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Aerostar International
1814 "F" Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
Tel:
(605) 331-3500
Fax: (605) 331-3520
E-mail: sales@aerostar.com
© 2006
Aerostar International
All Rights Reserved
In association with:
BFA, BBAC, NACDA,
IFAI, PIA, IAAPA & IFEA
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All About Aerostar
International |
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On
February 1, 1986 Aerostar was born
as
a wholly owned subsidiary of
Raven Industries.
We are much older than our 1986 birthday would indicate.
Our company history
and manufacturing started with our
parent company, Raven Industries.
Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
Raven Industries was formed in 1956
by
a small group of aeronautical researchers
who had all
been
working for a division of General Mills
dedicated to the
scientific balloon business.
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USS Valley Forge Launch
January 1960 |
The
primary purpose of the new company
was to supply plastic
products to the
agricultural market.
The fascination and passion of ballooning
compelled the founders to keep alive a
second
purpose of entering into the
scientific balloon
industry utilizing
the imagination and innovation
by which they would come to be defined.
Initially, Raven Industries’ balloon business
consisted of offering a free research
balloon to the US Navy on a trial basis. |
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That wild shot struck its mark and Raven Industries
found itself producing a line
of polyethylene high-altitude
balloons used for research in the
near space environment
of 100,000 to 150,000 foot altitudes.
Such high altitude balloons with
capsules carrying mice, monkeys and
even cosmic ray measuring devices
served as a key proving ground for
establishing man’s compatibility in space. |
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From
that beginning, the Scientific Ballooning
Division diversified from hot air balloons
and high altitude scientific balloons
into the advertising inflatables
and military decoys.
At the same time Raven Industries was
diversifying
into other markets, Flow Controls,
Engineered Films,
Electronics and Sportswear.
The Sportswear Division (a contract sewing
business)
would eventually be combined
with Aerostar
International in 2001
due to its manufacturing
similarities (high tech
sewing and sealing).
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Today, Aerostar remains a wholly owned subsidiary of
Raven Industries, Inc.
and is an independently operated
division specializing in government
and military business as well as
traditional balloons and inflatables.
With Aerostar’s formation in 1986, the
Aerostar mission was to carry on the
pioneering work Raven had done in the
field of hot air ballooning, helium parade
balloons and advertising inflatables.
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In
2001, Raven transferred the Sportswear
Division
to Aerostar with the intent of
re-aligning products
away from their
traditional commercial
outerwear to
sustainable U.S. manufactured products.
Aerostar re-entered military parachute
manufacturing –
an area that Raven had
played a major role in up
to the late ‘80s.
Aerostar has drawn from the great capabilities
the
Sportswear Division had developed in
automation
and high speed manufacturing and
applied it
along with their long history of high
quality aircraft
manufacturing to become an
industry leader in
high speed
parachute manufacturing.
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Additionally, Aerostar has also taken its
apparel
manufacturing expertise to a new
level moving
into extremely technical
survival and safety gear.
Aerostar has become the U.S. manufacturer
of Multifabs
Anti-exposure survival suits.
These suits, designed by Multifabs of
Scotland are
the premier suits to
protect military pilots and others
who risk exposure to cold water, keeping them dry
and alive until a rescue can be made.
These suits utilize materials from W. L. Gore.
The Gore/Raven/Aerostar relationship
represents one of
the longest continuous relationships
for each company. Aerostar
has also worked
with W.L. Gore to develop
new bio-chem
protective wear for military,
law enforcement and first responders.
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2004 marked reuniting Aerostar with the
Sulphur Springs scientific high altitude
research
balloon manufacturing segment
of Raven.
This joining together of two
very strong
engineering teams to makes
Aerostar
the premiere company in the world,
going
forward with new developments in the
“near space“ environment.
As Aerostar’s aerospace group moves
forward on
developing tactical high altitude
airships and
free floating balloon systems,
an entirely
new arena is emerging in communications,
data and intelligence for applications ranging
from battlefield
commanders to disaster response. |
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