Defense & Aerospace Report Defense & Aerospace Daily Podcast [Feb 25, 2026] Mesh Feigenbaum on Global Industrial Capacity
Feb 25, 2026
Mesh Feigenbaum, managing partner at Engineered Metal Tech and authority on giant hydraulic forging presses. He discusses aging mega-presses and how failures can cripple aerospace and defense supply chains. He contrasts China’s new investments with older U.S. infrastructure. He outlines timelines, costs, and the case for public–private facilities to restore sovereign forging capacity.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Global Mega Press Fleet Is Tiny And Concentrated
- Only about 34 mega-presses (≥20,000 tons) exist worldwide, heavily concentrated in China, Russia and a few in the U.S. and Europe.
- China now has 11 mostly new presses; the U.S. has 10 but very few modern units.
Alcoa Press Outage Shows How Fragile The Chain Is
- The Alcoa Cleveland press failed in August 2008 and was out of service until 2012, halting production of critical parts like F-35 bulkheads.
- Even single-component failures can sideline a press for years and disrupt programs.
Forging Economics Are Slow And Complex
- Forging plants face long, part-specific qualification and development cycles across many alloys, extending payback timelines.
- That complexity drives high financing costs and deters private investment despite strategic importance.