From a Swiss watchmaker’s 1849 Gold Rush watch shop to a 175‑year‑old aerospace and defense supplier whose parts fly on F‑35s and helped build NASA’s Orion, Ducommun’s story is a study in relentless reinvention: pragmatic pivots from hardware store to metals distributor, wartime supplier to Tier‑2 aerostructures and high‑reliability electronics, and a transformative 2011 LaBarge acquisition that rewired its DNA. The company survived near‑death stretches, the Challenger and 737 MAX crises, and a COVID double‑whammy by leaning into defense, disciplined operations, and targeted M&A. If you’re curious how a quiet supplier becomes mission‑critical in planes, missiles, and space—and what that teaches operators and investors about moats, cyclicality, and survival—this one's for you

Transcript: https://empor.top/us/DCO

• I. Introduction & Episode Roadmap
• I. Introduction & Episode Roadmap
• II. The Gold Rush Origins & Early Survival (1849–1900)
• III. The Aerospace Pivot: World War II & the Southern California Boom (1940s–1960s)
• IV. Building the Mid-Century Industrial Business (1960s–1990s)
• V. The Lost Decade & Strategic Drift (1990s–Early 2000s)
• VI. The Turnaround Begins: M&A as Growth Strategy (Mid-2000s–2010)
• VII. Critical Inflection Point: LaBarge Acquisition (2011)
• VIII. Navigating the 2010s: Defense Sequestration & Commercial Aerospace Boom
• IX. The 737 MAX Crisis & COVID Double-Whammy (2019–2021)
• X. Modern Era: Defense Renaissance & Aerospace Recovery (2021–Present)
• XI. The Business Model Deep Dive
• XII. Hamilton's 7 Powers & Porter's 5 Forces Analysis
• XIII. Playbook: Lessons for Operators & Investors
• XIV. Bull vs. Bear Case & Investment Considerations
• XV. Epilogue & Reflections
• XVI. Outro & Further Reading