Despite the concerns regarding the U.S.
losing ground to China, the news is not all
bad. In fact, many innovative
entrepreneurs are developing new processes
of their own to counter China’s dominance.
Asutosh Padhi, Gaurav Batra, and Nick
Santhanam highlight these companies in
their new release The Titanium Economy:
How Industrial Technology Can Create a
Better, Faster, Stronger America. The book
coins the term “titanium economy” which
refers to industrial technology
manufacturers that have the same qualities
as titanium - strong, durable, and resilient.
They aren’t the big fancy tech companies
that dominate the industry news cycle, but
rather producers of critical manufactured
goods we use daily without fanfare. The
authors are engineers with varying
backgrounds who came together over a
mutual appreciation for industrial
technology companies.

Titanium Economy is uniquely positioned to
be a recommendation for our Books for
Congress list. It was designed to educate
investors and policymakers on the benefits
and challenges of the industrial technology
sector. The case studies of several different
companies refute the narrative that
American manufacturing is dead or dying
and highlight the opportunity for growth.
Furthermore, the book offers numerous
policy prescriptions to help bolster
American manufacturing. We strongly
recommend this book for those looking for
practical solutions to helping U.S.
manufacturing compete in the Indo-Pacific
and beyond. This review is based on an
advanced review copy.

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert in industrials or manufacturing.

The Titanium Economy is a remarkable book that delivers on everything it sets out to achieve. It's the one creative idea that has been scratching my noggin for a very long time.

Why it matters: The Titanium Economy sets up a brilliant vision of the companies that are building the future that exists outside of the traditional tech companies that dominate our economy; these old companies are as innovative as FAANG but pack an industrial punch that has a chance to build America's middle class and will become especially important as we enter these hard economic times.

One improvement: I wish the authors of the book could have included a direct section that outlines all of the companies you can invest in in the introduction; I had to dig to the back of the charts area to find the information since I wanted to do further research.

The bottom line: The Titanium Economy blends storytelling, market research, history, and economics in a symphony that presents a bold, bright, and contrarian vision of what the future of American economy can look like; small companies tackling niches to build a better future.