The corporation started out small, in the natural resource extraction industries under the name Hammond Engineering. Fifteen years later, demand for Titan manufacturing materials, combined with Hammond's market-cornering planetary survey technology and map database rights, contributed to the explosive growth for the company. Over the course of a century, a series of acquisitions, mergers, and re-brandings lead to the transformation of Hammond Engineering into the sprawling commercial empire that is the IMC.
Despite their reputation for exploitative behaviour on the Frontier, they receive little criticism from their shareholders and customers living in the Core Systems - the material conveniences and widely used products provided by the IMC generate considerable 'consumer inertia,' to the corporation's benefit.
With the Frontier's valuable shipping lanes and vast planetary resources ripe for exploitation, the IMC is dedicated to maximizing profits and shareholder wealth, using the legal application of force when necessary.