Conaway Development Industries, Inc.
Principal Profile: Ralph Riggleman
Founding Member
Senior Engineer & Technical Consultant
Ralph Riggleman is known and respected throughout the poultry industry as perhaps one of the best, most experienced and most knowledgeable technical and maintenance engineers in the industry’s history. Although Ralph theoretically retired from active service in 1993, at a youthful and spry seventy-nine-years of age, Ralph’s working schedule has diminished little. His wife of 60 years, Janie Riggleman, and Ralph’s 13 grandchildren can certainly attest to the continued demand for Ralph’s expertise.
As an executive from one of the major equipment manufacturers is quoted as saying recently at the 2008 Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Georgia: “There is just no personnel in the pipeline to replace Ralph’s experience.” The depth of knowledge of this quiet and unassuming man is the reason why Ralph Riggleman still spends such considerable time annually traveling across the country. Working now as an independent consultant when responsibilities with CDI, Inc. will permit, Ralph continues to troubleshoot stubborn processing or maintenance issues in some of the nation’s most sophisticated processing plants.
As a native of Moorefield, West Virginia, Ralph began his career in the poultry industry 41 years ago, in 1967, at Price Poultry in Allentown, Pennsylvania. With both mechanical and electrical expertise, Ralph was quickly promoted to the Head Of Maintenance position. Ralph attributes this position as the platform from which he gained his overview of the complex systems and processes involved in the processing of poultry. Ralph explains, that unlike other industries that do not involve livestock variables, many of the issues involved in solving processing challenges are directly related to the issues of the end unit themselves, the poultry, and their physical reaction to the processes imposed on them. Anecdotally Ralph notes: “… the 32 birds per minute at Price were as much of a challenge then, as 200 per minute are today… we’ve come a long way…”
In the early 1960’s, Ralph began his lifetime relationship with Seth Barker of Barker Poultry Company in Ottumwa, Iowa. Barker was the equipment supplier for Swift & Company Poultry, one of the largest processors of the era, as well as for many others including Campbell’s Soup and Paramount Poultry. Demonstrating his innovation instincts early in his career, it was Seth Barker that sent Ralph during the later 1960’s on a confidential mission to the Livingston, California area. Ralph’s charge was to develop the then experimental FinFlex picker, particularly for Kosher operations. Ralph smiles when he reminisces of his success in gaining orders for Barker to eventually replace all of the more well-known Gordon Johnson pickers in the plant with the Barker FinFlex.
It was during these early years with Barker Poultry (when Everett (Conny) Conaway was a distributor for Barker) that Ralph and Conny met and established the foundation for their lifetime of friendship. Conny instantly recognized and appreciated Ralph’s expertise, and has depended on his counsel as a technician, troubleshooter, engineer and overall “field general” for the over 40 years of their association.
Ralph Riggleman has achieved an almost “folklore” status among his peers, who revere his honesty, his knowledge and his willingness to literally “get in the trenches” when necessary to find a solution to a problem or challenge. Whether for Barker, LINCO Food Systems, Conaway Processing Equipment Company, FoodCraft or many others, Ralph Riggleman has literally traveled the world installing new systems and maintaining older ones.
Whether in South America or on the East or West Coast of the United States, Ralph both literally and metaphorically has the keys to many of the largest poultry plants operating today. Although a man of few words, there are a seemingly infinite number of those who know and love him, who will happily relate a field-experience story about how Ralph Riggleman literally saved the day. Conaway Development Industries, Inc. is proud to have this gentleman as a valued member of its corporate and technical team.
Everett T. Conaway
Chairman of the Board
Chief Executive Officer
Jesse Frederick-Conaway
President
Chief Financial Officer
Harry Cook
Sr. Vice President, Co-Owner
Chief Operations Officer