Ralph Carpenter served as Chair for the STI/SPFA Steel Water Pipe Section from June 2009 through January 2016, and volunteered to create and serve as the Chair of a specially formed STI/SPFA Marketing Committee, from 2010 through 2015. In this important role as Chair, Mr. Carpenter enabled the STI/SPFA Steel Water Pipe Section and STI/SPFA as a whole to remain credible and recognized in the marketplace. He was a true champion of steel pipe and steel products overall.
Mr. Carpenter came to STI/SPFA with 31 years of industry experience and because of his involvement and positions with American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), he was instrumental in strengthening the STI/SPFA reputation across many markets.
Mr. Carpenter spearheaded the STI/SPFA marketing initiative to create the Steel Facts Series that is still utilized today by specifiers and users of steel products throughout various industries. Additionally, because of his very technical, yet practical knowledge and industry experience, he was able to bring together industry experts and launch a series of technical steel pipe webinars sponsored by STI/SPFA. For these webinars, in most cases, he utilized his strong connections to recruit industry experts. Further, due to his strong ties to academia, universities certified Professional Development Hours, or PDHs, to participants of the SPFA webinars.
Mr. Carpenter began working in the pipe industry in 1978 and joined AMERICAN in 1992, retiring in 2017. He served on the Executive Committee for the ASCE Pipeline Division and was chairman in 2012. He also co-chaired the 2008 Pipelines Conference and served on several other ASCE committees. He served as chairman of the Pipeline Division for the North American Society for Trenchless Technology as well.
