Raven Industries Triples Geomembrane Production Capacity in Midland, Texas

Raven Industries Inc. announced Mar. 1 that its Engineered Films division, which manufactures geomembrane containment liners, has tripled production capacity at its Midland, Texas, facility. Raven geomembranes are used to line frac pits, secondary containment systems, reserve ponds, and rig-site pad liners employed during the drilling process in the Permian Basin and other shale plays across the country. These products play a significant role in protecting the environment by preventing the escape of brine-produced water and other drilling fluids into the surrounding soils and water reserves.

“This [increase in production capacity] allowed us to strategically prepare to meet the growing needs of the industry,” said Anthony Schmidt, vice president and general manager of Raven Engineered Films.

As part of the expansion process, new 146-inch wide-width raw materials, produced on the company’s advanced extrusion-lamination line in Sioux Falls, S.D., will be further processed at the Midland plant into finished containment systems. At the Midland plant, Raven has added shifts by doubling the workforce and extended production to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.