located in the portion of Confederation intact after the Fourth Succession War, Chancellor Romano Liao ramped up efforts to refurbish and restore the facility to function. These efforts would suffer a considerable setback when Victoria was targeted as part of Case Juliet, the Federated Commonwealth's retaliatory attack for the McCarron's Armored Cavalry's raids during the War of 3039. Landing virtually unopposed, the 4th and 21st Illician Rangers succeeded in all but destroying the facility, delaying its reconstruction for many years.

It was not until the reign of Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao that the Capellans had regained the technology to finally refurbish and restore it to operation. Making concessions to modify the designs found on site to fit the Capellans' new Xin Sheng design esthetic, With the first Duan Gung walking off the production line in 3057 and entering limited production the next year. Full production was made possible by the increasing ties between the Confederation and the Word of Blake, providing technicians and material resources that also revived and introduced the heavy weight Jinggau in early 3059, followed by mammoth Yu Huang in 3060 and the Thunder inspired Lao Hu in 3062.

Aside from Shengli's almost self-contained ability to produce 'Mechs, using the facility's archives and its proximity to the best minds of the well-regarded Victoria Academy of Arms and Technology allowed the company to quickly develop Capellan-manufactured examples of newer post-Clan Invasion technology such as the LB 20-X AC for its own designs as well as others. However its most notable contribution to the modern Capellan Confederation Armed Forces was its assistance in the development of Stealth Armor, based on specifications for the SLDF's Null Signature System contained in Shengli's archives with the company only one of two in the Liao realm to manufacture the technology.

At the behest of Archon Katherine Steiner-Davion, Norse-Storm BattleMechs of Loxley engaged in several years of intense and insanely expensive negotiations with Shengli in the hopes of acquiring access to the Stealth Armor technology. Despite appearing to deal with the Lyran Alliance company in good faith, Shengli had no intention of releasing such an advantage to a enemy of the Capellan nation. With the contract having no stipulation stating in what language the technical specifications were to be provided in, Shengli provided Norse-Storm the data in an obscure and ancient Han dialect, forcing the company to employ Shengli Arms techs to install the armor. When all of Norse-Storm's efforts to break the ironclad contract failed, their security chief supposedly went "rogue" and launched an objective raid against Victoria, making off with several hundred tons of stealth armor and crippling Shengli production for eight months. While Norse-Storm denied any link, they detained the Shengli aides required to install the armor and continued production of the "Stealth Spector" unabated while they tried to reverse-engineer the technology, Shengli halting all future shipments to Loxley in response.

The Commanding Officer of the Prefectorate Guard, Sang-shao Jorgen Nerekov, was involved in a mysterious research and development accident at the Shengli Arms facility on Victoria in 3065. Details of what happened were kept classified, but it was known that Nerekov suffered cerebral hemorraghing severe enough that he was rendered unfit to command the Guard, and was subsequently awarded the Cluster of Conspicuous Heroism. He was also turned down for the award known as the Baton of Illustrious Service, making him the only Capellan Hussars commander not to be a recipient of this award.

Shengli Arms attempted to create an independent security force to protect itself from further raids such as the disastrous Case Juliet raids, but the company chose to suspend its efforts when Chancellor Sun-Tzu made the fateful decision to assign the battered remains of Olson's Rangers mercenary unit to help garrison the plant. Having suffered heavy losses during a failed attempt to take Acamar for the Confederation in 3066, the already debt-ridden Rangers were forced to rely heavily upon Shengli and the Confederation to rebuild, leading many cynics to suggest the Chancellor's posting was an effort to force the Rangers into a "Company Store" scheme to become that force.

This decision would backfire disastrously in December 3068 when the Rangers turned their guns against Shengli without warning, inflicting significant damage and crippling the company's production lines before they were finally dislodged by fellow garrison unit Sung's Rangers and forced to flee off-world. Very nearly obliterated completely, the company would suffer capital and personnel losses of 84% from this single attack. While able to restore the Duan Gung and Jinggau lines to limited production in short order, the Yu Huang line was irreversibly destroyed. In response to the large number of active Assault 'Mech lines and the horrific losses that the CCAF's Light 'Mech forces during the Jihad, rather than rebuild the lost line Shengli instead focused on creating and building the Dola in the same chambers that once housed the Yu Huang’s assembly area once that conflict had concluded.

During the Victoria War the plant was briefly held by the AFFS after it was captured by the 2nd Syrtis Fusiliers. The 5th Capellan Defense Force destroyed the factory in December 3103 to deny it to the AFFS.

Leadership
As of 3090, the company's CEO was Mandrinn Dan Lao-Tzu, who had held the post since at least 3067.

Manufacturing
Shengli Arms has manufacturing centers on the following planets:

Victoria
Note: Since the start of the Jihad, the facility on Victoria, suffers a capital and personnel losses of 84%, and the operating capacity of the factory has a production volume of 63% in 3079.