2025 Power Move: Quietly Investing in the Future

As we approach the end of a challenging year, we thought it was high time to share an update on where we’ve been focused and how we’ve positioned ourselves to emerge stronger.

2025 has tested even the most resilient manufacturers. Supply chains shifted again. Input costs spiked. Global tariffs have come and gone, and then returned. Yet through all of it, we’ve stayed the course, quietly investing in the future so that when the tides turn—and they are turning—we’re ready to scale.

With renewed federal investments in energy and defense sectors, we’re seeing early signs of the next growth cycle. Here’s how we’re preparing for it.

What Market Forces Have Shaped 2025?

Manufacturing has been in a state of contraction for two full years. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.7 in October 2025, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline and firmly in contraction mode.

Employment dropped further, as “managing head count is still the norm,” said Susan Spence, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

At the same time, raw material costs continue to climb, especially in specialty metals. Tungsten powder prices have reached their highest level since 2013, according to Almonty Industries. And these figures don’t yet include the potential impacts of tariff discussions among the U.S., China, Germany, Japan, and Europe.

For those of us sourcing globally while maintaining Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) compliance required by the Department of Defense (DoD or Department of War), volatility has been the rule, not the exception.

Where Is the Opportunity to Invest in the Future Amid the Challenge?

If history has taught manufacturers like us anything, it’s that downturns can be the best time for investments in the future. While others pause, forward-looking companies prepare.

We’ve seen major signals of long-term demand across our core sectors:

• The Department of Energy recently announced its initial selections for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, with projects concentrated in California’s innovation corridor (El Segundo, Hawthorne, and Torrance), which will require precision-machined materials and components.
• The Department of Defense committed $400 million to MP Materials, which owns the only operational rare-earth mine in the U.S., to secure rare-earth supply chains and domestic magnet production in Mountain Pass, CA, according to CNBC, July 2025.
• As reported in Aviation Week in July 2025, major funding rounds are converging to support advanced defense programs such as the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative.

These developments underscore a clear message: strategic manufacturing and machining capacity in the U.S. matters more than ever, and investing in the future is a competitive imperative.

How Is LEMA Investing in the Future?

Throughout 2025, we focused on what we can control: our equipment, our people, and our processes.

• Expanding Capabilities: We’ve added new 5-axis machining equipment in our custom machine shop, boosting both precision and capacity for large production runs. This is a critical competitive advantage right here near our headquarters in Southern California, where we know precision machining for exotic and refractory materials better than anyone.
• Strengthening Quality Systems: We’ve reinvested in our quality credentials, such as AS9100 certification, and are finalizing compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), ensuring readiness for defense-related prime contracts once the new standards take effect this December.
• Reinforcing Resilience: We’ve refined our workflows, cross-trained our team, and modernized our internal systems to improve throughput and traceability.

These are not survival moves; they’re growth moves, fueled by a resilient, forward-looking mindset shift.

How Has Our Mindset Shifted?

The biggest change hasn’t been in our machines. It’s been in our mindset. Instead of endlessly tracking tariffs and market headlines like a weather forecast, we asked a better question: How can we control what’s within our reach?

The answer: by investing in the future. By investing in our team. By investing in our infrastructure. By investing in our ability to deliver precision and reliability when our customers need it most.

What Comes Next for Leading Edge Metals & Alloys?

The manufacturing tide is about to turn. When it does, the companies that invested during the storm will lead the next wave.

That’s exactly where we intend to be, and we hope you’re right there with us.

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