About the Designer
Ralph Calvert - A personal CV 2009
About me
I am a born and bred New Zealander of European extraction. Aged 62yrs, I have lived more than 40 of them with my wife, Carole. We have three married daughters and lots of grandchildren Home is a small lifestyle farm block. A collection of farm and house animals completes the domestic scene.Engineering background
I started my work career by serving a classic full apprenticeship as a fitter and turner. It is this trade foundation that I have always stayed in touch with and so today enables me to build the machines of my designs.I also embarked on a full technical education and then on further to a full professional first degree level. It is this knowledge of theory that enables me to recognize and confront the innumerable design problems that beset the development engineer.
About my work
Work history started with heavy mechanical maintenance. Then, very fine instrument maintenance and development. 6 years of watch keeping, project design, development and management at a large processing plant was followed by 25 years contracting in a variety of heavy construction site project management and other roles.Throughout all of this the problem solving and innovative solutions were the success stories. These ranged from novel temperature control systems to solving a blocked 1000m pipe line of solidified sulphur in an Indonesian jungle based nickel smelter. Developing a unique valve to aid anaesthetists during operations on very small children to a crude oil storage tank lifting (jacking) operation.
Current Occupation
Today I am semi retired. I enjoy a round of golf and work at an extreme personal fitness regime that sees me peak annually for a 30km mountain traverse race. This race climbs more than 2.5 km! Carole and I travel a bit and enjoy exposure to other cultures. Carole also plays golf and is better than me. Not a sore point, - just another challenge!It is within this semi retired mode that I have developed and am promoting the Marsden Sludge Pump.