Raven Industries, Inc. is an American company that makes precision agriculture products and information management tools for growers. Before a series of acquisitions in 2021, it also had an Engineered Films segment that produced plastic films for various agricultural and industrial applications, as well as an Aerostar segment that designed and manufactured high-altitude balloons, tethered aerostats, and radar systems, and sold military parachutes, uniforms, and protective wear. The company was founded in 1956 and headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Its stock was traded on Nasdaq until 2021 when it was acquired by CNH Industrial. History Early years Raven Industries was established in 1956 by James Smith, Paul (Ed) Yost, Duwayne Thon, and Joseph Kaliszewski to build research balloons for the United States Navy. They had worked together under General Mills' aeronautical research division. The company produced polyethylene balloons for high altitudes, from 100,000 to 150,000 feet. It first operated out of the old hospital building at an abandoned World War II airbase. When the Manchester Biscuit Company closed down in 1961, Raven moved into the old Manchester building. 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 -diameter balloon a distance of three miles on 22 October 1960. In 1966, Raven added a new 30,000-square-foot facility in Sioux Falls near the airport. According to its website, the first unmanned airship in history to travel in the stratosphere under powered flight was launched and flown by Raven in 1970. By the 1980s, the company was selling over 200 balloons every year. Ballooning had become so popular that Raven created a subsidiary, Aerostar Industries, to concentrate on the production of balloons. Production of hot air balloons ceased in 2007 however due to the costs for liability insurance and a shrinking market. 21st century The U.S. military and other government agencies were among its clients, and besides the U.S. Department of Defense, Raven Industries had other big name customers such as Google. From 2012 to 2021, its Aerostar subsidiary partnered with Loon LLC, then a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., to develop high-altitude communications balloons. In 2019, the United States Southern Command commissioned surveillance tests using 25 Raven balloons across six midwest states. It was unclear whether the tests were connected