50: Andrew Roberson Pt. 1 - Built on Faith, Family, & Fabrication

50: Andrew Roberson Pt. 1 - Built on Faith, Family, & Fabrication

In Episode 50 of Irregardless, we sit down with Andrew Roberson, owner of Dark Threat Fabrication in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Andrew comes from a family that's been building custom homes in Arkansas for over 110 years, and that heritage of craftsmanship, faith, and hard work shaped everything that came next. After earning a mechanical engineering degree and working at Husqvarna and Siemens, a tax-deductible truck hobby turned into a patented ATV ramp, a SEMA debut in eight months, and eventually a full-time leap into Dark Threat in 2016. In Pt. 1, Andrew shares the story behind the shop, the 28-hour concrete pour that built it, and why in-house powder coating was non-negotiable. He also gets into how Bryzos has changed the way he sources steel, giving him fast, transparent pricing from multiple suppliers in one place so he can quote jobs at the speed his customers expect. In a shop where turnaround time can make or break a project, having a tool that puts the whole steel market at his fingertips is a game changer. Part 2 drops soon, stay tuned!

49: NASCC 2026 Special - Steel Industry Insights from the Show Floor

We're taking Irregardless to NASCC! This special episode was recorded at NASCC 2026 in Atlanta, where Rachel was joined by three guests from across the steel industry. Tyler Sease, President of Southern Steel Engineers, talks about building a niche structural engineering firm that works exclusively with fabricators, detailers, and erectors. Haylee Fort, Business Development at Willbanks Metals, shares her unconventional path into the steel industry and what she loves about the supplier side of the business. And Mike Brown, PM and Structural Engineer at John A. Martin and Associates (JAMA), gives us a look at how a 75-year-old LA firm serves steel fabricators and contractors nationwide. Three guests, one conference, a whole lot of steel industry insight.

48: Jonah Myerberg Pt. 2 - Inside Desktop Metal's Blueprint for Manufacturing

In Part 2, Rachel continues her conversation with Jonah Myerberg, CTO and co-founder of Desktop Metal. Jonah breaks down exactly how Desktop Metal's binder jetting technology works and why it's fundamentally different from the laser-based metal printing that came before it. From printing green parts at room temperature to sintering in a furnace, he makes a complex manufacturing process surprisingly easy to understand. The conversation gets into the real economics of scaling a deep tech company, what it actually takes to bring metal additive manufacturing to mass production, and why Desktop Metal's approach has the potential to change how things are made across industries. If you've ever wondered how metal parts go from powder to a finished product, this is the episode.

47: Jonah Myerberg Pt. 1 - From Power Tools to Formula 1 Podiums

In Part 1 of Ep. 47, Jonah Myerberg, CTO and co-founder of Desktop Metal, joins Rachel to share his unconventional career path through mechanical engineering. He discusses his time designing power tools at Black & Decker, developing speaker systems at Bose, and later revolutionizing battery technology for Formula 1 racing. Jonah covers his work at A123 Systems developing high-performance battery packs for Mercedes and Porsche, and how hybrid regulations transformed motorsports.  Part 2 will dive deeper into Desktop Metal's founding story and what makes the company different in the additive manufacturing space.

46: Emmy Ross - From Weddings to Welding

Emmy Ross, Director of Business Development at Astro Metal Craft and StellarCraft, joins us to talk about growing a custom metal fabrication business and the unique challenge of marketing to two very different worlds: architects and industrial buyers. Emmy walks us through landmark projects like the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport and the Minnesota State Office Building, and explains how StellarCraft is carving out its own identity in architectural metals. Emmy's path to metal fabrication is anything but straight. After 15 years running a wedding and event planning business, she came on full-time at the family business in 2023 and hasn't looked back. We cover industrial marketing, the time/cost/quality tradeoff, a fresh ERP rollout, and what it takes to spin StellarCraft off as its own women-owned certified company.