Raven Industries

Raven Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAVN) is an American manufacturer of precision agriculture products, high-altitude balloons, plastic film and sheeting, and radar systems. The company is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Raven Industries, Inc.
TypePublic
NASDAQ: RAVN
S&P 600 Component
IndustryAerospace and defense
Agriculture
FoundedFebruary 11, 1956
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, US
FounderJ.R. Smith
Ed Yost
Duwayne Thon
Joseph Kaliszewki
HeadquartersSioux Falls, South Dakota, US
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Daniel A. Rykhus, President & CEO
Steven Brazones, CFO
Revenue US$ 378M (2015)[1]
US$ 44M (2015)[1]
US$ 32M (2015)[1]
Total assets US$ 363M (2015)[1]
Total equity US$ 305M (2015)[1]
SubsidiariesApplied Technology
Engineered Films
Raven Aerostar.
WebsiteRaven Industries

History

Established in 1956 to make high-altitude balloons, Raven was launched by a group of General Mills employees, including General Mills High Altitude Research division employee Ed Yost.[2][3] Yost claimed to pick Sioux Falls for its favorable wind conditions.[2]

After its establishment, the company's product offerings expanded to include items such as commercial and recreational hot air balloons, electronics manufacturing, large plastic storage containers for use in agriculture, pickup toppers, and winter outerwear.

Raven, along with Piccard Balloons and Semco were among the first manufacturers of hot air balloons that kicked off the resurgence of ballooning in the mid-1960s. In fact, Ed Yost began this series of events when he built and flew a 40 ft (12 m)-diameter balloon a distance of three miles on 22 October 1960. Raven subsequently built and sold some of the first modern hot air balloons, beginning in the mid-1960s.[4]

However, in recent years, the company streamlined its operations, closed a number of its divisions and sold subsidiaries to reduce the company to its precision agriculture, engineered films, and Aerostar divisions. The U.S. military and other government agencies are among its clients, and besides the U.S. Department of Defense, Raven Industries has other big name customers such as Google.[5]

Products and business areas

As of 2019, the company has 3 business departments:

  • Raven Applied Technology (precision and high-tech agriculture)
  • Raven Engineered Films (high-quality plastic films)
  • Raven Aerostar (high-altitude balloons, radars). Raven Aerostar consists of wholly owned subsidiaries Aerostar International, Inc. and Aerostar Technical Solutions, Inc.[6] Especially the name Aerostar International is sometimes used interchangeably as a synonym for Raven Aerostar.[7] Aerostar International is the Raven Industries' high-altitude balloon unit,[8][9] and Aerostar Technical Solutions is the radar-unit.[10][11]

The company's main products are:

The company's high-altitude balloons are used by Loon LLC (formerly part of Google) to provide aerial, high-speed wireless internet to rural and remote areas.[12]

The company's high-altitude balloons are also used in scientific research by NASA[13][14][15][16] and other research institutes[17] and in military purposes by USA armed forces.[6]

References
  1. "Raven Industries, Inc. 10-K".
  2. "Raven Industries, Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Raven Industries, Inc". referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  3. RAVN profile Yahoo Finance
  4. "National Balloon Museum - History of Ballooning". Archived from the original on 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2010-06-09. Modern hot-air ballooning was born October 22, 1960 when Paul E. (Ed) Yost piloted the maiden flight of a balloon employing a new envelope and a new propane burner system which he developed. The flight lasted 25 minutes and traveled 3 miles ... The balloon was 40 feet in diameter with a volume of 30,000 cubic feet. For this accomplishment Yost is known as the father of modern hot-air ballooning. Soon, Yost’s company, Raven Industries, was making balloons for sale.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2015-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. https://ravenaerostar.com/news/raven-industries-awarded-contracts-for-persistent-surveillance-systems
  7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/aerostar-international-inc.
  8. http://stratocat.com.ar/stratopedia/400.htm
  9. https://ravenaerostar.com/about/history
  10. https://ravenaerostar.com/news/raven-industries-renames-subsidiary
  11. https://ravenaerostar.com/news/raven-industries-closes-vista-research-inc-acquisition
  12. https://ravenaerostar.com/about/loon
  13. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-us-firms-to-provide-commercial-suborbital-flight-services
  14. https://ravenaerostar.com/news/raven-aerostar-s-largest-super-pressure-balloon-proves-persistent-altitude-for-long-duration-capabil
  15. https://ravenaerostar.com/aerospace-and-defense/scientific-research
  16. https://ravenaerostar.com/products/balloons-airships
  17. https://ravenaerostar.com/news/harvard-scopex-selects-raven-aerostar-as-balloon-provider

Further reading
  • 'CEO Interview: Raven Industries,' Wall Street Transcript, October 24, 1994. Meyer, Harvey
  • 'Underdog: A Military Contractor Spreads Its Wings,' Journal of Business Strategy, September 19, 1997.
  • Palmer, Jay, 'Raven Industries Enjoys Ballooning Business,' Barron's, August 17, 1992, p. 14.
  • 'Raven Industries,' Implement and Tractor, January 11, 1996.'Raven Industries Acquires Norcore Plastics, Tank & Technology,' Composite News, February 10, 1997.
  • 'Raven Industries Outlook,' Dow Jones News Service, August 12, 1983.'Raven Industries Sees Net Up Strongly in 4th Quarter,' Dow Jones News Service, November 25, 1983.
  • Slovak, Julianne, 'Raven Industries,' Fortune, May 21, 1990.
  • 'Raven Aerostar News,' http://ravenaerostar.com/news.
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