In our experience, metalcasters aren’t a smug lot. Reserved maybe, but not the type to rub it in when you get something wrong.

Of course, you may have a hard time biting your tongue when you read this article from the Feb. 16 issue of the Los Angeles Times.

According to the piece, aircraft manufacturer Boeing is late and over budget on its 787 Dreamliner at least in part because of components it has outsourced to overseas companies.

“The 787 has more foreign-made content — 30% — than any other Boeing plane, according to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the union representing Boeing engineers,” reads the article. “That compares with just over 5% in the company's workhorse 747 airliner.”

The article goes on to say that managing this foreign made content has turned out to be more difficult than managing in-house production—rather than easier, as the company first assumed. What’s more, many of the suppliers with which the company has contracted have turned out not to be able to produce the parts with the level of proficiency they claimed.

Sound familiar? Try not to be smug now.