Ralph grew up in Spanish Fork, Utah where he spent his childhood around horses and working alongside his Dad. He learned from a young age the value of hard work and the importance of family.  Ralph started working in the construction industry at age 16.  He worked his way up and was able to pay for his schooling at BYU.  Ralph met his wife, Kristine Black in 1982 and they were married a year later. After graduating from BYU with a degree in engineering, Ralph worked as an aerospace engineer for Boeing in Seattle from 1987-2000.

    Along with his time at Boeing, Ralph has also managed the block plant for Sunroc and headed up the engineering team at Teleflex. He gained lot of valuable experience and skills from these jobs. However, Ralph wanted a career that would allow him the ability to focus more on his family, and be there for the special events in their life.  So In 2000, Ralph and Kristine started Ridgeline Development Inc. along with 3 other businesses. Ralphs entrepreneurial spirit and extensive engineering background gave him an advantage in the industry.  

    Since then, Ridgeline has grown and many projects have been completed, but at it's core it's still about family. Each of Ralph's 5 children have all been employed by Ridgeline during their childhood and teenage years and even as adults. Whether they've been vacuuming sawdust, picking up nails, framing basements, filing paperwork or running the heavy equipment.  He's taught them the value of hard work that he was taught as a child.  To this day, Ridgeline is still owned and operated by the Calder family.