ThermaBlast Co.

ThermaBlast Co. was a company that manufactured various incendiary weapons, most notably mines and hand grenades that used thermite as an active charge. They also sold thermite-based fuels for traditional automobiles on some worlds.

History
ThermaBlast Co. was founded by Stakio Royano, a weapons researcher from a sparsely populated mining world in the Seswenna sector (and purportedly a descendant of ancient Onderonian space explorers), in 73 BBY. It's rumored that Royano decided to form the company after he gained interest in the capabilities of thermite, a composite metal powder that used various combinations, most often magnesium, zinc, and boron. As a child, Royano was deeply interest in gunpowder-based weapons and saw them as a more traditional and noble counterpart to blasters and other firearms. However, as gunpowders were rare on his homeworld and illegal under Republic law (except for scientific uses), Royano turned to thermite as it had very similar properties when ignited. Initially, Royano's company solely focused on producing fuel for the wheel-based automobiles that were commonplace on his homeworld, though he eventually discovered thermite's capabilities as a weapon and decided to start manufacturing thermite grenades and land mines.

As the use of hand grenades in interstellar warfare was made illegal (except for non-lethal grenades such as smoke grenades and flashbangs) in the Ruusan Reformation and would not be re-legalized until the formation of the Grand Army of the Republic, ThermaBlast Co. illegally sold their thermite explosives on the black market to mercenaries and pirates, and publicly sold thermite-based fuels as a front to cover their illicit activities. When the use of grenades was re-legalized, ThermaBlast Co. attempted to contract with the Grand Army of the Republic and Republic Judicial Forces to equip Republic soldiers with thermite grenades, however during field tests researchers determined that thermal detonators were a safer and more effective alternative to thermite grenades, which historically were used since the time of the Great Hyperspace War. To maintain funding following the Clone Wars' end, ThermaBlast Co. continued to sell their explosives on the black market - often to resistance groups that opposed the Imperial regime - until their activities were discovered by Imperial detectives, resulting in several raids on ThermaBlast Co. facilities and ultimately the disbandment of the company. Stakio Royano's grandson, who was now the owner of the company, committed suicide while imprisoned aboard an Imperial orbital detention center in 13 BBY.