One of Utah’s largest aerospace companies started in a small garage in St. George. In 1975 Ray and Melzie Ganowsky began designing and manufacturing parts for industrial and aerospace companies, and by 1979, the quality of work done at RAM Company (named after the founders Ray And Melize) had garnered national attention. NASA was so impressed by the work done by RAM that they flew multiple members of their team to St. George to help the company meet requirements for federal contracting to use their parts. RAM would go on to produce multiple components for the American space agency, including for the Space Shuttle landing system.
Fast forward to today, RAM Aviation, Space, and Defense is one of the biggest producers of valves for a multitude of public and private partners—a true juggernaut in the Utah aerospace and defense industry. The company now operates out of a 120,000-square-foot facility and has continued to grow and innovate at an accelerated pace. RAM is vertically integrated, has almost 300 employees and does all of its engineering, design, and manufacturing right here in Utah.
RAM wasn’t just built in Utah, it’s deeply committed to the state and its community in St. George. RAM is the oldest member of the St. George Chamber of Commerce, and runs an internship program for Utah Tech University students. RAM has also continually supported local high schools by sponsoring sports teams and by providing students with experiences they can’t get anywhere else. The company recently sponsored 23 local high school students for a trip to SpaceX headquarters in California where they designed and built the Falcon 9 rockets and the Dragon Capsule, the current space shuttle that NASA uses to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
When asked about RAMs’s commitment to the community, CEO Gregg Robison said:
“We know the strength of our community is the foundation of RAM’s success. We champion the principles of integrity and responsibility, investing in our students and neighbors to create an environment for everyone to prosper. A stronger community for everyone means a brighter future for RAM and our employees.”
In addition to its community work, RAM also prides itself on being a key contributor to American national security. RAM manufactures over 80,000 solenoids and valves for aircraft each year, most of which are deployed within the United States government. Over 12,000 of these valves are delivered to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program each year, with many more destined for other military platforms. According to Robison, 90% of all military and commercial aircraft with jet propulsion produced in the United States, Europe, Brazil, and Canada have a RAM valve somewhere on the aircraft. RAM fills a critical technical niche in the development and production of US military aircraft and is continuing to evolve its capability. Notably, RAM is heavily involved in the development of the upcoming “6th Generation Fighter.”
A partnership with NASA was foundational to RAM’s early success, and it remains committed to providing critical components for space exploration. It does this through its partnerships with NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other space agencies and companies. RAM has been active in providing valves for missions including Artemis, Orion Capsule, Griffin Lunar Lander, Dragon Capsule, and the International Space Station. RAM is also helping develop revolutionary space technologies like the HALO - the first-ever lunar space station. RAM’s involvement in these projects means that Utah is playing a role in some of the most ambitious space projects ever attempted.
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