IndustrialMech
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Contents
Summary
IndustrialMechs, or WorkMechs, are 'Mechs that are used for industrial purposes (hence the name). They are similar in shape to BattleMechs, which they predated, but are built for non-combat tasks related to primary industry. Instead of a fusion engine, they have an internal combustion engine which is less efficient. However, this reduced power is sufficient for a WorkMech's role. Known WorkMechs are the ForestryMech, the AgroMech, the CargoMech, the MiningMech, the LoaderMech, the ConstructionMech and the SalvageMech.
WorkMechs have been used in a military fashion, usually after some third-party modifications. For example, a ForestryMech will have its manipulative arm replaced with an autocannon (as stated by Ghost Knight Mason Dunne in the MechWarrior novel Ghost War). Even with these additions, WorkMechs are less effective than a BattleMech of the same tonnage.[citation needed]
The Jade Phoenix Trilogy featured, as one character called it, an "AgriBot", but the description and illustration showed it as a quadruped machine. It is possible that this is a WorkMech. The Dark Age storyline showcases a significant number of WorkMechs, often in combat roles, but also in their industrial role.