HQ-Metall
| Type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Small arms manufacturer |
| Founded | 1688 |
| Headquarters | Nova Victoria, Holy Ralgon Empire |
| Products | Rifles, ammunitions |
Halfquart Metall, better known as HQ-Metall is a manufacturer of small arms that originates in Barbarian Halfquart, but is presently located in Nova Victoria in the Holy Ralgon Empire. The company is best known for its role in the development of the USSO Standard Issue Rifle. The company moved from Barbary to Ralgon following the collapse of Barbary.
In V.1688 Feng Xun, who had previously been a volunteer with the Cibolan Volunteer Corps founded the company. He realised that the Barbarian Republican Guard did not have a reliable domestic source of ammunition but instead depended on supplies from abroad, especially Sokoku Industries in Jingdao. The company was started as a manufacturing plant of a wide range of small metal products, to have a stable revenue in both times of war and peace. The company tried selling non-military items such as door hinges, but margins were too low and this strategy was abandoned in the final month of 1688. In the first months of 1689, the company started to buy assault rifles from the stocks of foreign nations and selling them to the Republican Guard after refurbishment and adaption to the USSO 8mm cartridge. Soon plans were made to develop an own rifle that was capable of firing the new USSO standard ammunition. To achieve this goal, HQ-Metall invited engineers from Sokoku Industries and other USSO arms manufacturers to work together on the development of a modern rifle. Prototypes of the resulting rifle were presented to USSO member states in VI.1689 in Halfquart. The prototypes were approved by the attending representatives and an order for 100 rifles for field test purposes, by the various USSO nations, was placed.
