The History of Design Tanks; Innovation, Progress, and Tradition

Back in 1956, Raven started building high-altitude helium-filled research balloons. Shortly after, hot air balloons gained popularity in the private sector and a new division was spun off from the commercial and government helium side. However, the baskets for the hot air balloons were made from wicker which is heavy and expensive to manufacture.

For a cost-effective option, Raven experimented with fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) products and fabricated many round baskets in a variety of diameters. Since FRP has excellent resistance to electricity (power lines) but poor shock loading for landings, Raven discontinued the program.

With the plant situated in a rural setting, the community saw the resulting products as excellent containers for agricultural products. Thus, the Plastics Division of Raven was created. Along the way, Raven expanded their product line by adding polyethylene and dual laminate tanks.

Fast forward to the end of August 2000, Raven sold the FRP division and Design Tanks was born with the same tradition of building high-quality custom-engineered FRP tanks. Since 2000, Design Tanks has invested heavily in automation to reduce overall costs and increase consistency for each tank fabricated.

As of 2016 Design Tanks is manufacturing fiberglass-reinforced plastic tanks at the fastest rate yet. Automation and technological advancements allow Design Tanks to continue making tanks with the utmost quality at an affordable rate to end users. Innovation, progress, and success will continue to be a part of the tradition at Design Tanks.