Quicksilver Industries
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 Quicksilver Industries' corporate headquarters in Venceia, 2030 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| QSI | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Predecessors |
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| Founded | 04 April 1934 |
| Founder | Alexandus Laelias Venio |
| Headquarters | Silver Park, , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Revenue |  $3.1 trillion (2030) |
| $415 billion | |
| Total assets | $14 trillion |
Number of employees | 5,431,615 |
| Divisions |
|
| Subsidiaries | |
Quicksilver Industries, Inc., commonly known as QSI, is a Caphirian global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technologies conglomerate with worldwide interests. It provides other logistics and operations support, as well as operates in numerous non-military fields such as real estate, financial services, software development, vehicle manufacturing and more. Founded in 1934 by Alexandus Laelias Venio to meet the manufacturing demand as a result of the Second Great War, Quicksilver Industries rapidly expanded and extended its reach worldwide. By the end of the Second Great War, Quicksilver had become one of the largest defense contractors in the world. Due to shifting markets, defense consolidation, and globalism, Quicksilver Industries began to operate in more diverse sectors and industries.
Quicksilver Industries operates in three main business sectors: Manufacturing, Defense Solutions, and Operations Security. Additionally, it has a dedicated research and technological development sector - known as the Sandbox, and more recently a sector dedicated to the company's holdings and interests in a wide and diverse range of companies that aren't necessarily a part of the main sectors - called QS Innovations. Each business sector may contain multiple subsidiaries and companies, each with its own unique subculture and organization that functions in semi-autonomy.
In addition to its own domestic defense operations, QSI is able to execute international operations on a large scale, varying from simple manufacturing plants to extensive extra-governmental contracts. While not officially acknowledged or publicly promoted, the organization has the capability to function as a private military company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and for-profit clients. Over time, QSI has received significant criticism regarding the legality of the practices of its contractors, its environmental and business practices, including anti-competitive behavior, privacy concerns, tax avoidance, antitrust, censorship, and corruption.
The Venio Estate has been in control of the company since its formation - Alexandus Laelias Venio founded the company and his son, Alexandus (known as Alexandus the Younger or Alexandus Jr.) is credited with helping grow QSI nationally. His son, Alexandus II, who has been the current Chief Executive since 1988, took the company to massive financial success by acquiring numerous companies to broaden the company's portfolio and shifted focus toward other markets and industries. Alexandus II remains the largest individual shareholder of QSI, owning 25% of the company and being Chairman of the board.
Quicksilver Industries is headquartered at Silver Park, in Venceia, with plans to open a second global headquarters. QSI has grown to become one of the largest companies in the world; it is the largest publicly-traded company by market capitalization, annual revenue, and workforce both nationally and globally. It is also the largest defense contractor in the world; approximately half of its revenue still comes from military sales; it topped the list of Caphirian government contractors and received nearly 45% of the funds paid out by the Ministry of Defense. The company employs close to 5.5 million employees worldwide and has offices in every major country on earth.
History
1929: Founding and incorporation
Quicksilver Industries was formed as Venio Company Limited in 1929 by Alexandus Venio Sr. as a result of a nationwide effort to meet the increasing demand for the defense industry in Caphiria during the First Great War. The Imperium was giving out $200 million in low-interest loans to spur research and development across all sectors of the defense industry and Venio Company Limited received $15 million to focus on aircraft production. Between 1930 and 1934, VCL developed brake systems for automobiles and aircraft, licensing out the technology to its competitors and to the government, using the profits to go on an acquisition spree.
The most notable acquisition was Savin Corporation, which at the time was one of the most innovative war-time defense companies. Savin was responsible for the development and creation of the Vega X3 series of aircraft, and had produced over 80 aircraft and employed more than 300 workers. After the acquisition, production increased threefold and by 1938 VCL was producing 5 different types of vehicles and employed more than a thousand workers.
Production continued to ramp up to meet the wartime demand, and VCL continued to release new and improved models of aircraft throughout the years. The Imperium commissioned a radical new design, a fighter aircraft with a twin-engined, twin-boom design, and VCL won all but one contract from the government during the entirety of the war. In early 1940, VCL formally incorporated as a corporation, raising $50 million. Less than three months after incorporating, the company bought a massive plot of land to start construction on its manufacturing facilities. During the war, the entire area was camouflaged to fool enemy aerial reconnaissance. The factory was hidden beneath a huge burlap tarpaulin painted to depict a peaceful semi-rural neighborhood, replete with rubber automobiles. Hundreds of fake trees, shrubs, buildings, and even fire hydrants were positioned to give a three-dimensional appearance. The trees and shrubs were created from chicken wire treated with an adhesive and covered with feathers to provide a leafy texture.
1940-55: Role in the Second Great War
During the Second Great War, the Imperium was heavily invested in the defense industry, and provided funding to companies like VCL in order to support the development of new technologies and innovations. VCL was commissioned by the Imperium to develop a new type of fighter aircraft. The aircraft was to have a twin-engined, twin-boom design, and was to be faster, more agile, and more heavily armed than any other aircraft in the Caphirian military's arsenal. Codenamed Quicksilver, development of the project started in June 1939
VCL put their best engineers and designers to work on the project, and after months of research and development, they produced a prototype that exceeded all of the Imperium's expectations. The aircraft was named the "Quicksilver X1," and it was faster, more maneuverable, and more heavily armed than any other fighter in the world at the time.
The Quicksilver X1 was powered by two powerful engines that allowed it to reach speeds of over 600 miles per hour, and its twin-boom design gave it exceptional stability and agility in the air. It was armed with a variety of weapons, including machine guns, cannons, and missiles, making it a formidable opponent in air-to-air combat.
Quicksilver Industries won all but one contract from the government for the production of the Quicksilver X1, and they worked tirelessly to produce as many planes as possible to support the war effort. In total, it is estimated that Quicksilver Industries produced over 26,000 Quicksilver X1 aircraft during the Great War, making it one of the most successful and widely used fighter planes of the war. Its impressive performance and versatility helped to ensure the success of Caphiria's military and ultimately contributed to the victory of the Allied Powers.
1955-66: Postwar growth
1966-88: Diversification and international success
1988-present: Corporate hegemony and consolidation
. . .
In the late 2020s, Quicksilver played an integral role in the foundation of rapprochement between Caphiria and Urcea, leading to the end of the [Occidental Cold War]]. Ironically, QSI benefited immensely from this peaceful coexistence between the two superpowers because it allowed for it to expand its business operations into newly-formed free trade zones. This expansion continued in parallel as Urceo-Caphiric relations continued to become more positive, and in 2035 another agreement was reached which would allow Caphirian investment into Urcea's Cronan territories and protectorates.
This agreement coincided with a large Urcean push into its ongoing conflicts in Crona, which QSI was readily available to assist with. Quicksilver would provide arms, supplies, and resources to Urceans and pro-Urcean forces and in exchange would be allowed direct access to Crona for investment and development, a previously untapped market for QSI.
In 2037, a League of Nations Mandate was established in order to deal with the increasing instability in the region and as a result, several International charter cities were created. One of these cities, Shenendehowa Bay, in the Nysdra Sea, was given to Quicksilver Industries per charter agreement. Though Shenendehowa Bay remains under the military protection of Urcea, as most charter cities in Crona are, the city has seen explosive growth: it is the headquarters of multiple Crona-based corporations, the headquarters for the League of Nations' Commission for Mandatory Venua'tino, and is one of the wealthiest and most-developed cities in the post-Deluge northern Cronan region.
The rapid success of Shenendehowa Bay has lead many to speculate that Quicksilver Industries has plans to form its own sovereign state in the future, although this has been shut down numerous times by QSI publicly.
Organization
Quicksilver Industries currently employs 5,431,615 people across five divisions:
Business divisions
Manufacturing
- Shockwave Integrated Defense Technologies (SID Tech) - SID Tech produces and manufactures fighter aircraft, airlifters, aerial refuelling tankers, helicopters, and airborne warfare systems, firearms and a variety of items related to firearms including its own custom variants of the AR-15 rifle, advanced rail systems, custom upper receivers, and advanced barrels among others. It also designs and manufactures naval ships and submarines, and armoured fighting vehicles such as tanks, armoured cars, reconnaissance vehicles, internal security vehicles, APCs, infantry fighting vehicles, and anti-aircraft vehicles.
- Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering (LMW) - LMW is a wholly-owned subsidiary global weapons manufacturing company specializing in handguns; it is headquartered in Burgundie and more than half of its revenue comes from there.
Defense Solutions
- Shockwave Global Solutions (SGS) - SGS is responsible for development, building, hardening, securing, testing and integrating complex communications systems, networks and products and provide the highest level of support solutions for the public and private sector. They are capable of networking and platform integration; cyber security, defense products, and operational support; satellite communications; protected radio communications products; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors, systems and space electronics; mission planning and management systems, weapon control systems and platform computing systems and open architecture information systems.
- Vepr Defense - Creates military radar, sensors and related products including C4I radar systems for air defense, Airspace Management radar systems such as AMASS, and battlefield surveillance systems like the Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL).
- Atlas Tech - Manages QSI's current and future portfolio of fixed-wing military and surveillance aircraft, including fighters and commercial derivative platforms, and support of key platforms such as the executive transport fleet, which is used to transport the Imperator of Caphiria.
- Chromeria Military Solutions - Provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. It operates the Chromeria Training Center (CTC) where it offers tactics and weapons training to military, government, and law enforcement agencies, as well as tactical training for maritime force protection units.
- Omega Systems - Formerly a competitor of Quicksilver, was purchased through a hostile takeover in July 2026. Omega developed the Raven UAV and is currently developing new UAV platforms and control systems. Omega Systems is headquartered in South Tryhstia.
- O'Shea Heavy Industrial Systems - Wholly owned subsidiary Burgundian military shipbuilding company. It specializes in building, remodeling, and repairing naval ships. The primary shipyard is located in Burgundie and has depots across the world.
Operations Security
- BDS Solutions - Designs, develops, produces, supports, maintains, modernises and upgrades armoured combat vehicles, wheeled vehicles, naval guns, surface ship combatants, commercial vessels, missile launchers, artillery systems, military ordnance, and protective wear and armour.
- Ladestro Dynamics - Specializes in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; advanced cybersecurity solutions; weather and environmental solutions, and information-based solutions for homeland security. The company also provides training, logistics, engineering, product support, and operational support services and solutions for the mission support, homeland security, space, civil aviation, counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism markets
- O'Shea Operation Management Services - Offers large scale operations management and critical infrastructure maintenance
- Quicksilver Space Systems - Specializes in airborne radars and processors, electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, electronic warfare (EW) and precision guidance systems, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, space and missile defense technology, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. It has significant engineering and manufacturing facilities in Burgundie and Kiravia.
The Sandbox
- SIX Developmental - The main research and development firm which operates in virtually every sector. There are 10 major R&D facilities spread across the world that work on an array of advanced technological projects.
- Redsun - The official name for the 'Advanced Development Program' and has high degree of autonomy, with the task of working on advanced or secret projects.
QS Innovations
- QV Properties - The holding company for all of QSI's corporate real estate holdings. It is also used to lease real estate to other corporations.
- Venio Enterprise Services - Provides shared capabilities and support services, principally to internal customers.
- Venio Finance Solutions - The financial services holding company of QSI. It operates a private equity fund, a multinational insurance company, and customer-oriented, financial products and services to individual customers and businesses.
- Caphiria Architects & Engineers - A wholly owned subsidiary which is one of the largest architectural firms in the world, having worked on some of the most iconic buildings in Caphiria and internationally.
- Silver Lineworks - An engineering and robotics design holding company. It produces machines of varying degrees of autonomy under contract from military drones to advanced artificial intelligence for tech companies and 3D simulations. The company is a pioneer in the field of robotics and it is one of the most advanced in its domain.
Operating subsidiaries
Quicksilver Industries conducts 90% of its business activities and dealings through five primary operating organizations. They cover a wide range of industries from the direct military industry (military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems) to the indirect military (logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support), to direct support of military operations, and consumer and professional electronics, entertainment and financial services.
Shockwave Industrial
Shockwave Industrial is a global defense, security, weapons manufacturer, and advanced technology company. It is the largest subsidiary of Quicksilver Industries and is one of the world's largest defense contractors, with 82% of its annual revenue coming from direct military sales. Before it was acquired by QSI in 1997, Shockwave Industrial was a pioneer during the Great War, becoming the first company in Caphiria to successfully test nuclear weaponry as well as going on to be the first and only user of a nuclear bomb on another country.
Today, Shockwave Industrial is responsible for the development, building, hardening, securing, testing and integrating complex communications systems, networks and products through its Shockwave Global Solutions (SGS) division and is responsible for advanced defense and security-related systems, products and services through its Shockwave Integrated Defense Technologies (SID Tech) division.
Shockwave Industrial employs over 150,000 people and has an additional 100,000 individual contractors. In addition to its massive headquarters in Arzercavalli, it also has over 150 research and development facilities across the world that allows for extremely efficient development and production cycles.
Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering
Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering is a Burgundian weapons manufacturing company, although since 1992 it has become primarily a pistol manufatory, with worldwide interests. The corporate headquarters is located in Caphiria with, an additional operational headquarters in NordHalle, Burgundie and employs 20,000 people. The majority of manufacturing and sales still originates from Burgundie.
It currently produces ten different firearms with seven of them being handguns. Lansing-Mitchell has reported $24 billion in revenue and is estimated to have $2.1 billion in assets. Today, it is primarily a niche weapons manufacturer that focuses on low volume and high quality and custom solutions for its clients. Its most recent handgun, the LM-Snauzer 2021 uses a 7.92x33mm Kurz cartridge that was designed to replace a lot of the outdated handguns being used in law enforcement. It was the first product from Lansing-Mitchell to be mass-produced and it is currently one of the world's most popular handguns being used in law enforcement.
Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering was acquired by Quicksilver Industries in 2002 for $35.7 billion in an attempt for Lansing-Mitchell to have access to new markets outside of Burgundie. Approximately 80% of Lansing-Mitchell's business is from the Burgundian Armed Forces and Police Services.
The O'Shea Corporation
The O'Shea Corporation is a Burgundian shipbuilding and logistics holding company with global interests. Its origins can be traced back to the 19th century where a Gaelic Fiannrian immigrated to Burgundie and founded O'Shea Hull Design in 1873. By the beginning of the 20th century, O'Shea Hull Design had become the O'Shea Shipping Company and it was the largest naval architecture firm in Burgundie. The company continued to diversify its assets across the maritime realm, establishing other companies such as O’Shea Container Shipping, O'Shea Infrastructure and Design, O'Shea Operation Management Services, O'Shea International Services, the O'Shea Maritime Academy-, and the O'Shea Chemical Research Facility.
In 2007, Quicksilver Industries acquired O'Shea Shipping Company along with all of its sister companies under the name O’Shea Heavy Industrial Systems. In 2025, a corporate restructuring occurred and all of O'Shea's assets were moved into a new entity called The O'Shea Corporation.
The O'Shea Corporation employs close to 100,000 people across all of its companies and operates over 1,500 ships and has a capacity of 6.1 million TEU.
Silver Lineworks
Silver Lineworks is a holding company representing QSI's holdings and assets in robotics, engineering, and automation. In addition to manufacturing hardware, Silver Lineworks also develops software and vision guidance tools for military and civilian use. Composed of several highly autonomous companies and teams, Silver Lineworks builds robots for defense, energy, and hazardous activity support as well as mobile robotic fulfillment systems for use across other QSI divisions. It also produces machines of varying degrees of autonomy under contract from military drones to advanced artificial intelligence for tech companies and 3D simulations.
Silver Lineworks currently consists of 8 primary engineering firms and 5 research & development teams; each firm has its own project manager who reports directly to Castagnola, who in turn reports to the head of QS Innovations. Under Castagnola, the company has made efforts to enter the consumer market and has revealed several programmable robotics slated for release within the next decade.
One of the most secretive and ambitious projects being developed by Silver Lineworks is the Templar Project, a multi-faceted engineering project that aims to create the world's first synthetic organism with true full artificial intelligence.
Investments and minority holdings
In addition to its core businesses, Quicksilver Industries maintains a concentrated portfolio of equities and investments and engages in an aggressive mergers and acquisitions approach to business. Since the second major corporate restructure in 2011, this has been done through Venio Finance Solutions. VFS acts as the financial services holding company of QSI. It operates a private equity fund, and customer-oriented, financial products and services to individual customers and businesses. VFS currently has $4.5 trillion AUM and $400 billion in assets.
VFS operates two wings: the first serves as the legal parent company for Quicksilver's operating subsidiaries and acquired businesses, and the second wing serves as the private equity, alternative asset management, and financial services firm. As of March 2030, QSI's (through Venio Finance Services) largest investments were:
| Company | Sector / Industry | Ownership % | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiere Airways | Transportation | $19.3 billion | ||
| Royal Aqualife | Agriculture | $16.6 billion | ||
| Mercure Industries | Consumer Electronics | $11.4 billion | ||
| Caelen Eilean Financial Services | Financial | $8.5 billion | ||
| Alterion Group | Financial | $8 billion | ||
| Bank of Valēka | Financial | $5 billion | ||
| Grael Financial Group | Financial | $2.5 billion | ||
| Soleil Automobili S/A | Automobile Manufacturing | $2.1 billion | ||
| Nerivas Nitro | Automobile Manufacturing | $2 billion | ||
| Pan-Punth Free Press | News Media | $1.6 billion | ||
| Baiereal Petrochemical | Mineral Extraction | $1.4 billion | ||
| Diamante Oil Group | Mineral Extraction | $1.4 billion | ||
| Compor Mining | Mineral Extraction | $1.2 billion | ||
| Imperial Beverage | Service | $1 billion | ||
| Saeger Vineyard | Service | $1 billion | ||
| Glaskow Refrigerated Storage | Service | $860 million | ||
| InterKronz | Logistics | $400 million |
Contracts and Operations
Quicksilver Industries maintains numerous contracts spanning the aerospace, defense, security, and technologies industry. The company makes the bulk of its revenue in what is called contracts and operations.
Contracts typically revolve around the arms industry: manufacturing and selling weapons and military technology and equipment, as well as research and development, engineering, production, and the servicing of military material, equipment, and facilities. Contracts are almost always awarded by governments and military agencies though there has been a growing trend in the market for privatised military corporations. Quicksilver Industries has contracts with virtually every country on earth.
33% of total global revenue ($105 billion) accounts for long-term contracts with domestic and international governments, agencies, and militaries. Of that, 15% ($15.7 billion) accounts for local contracts with the Imperial Armed Forces of Caphiria, making it the largest defense contractor of the Imperium. General contracts with the Imperium make up 10% ($10.5 billion), with 6% ($6.3 billion) going towards foreign government contracts and 2% ($2.1 billion) accounting for commercial and other contracts.
Operations revolve around Quicksilver Industries acting as a private military corporation, providing integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and non-profit clients. QSI owns and operates the Chromeria Training center (CTC), a training facility located on 7,000 acres, comprised of several ranges, indoor, outdoor, urban reproductions, a man-made lake, and two driving tracks. QSTC offers tactics and weapons training to military, government, and law enforcement agencies. The CTC also offers several open-enrollment courses periodically throughout the year, from hand to hand combat (executive course) to precision rifle marksmanship. They also offer courses in tactical and off-road driving. Unlike Quicksilver Contracts, any public or private institution that meets the prerequisites may request to hire QSI.
Corporate affairs
Governance
Board of directors
The board of directors consists of 11 members:
- Alexandus Venio II, (chairman and CEO)
- Vinntan Valuassius, (executive director)
- Felicitas Galarius (non-executive director)
- Cario Iustus (non-executive director)
- Lonnar Gelrani, (non-executive director)
- Darvin Susarmi, (non-executive director)
- Hostraius Decmussa, (CEO of Lanxor)
- Natalie Charbonneau, (chairwoman and CEO of Premiere Airways)
- Liviratur Konsoleridon, (CEO of Trans-Oceanic Investment Banking Group)
- Steven Mitchell, (CEO of Imperial Beverages)
- Oiksi Iivostner, (chairman of Pantheon Industries)
Executive management
The current executive structure is as follows:
- Alexandus Venio II, (Chief Executive)
- Alera Panianstina (Principal Executive of Operations)
- Civius Macerius (Principal Executive of Finance)
- Acastus Logos (Principal Executive of Legal Counsel)
- Salmoneus Logos (Principal Executive of Security)
- Christian Barbas (Principal Executive of Risk Management)
- Christiano Petrous (Principal Executive of Marketing)
- Tivadar Matthias (Principal Executive of Research)
- Evangelina Petracca (Principal Executive of Investment)
- Cyrek Loris (Principal Executive of Human Resources)
- Bastiaan Patras (Principal Executive of Data)
- Jeroenr Xenos (Principal Executive of Compliance)
- Nicolas Demos (Principal Executive of Communications)
- Tareo Levotus (Vice Executive of Manufacturing)
- Dano Calavaculus (Vice Executive of Defense Solutions)
- Camulatia Contranti (Vice Executive of Operations Security)
- Revir Samognatius (Vice Executive of Quicksilver Labs)
- Cacurio Manatus (Vice Executive of QS Innovations)
Financial
Quicksilver Industries is the world's largest company by market capitalization, annual revenue, total assets, and workforce. For the fiscal year of 2030, Quicksilver had revenues of $3.1 trillion, $14 trillion in assets, 5 million global employees, and $475 billion in cash reserves.
Almost all of QSI's subsidiaries rank among the top five-largest companies by revenue and other financial metrics in their respective industries: Shockwave Industrial is the world's largest defense contractor with over $60 billion in revenue and 80% coming from military contracts; Petalstone Electronics is the world's second largest technology company by revenue; Petalstone Music Entertainment is the largest music publisher and third-largest music corporation in the world; the O'Shea Corporation is the largest shipbuilding and logistics company in the world, with $83 billion in revenue and operating over 1,500 ships.
| Year | Revenue | Net Income | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $1.4 trillion | $532 billion | $11.1 trillion |
| 2021 | $1.55 trillion | $589 billion | $11.2 trillion |
| 2022 | $1.71 trillion | $649.8 billion | $11.4 trillion |
| 2023 | $1.88 trillion | $714.4 billion | $11.4 trillion |
| 2024 | $2.07 trillion | $788.5 billion | $11.7 trillion |
| 2025 | $2.28 trillion | $866.4 billion | $12 trillion |
| 2026 | $2.47 trillion | $938.6 billion | $12.5 trillion |
| 2027 | $2.65 trillion | $1.007 trillion | $12.7 trillion |
| 2028 | $2.85 trillion | $1.08 trillion | $13.2 trillion |
| 2029 | $3.07 trillion | $1.16 trillion | $13.8 trillion |
| 2030 | $3.14 trillion | $1.27 trillion | $14 trillion |
Environmental practices and initiatives
Quicksilver Industries issued a statement in 2015 committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy. By the end of 2017, half of QSI's operations and manufacturing facilities utilized renewable energy, and by 2020 it boasted a full adoption rate on renewable energy. In 2025, a decade after it started its initiative, QSI announced that 93% of QSI's global operations ran on renewable energy and it would achieve 100% by the end of the decade. It also announced that it switched to sustainable paper in their product packaging; 99% of all paper used by QSI in the product packaging comes from post-consumer recycled paper or sustainably managed forests, as the company continues its move to all paper packaging for all of its products. QSI also revealed it committed to power all its glass production with 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. The commitment is a large step in QSI's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint.
In 2030, Quicksilver-owned Petalstone launched numerous environmental practices and initiatives, such as committing to ending its use of coal and shifting to 100% renewable clean energy and being the first electronics manufacturer to fully eliminate all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in its complete product line. Petalstone also created a program to recover and recycle electronic wastes and has been praised for its recycling efforts by numerous eco-advocacy groups.
Quicksilver Industries offers comprehensive and transparent information about the CO2e, emissions, materials, and electrical usage concerning every product they currently produce or have sold in the past (and which they have enough data needed to produce the report), in their portfolio on their website. All QSI products now have mercury-free LED-backlit LCD displays, arsenic-free glass, and non-PVC cables, and beat the latest Energy Star guidelines in each product's respective regulatory category.
Corporate culture
The culture of Quicksilver Industries is interesting in that despite having many subsidiaries across different industries, it allows a freedom of individuality and excellence that reliably attracts talented workers to its companies. That being said, because QSI has been in the ownership of the Venio family since its formation, the Venio family exercises an uniquely overwhelming amount of power in shaping the corporate culture, which generally speaking is more akin to a startup rather than a multinational corporation.
Quicksilver Industries has a strong culture of corporate secrecy, and has an anti-leak Global Security team that recruits from top firms across the world. Employees are intended to be specialists who are not exposed to functions outside their area of expertise. Alexandus Venio Jr. saw this as a means of having "best-in-class" employees in every role. The company is known for strictly enforcing accountability. Each project has a "directly responsible individual" or "DRI".
Unlike other major companies, QSI provides a relatively simple compensation policy for executives that does not include perks enjoyed by others like country club fees or private use of company aircraft. (Use of company aircraft is reserved for executive management). The company typically grants stock options to executives every other year.
Headquarters
The main corporate headquarters, informally known as the Silver Park, is located at 1000 Silver Road in the business district of Venceia. The entirety of Silver Park occupies 500 acres, making it by far the world's largest headquarters or building complex. Silver Park contains two complete campuses, nicknamed Mission Control and Ground control respectively.
The main campus, known as Mission Control, features a circular design and paired with the sheer scale has earned it the nickname the "Spaceship", which houses 10,000 "mission critical" employees in one central four-story circular building of approximately 2,800,000 square feet (260,000 square meters). The inner rim and outer rim on each floor are left open as walkways. There are eight buildings, separated by nine mini-atria. The campus is one mile (1.6 km) in circumference, with a diameter of 1,512 feet (461 m). The one circular building houses most employees. It is four stories above the ground and three stories underground. The design hides the roads and parking spaces underground. The campus uses only glass for its walls and views of the inner courtyard as well as of the landscape facing the exterior of the building. Around 83,000 square feet (7,700 m2) of space is for meetings and breakout spaces in the building. The inner part of the circular building contains a 30-acre (12 ha) park featuring a pond, with fruit trees and winding pathways. The total cost for the Spaceship was estimated to be $4 billion/
Silver Park's second campus, Ground Control, encompasses 4 million square feet of office space and houses an additional 25,000–30,000 employees. Ground Control features 125 buildings, 100 of which is used for office space. The remaining 25 buildings bring the amenities of retail space, as well as restaurants, a soccer field and pub. This is known as the "Docks" and is arranged like an urban neighborhood, centered around a 2-acre (0.81 ha) open space with sports fields (including a football pitch), and hiking trails.
Criticism and controversies
Throughout its existence, Quicksilver Industries has received significant criticism regarding the legality of the practices of its contractors, its environmental and business practices, including anti-competitive behavior, privacy concerns, tax avoidance, antitrust, censorship, and corruption.
As the largest defense contractor in the world, QSI has come under intense scrutiny for violations of international law and war. On July 3rd, 1997, the Urcean Ministry of Commerce issued the Guidelines on Quicksilver International, concluding that "the difficulty separating private from public troops means that legal proceedings against these non-state violent actors can be complicated. The corporate nature of PMSCs (Private Military and Security Contractors) is a barrier to their accountability for violations of international law. No international court has jurisdiction over these corporations and there is no preexisting mechanism in place bound by international law to account and manage for PMSCs use of force. If the world's use of PMSCs increases without any international accountability, this creates a situation that the world may not be able to return from."
Labor practices
Over the last three decades, numerous reports have been made alleging that sweatshop conditions exist or have existed in factories and facilities owned and operated by Quicksilver Industries.
For example, one article published in 1997 stated that one particular factory in Kandara employed over 200,000 workers who lived and worked in the factory, and regularly performed more than 60 hours of labor per week. The article also reported that workers made around $100 per month and were required to live on the premises and pay for rent and food from the company. Living expenses — a requirement of keeping the job — typically required that employees spend a little over half of their earnings. The article also said that workers were given buckets to wash their clothes in. Immediately after the allegation, QSI launched an investigation and worked with their manufacturers to ensure that conditions were acceptable by its standards and started yearly audits of the labor conditions of all its suppliers, slowly raising standards and severing relationships with suppliers that did not comply—yearly progress reports have also been published since 2005.
In 2007, workers in Algoquona planned to sue a Quicksilver-owned company over poisoning from a cleaner used to clean naval ships. The workers claimed that they were not informed of possible occupational illnesses.
In 2010, a spate of suicides linked to low pay at a newly opened Quicksilver-owned industrial park in Oyashima occurred alongside several additional suicides at various other locations and facilities. This incident drew intense media attention and became known as the Oyashima suicides. A follow up report was done the following year on the anniversary of the event, which still found excessive hours and other problems that persisted, despite QSI's promise to reform factory practices. The Oyashima facility was once again the subject of review, as journalists gained access to the working conditions inside through recruitment as employees. While the journalists maintained that the experiences of its reporters showed that labor violations were continuing since 2010, Quicksilver publicly disagreed with the report and stated: "We are aware of no other company doing as much as Quicksilver Industries to ensure fair and safe working conditions".
In the period following these exposures, QSI has continued to receive criticism for its labor rights record.
Tax practices
Quicksilver Industries is known for employing a variety of accounting technique and methods to reduce its taxes by routing profits through subsidiaries over the world. Such strategies help QSI keep its international taxes to single digits over the last decade, according to the company's corporate filings. Quicksilver holds tens of billions of dollars in profits in international subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government by using an unusual global tax structure.
As the relationship between Quicksilver Industries and the government of Caphiria grew, QSI has been able to take advantage of using its influence to affect tax and economic laws and policy to benefit the most.
Almost all of QSI's foreign operations are routed through five offshore companies with no employees. It also pays a 2.5% corporate income tax in Caphiria (the standard rate of corporation tax is 10℅).