In 107PA with the founding of Wa-Daisho, it was realized that this new nation would require certain industrial facilities to produce necessary equipment for both the military and civilian fields. A small, limited production, facility north of town was thus then produced to manufacture bricks, siding, nails, screws, brackets of various shapes and sizes, storm doors, door knobs, light fixtures, light bulbs, plumbing equipment, windows, tools, farm implements, and a handful of other mundane necessities for the heavy construction underway in the Republic. In addition to these, however, limited production was being placed forth for the military. By 108PA this included the manufacture of military uniforms, belts, harnesses, backpacks, a single design of body armor, an advanced laser pistol, and a pulse laser rifle.
The first real amount of growth for this state run factory was when the planning for the underground city was underway in 109PA. The factory north of town was nothing more than a sheet metal structure on a heavy metal frame with some insulation to help insulate it during the colder season in Wa-Daisho - which made it vulnerable to enemy attack. Thus during the initial planning phases for the underground city - an entire level was planned to be produced as a subterranean factory level that would serve as a branch of this state run industry.
In 113PA the subterranean structure was completed. By this point the Regency of Nyan Tamya had ended, and the Republican Council had taken over. With the reformation of government programs, the state run factory would also evolve into a new type of facility - under the name Republican Industries. The new subterranean factory took over many of the military contracts formerly held by the old plant for smaller goods, such as for body armor, the laser pistol design, and the pulse laser rifle, PLUS it began to produce a large number of subcomponents for larger military contracts. This included radio equipment, optics equipment, some of the electronics for synthetic musculature used in power armor, etc. These components would be shipped to the facility outside of town for final assembly or would be sent to military facilities to replace outdated or malfunctioning systems.
That year, 113PA, also marked a milestone for Republican Industries in another regard. It was the first year that the state run industry had sold anything commercially. Previously everything that was ever sold was sold at wholesale prices. This meant nothing for company growth, nothing above a moderate salary for plant managers, and nothing for profits! This tendency was stunting the commercial market for such items in Wa-Daisho, and so Republican Industries began to beef up their prices with a 20-50% mark up in costs on the market for anything but government contracts. What they would do with these profits was the unique part. About 25% of whatever was earned in profits was used for further research and development - or the construction of new production facilities. The remainder, however, would be divided up and GIVEN to the people of Wa-Daisho on an equal share basis.
Republican Industries began also to produce a number of finished components to military vehicles, and entire civilian vehicles, under license from S-Mart over the next several years. This new trait alone would open the door for new possibilities in production with this newly budding industry.
In 114PA design work began for a new general utility, training, and light attack aircraft for use by the various armed forces of Wa-Daisho AND for commercial sale. The first of these were not available, however, until 116PA. Another native design would soon follow in the form of the Masakari hover tank, when in 116PA King Ripley of Desert Star would refuse the sale of the S-Mart Stonewall to Wa-Daisho's mechanized armored units.
Republican Industries has grown a lot in the past years and now produces a significant number of finished items in all manner of industrial fields in it's two production facilities. As for the tactic of dividing the profits among the people of Wa-Daisho? It has proved marvelously successful. In 116PA alone each citizen in the Republic received a 132.55 cred debit card from Republican Industries. In 117PA they received a 212.62 cred debit card! (Note that this does not include similar rebates from Republican Shipyards or any of the Republics mining operations.)
The future of Republican Industries appears to be a bright one. The people have backed this state run industry to a degree not often seen anywhere, which makes it's worker base a dedicated and hard working one. A new factory, a much more modern and more capable facility is under construction a short distance from the old above ground factory. This one will be in operations by summer of 120PA. The Republican Council appears to be content to continue producing S-Mart products under license where possible. This MAY change if the political waters ever heat up to any degree warmer than the when the Stonewall issue came about.