Raven Industries (RAVN)

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

Mario Ricchio

www.zacks.com

Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Raven Industries (RAVN) is an industrial manufacturer providing a variety of products to customers in the industrial, construction, and military/aerospace markets. While North America comprises the majority of its sales, international sales totaled 8.7% of consolidated sales in FY07. The company operates through four business segments: Engineered Films, Flow Controls, Electronic Systems, and Aerostar. The Engineered Films segment (generated 42% of FY07 reportable segment sales) produces rugged reinforcement plastic sheeting for industrial, construction, manufactured housing, and agricultural applications. The Flow Controls segment (21%) provides electronic and Global Positioning System products to the precision agriculture and marine navigation markets. The Electronics Systems (ESD) segment (30%) provides electronics manufacturing services (EMS) for commercial customers with a focus on high-mix, low volume production. Since its operations are domestic, whereas some competitors relocated overseas with lower costs, RAVN focuses on valued-added services rather than commodity-based services that tend to be price sensitive. The Aerostar subsidiary (7%) manufactures military parachutes, government service uniforms, custom-shaped inflatable products, and high-altitude balloons for public and commercial research to public agencies, such as the NASA. The company states it is the only balloon supplier for high-altitude research in the U.S.

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