The Vrana Corporation, alternately known as Vrana Industries, Incorporated (and stylised as VRANA or shortened to Vrana Corp.) is a Canada-based conglomerate.[1]
Overview[]
| « | Making a safer tomorrow, today. Company motto
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Background[]
Virtual Reality (VR) training simulator developed by Vrana Corp.
Headquartered in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Vrana has a majority stake with subsidiaries throughout the globe, namely private security consultation firms.[2]
Vrana is the primary sponsor of the annually-run ARMEX international military tradeshow[1] but is better known for being the main shareholder of the U.S.-based ION Services private military company.[2]
Although the conglomerate is predominately focused on the military sector, in recent years it has begun to branch out into the civilian market. They manufacture rugged electronics[3], run a variety of utility services[4], as well as sponsoring racing teams[5][6] and tournaments. In addition, this focus has also been shifted onto establishing a stronger foothold in Chinese shipping markets and trade infrastructure.[1]
Vrana's TEC-IT AP9000, a rugged VoIP telephone.
However, the departure of its senior management officials in the late 2030s appears to have reversed the conglomerate's fortunes. Uncertainty continues to surround Vrana's future as thousands of jobs are left in a state of limbo.[7]
List of subsidiaries[]
The following companies have been acquired by Vrana and operate as subsidiaries of the conglomerate:
- First-tier:[2]
- East Maritime Line
- Sister Systems
- Strategic Procurement International
- Second-tier:[2]
- Complete Intel Services (under Sister Systems)
- Integrated Container Systems (under East Maritime Line)
- ION Services, Inc. (under Strategic Procurement International)
- Quontrol Brouwerij[8] (under East Maritime Line)
- Third-tier:[2]
- Pegasus Air Services (under ION Services, Inc.)
- Sapphire Security (under ION Services, Inc.)
- Xiamjin Wharf Management (under Integrated Container Systems)
The following companies are either in the process of being acquired by Vrana or have yet to fully join:
- Xeodata
- Xeodata's acquisition is currently being disputed by the European Competition Committee. Due to its potential legal issues, the finalisation of the deal has yet to confirmed.[9]
The following companies have previously functioned as subsidiaries but have since parted ways with the conglomerate:
History[]
Organisation hierarchy (2013)
Vrana was first established in 1986 and was founded by a shipping industrialist named Raymond John St. Pierre along with several other key investors.[1]
Early in 2010, Vrana's list of subsidiaries would be expanded with the acquisition of the South Carolina-based ION Services PMC (then-known as Black Element).[2]
2001[]
Several visitors at the 2001 ARMEX expo in London were killed in an accident during a live fire test demo. In the aftermath, an investigation was conducted by MILCOM, the governing body of military expos, though the organisers of the event and the corporation itself were absolved of any culpability.[1]
2009[]
Sometime during 2009, Vrana's ARMEX exhibition in the Czech Republic was interrupted when hundreds of demonstrators from the Organisation of Protesters Demanding Reform (OfPDR) stormed the trade show, vandalised, and looted significant amounts of hardware. Nonetheless, in spite of the incident the trade show was not cancelled by Vrana.[1]
The year's controversies were quickly followed by another incident involving Black Element PMCs. Following a protest at the Elektrozavodsk Power Plant, several civilians were killed when the contractors opened fire on the gathered crowd of protesters, with many more being seriously wounded.[11] Vrana was forced to scale down and revoke all of its contracts in Chernarus and throughout the rest of the Green Sea region. Shortly thereafter, the PMC was renamed to ION Services to avoid further association with the incident.[12]
June-July 2010[]
In late June/early July, Vrana acquired the shipping service, Quontrol Brouwerij, and reassigned the subsidiary as part of its East Maritime Line.[8]
November 2010[]
ARMEX shows were planned to have been held in Chernarus and Takistan in early November 2010, However, they were instead relocated to Karzeghistan and Russia.[1]
Vrana's representatives stated that the original locations were cancelled due to security concerns. Vrana praised the governments of both Karzeghistan and Russia for allowing the relocations to take place at short notice. Publicly, it was also confirmed that the shows would return to Chernarus and Takistan sometime in 2011, though only on the condition that the situation in both nations stabilised.[1]
July 2013[]
Vrana's public statement to the media (2013)
| « | The expansion of private contraction is a natural progression of a healthy relationship between state interests and private sector professionalism. Raymond John St. Pierre
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» |
Keen to boost its corporate image in the wake of its past controversies, the company renews its calls to governments over the necessity for PMCs in Takistan after a team of weapons inspectors from the UN are killed in a supposed ambush by Takistani militants.[13]
In the wake of the rapidly deteriorating security situation, Vrana's contracts in the country are greatly expanded as NATO forces gradually pull out of the country, and PMCs from ION are hired to fill the void.[14]
On July 3rd, the senior organiser of ARMEX admitted that there were "[...] lessons to be learned" after an unanticipated incident at one of its exhibitions involving a tracked BMP-type vehicle against a man "armed" with rocks.[15]
August 2013[]
- The following information stems from Bohemia Interactive's Take On Helicopters
By August 2013, the position of CEO was now held by William R. J. Haydon.[16] An unknown catastrophe resulted in one of Vrana's ships, operated by Xiamjin Wharf Management, being heavily damaged and partially sunk in Seattle on July 4th, 2013. The incident sparked much controversy and public outrage over its potentially dangerous cargo polluting the Puget Sound. Anti-Vrana activists quickly surrounded the company's local offices to protest against Vrana's reluctance to address the ongoing disaster.[17]
At this time a small, privately-owned civil aviation company named Larkin Aviation, had begun to attract the attention of Vrana's executives. The company was suffering from financial difficulties but the owners, two brothers by the name of Tom and Joe Larkin, had earned the interest of Vrana's CEO.[17]
Haydon purchased a medium-lift utility helicopter for the ailing company and opted to personally supervise demonstration flights with the brothers. Haydon continued to hire their services for several more charter flights before finally offering to acquire Larkin Aviation. As part of the acquisition, Vrana dispatched one of its managers, Michelle Carmichael, to oversee the activities of Larkin Aviation. Additional equipment was also supplied to further assist in the company's revitalisation, which included a heavy-lift helicopter - courtesy of Haydon himself.[18]
Larkin Aviation continued to take up contracts from Vrana and another of their subsidiaries, ION Services. Aside from cargo transport, they also assisted in ongoing training exercises.[19]
Larkin Aviation's services are requestioned to airlift the mysterious container out of the Puget Sound (2013)
However, as time went on, Larkin Aviation's crews were hired to perform increasingly dangerous contracts. One particular contract tasked the Larkin brothers with flying one of Vrana's specially customised heavy-lift utility helicopter. Their objective was to retrieve a "strange" container from the partially sunk ship in the middle of Seattle.[20]
The cargo was especially heavy and made flying difficult for the brothers. After unloading the cargo, the helicopter suffered an engine failure but was able to auto-rotate to the ground safely.[20] In the aftermath of the ordeal and Larkin Aviation's breaches of conduct[21], Vrana officially severed its ties with Larkin Aviation, leaving the former subsidiary independent once again. Carmichael, the supervising manager sent by Vrana, decided to leave her position and opted to stay with Larkin Aviation instead.[22]
Following the incident, it was announced that U.S. federal authorities have launched an investigation into Haydon and have filed unknown charges against him.[23] Vrana began to distance itself from Haydon in light of the investigation and slowly began to accept responsibility for the Xiamjin disaster.[24] However, it is unclear if any charges will go through given the amount of obstruction and lack of sufficient evidence surrounding his activities.[25][26]
2035[]
As of 2035, Vrana has continued to expand its lead in the technology market with the development of a highly advanced VR training simulator for military forces.[27] However, it remains unclear as to whether Haydon continues to remain on as CEO or has been succeeded.
Prior to the outbreak of hostilities between the Altis Armed Forces and the U.S.-led Task Force Aegis[28], the company also ran competitive shooting and obstacle courses on the island of Stratis in the Republic of Altis and Stratis. ION contractors had also been initially hired to assist in the dismantling of NATO equipment and other installations on the island.[29]
On August 18th, Vrana announced that it intends to buy European tech giant Xeodata in a forty-billion-dollar deal. However, the deal has been flagged by the European Competition Commitee and will undergo a review before its acquisition can be finalised.[9]
June 2039[]
Uncertainty clouds the conglomerate as reported on the 18-06-2039 edition of News Today (2039)
The conglomerate appears to be in dire straits as of mid 2039 following the departure of its CEO, though the exact cause is still unclear.[7]
Thousands of jobs and the ownership of subsidiaries acquired by Vrana have been left in question with the conglomerate's lack of leadership. The value of its share price on stock exchange markets has also plummeted, with the company being left on the brink of possible fragmentation or a hostile takeover.[7]
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- SPIN-OFF: The following information stems from a spin-off expansion or third party Creator DLC and is considered to be non-canon in the main Armaverse timeline.
| SPINOFF INFORMATION |
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Trivia[]
- Vrana translates to "Crow" in Czech, which is a reference to Jay Crowe, one of the (then-) newly hired environmental artists for ArmA 2's DLCs.[32]
- Xiamjin Wharf Management is inconsistently named in both ArmA 2: PMC and Take On Helicopters. It retains its canonical name (as "Xiamjin") in ArmA 2 but is referred to as "Xiamijn" in TKoH instead.[33]
References[]
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See also[]
- ION Services (Subsidiary company)
- Sister Systems (Subsidiary company)
- Quontrol Brouwerij (Subsidiary company)
- Larkin Aviation (Former subsidiary)