Written by Kfir Kedem Source: The Economist European manufacturers are constantly looking for the best opportunities in terms of quality, reliability, and costs. These three pillars must be present at the heart of every long-term industrial partnership and must improve over time. In the past, this dynamic drove West European manufacturers to partner with tier suppliers in Eastern Europe and China. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent inflationary pressures contributed to risi

Written by Kfir Kedem Source: Financial Times After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine got its independence and with it, inherited an arsenal of nuclear weapons. The operational control was still in Moscow and under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to transfer the nuclear warheads to Russia, a process that was completed by 1996. Over 25 years later, the two countries entered into full-scale warfare. Ukraine having had comparatively less capital and techno

Written by Kfir Kedem Source: Times Now China has become such a manufacturing superpower that the rest of the world now relies on it. This became evidently clear during the peak of the tariff wars in 2025 and was noticed by any procurement manager working at an American company across the globe. Such a strict reliance on one country puts any supply chain at a major risk as a simple shift in policy could jeopardize the entire production and/ or trade of a company. As a result,

Written by Kfir Kedem Source: War History Online As tensions increase around the world, defense spending is rising sharply year-on-year. Different allied regions and independent countries have their own advantages when it comes to manufacturing. For example, China has regional vertical integration, whereas the EU has high-quality and reliable cross-border manufacturing. The US, being as large and as rich in resources as it is, can exercise greater national control over its in

Written by Kfir Kedem Tesla has officially released its semi-truck to the market. Similar to its launch into passenger cars about two decades ago, the company is facing skepticism from incumbent industry players. The truck manufacturing industry is an oligopoly with a few leading legacy players who each serve distinct but overlapping customer needs. This structure creates high barriers to entry not only through scale, but through deeply embedded supplier networks and service

Written by Kfir Kedem Source: CSG Talent Following last week’s article about “Made in Europe,” it is crucial to include the Critical Raw Materials Act in the discussion. This act was passed in 2024 and has set clear European extraction targets for 2030. They are as follows: · 10%+ of EU demand to be extracted in Europe · 40% of processing to be done in Europe · 25% of recycling · Capped dependence of 65% on any single country Europe is not competing wi

Written by Kfir Kedem Source: PNG Tree A regulation without a deadline is just a suggestion. The EU's "Made in Europe" standard is moving closer to becoming enforceable policy, and the procurement and supply chain implications have not been fully priced in. We've all picked up an object and seen "Made in China" written on the bottom. Or maybe you even saw "Made in USA" or some other form of the phrase. This indicates a regulated portion of the production was done in the speci

Written by Kfir Kedem Being in Brussels gives me the opportunity to attend official EU discussions with MEP’s and other officials as speakers. Given my educational and professional background, it was a no-brainer to join the discussion regarding electromobility. One topic that was truly striking was the need of €260 billion in investment that was needed to develop a comprehensive EV charger network across the continent. A great point that was brought up was that even the smal

Written by Kfir Kedem For decades, the world's electronics supply chain has run through China, where low costs, massive scale, and deep manufacturing expertise made it the default home for producing everything from smartphones to semiconductors. That dependency is now being actively unwound, driven by tariffs, sanctions, and a growing consensus among governments and corporations that concentration in a single country is a strategic liability. The Foxconn and HCL Group joint v

Written by Kfir Kedem Offshore drilling is one of the most capital-intensive and cyclical industries in the world, where companies extract oil and gas from beneath the ocean floor using massive floating rigs positioned miles from shore. The companies that own and operate these rigs do not produce oil themselves, but instead lease their equipment and crews to energy producers on a day-rate basis, making their fortunes closely tied to the broader oil market. Transocean has spen

Written by Kfir Kedem Every year, millions of people suffer ischemic strokes, a condition where a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Neurovascular medicine is the field dedicated to treating these conditions, relying heavily on specialized medical devices to physically remove clots and restore circulation. The companies that develop these devices operate in one of the fastest growing and most consequential segments of the medical technology industry. Source: Boston S