J&M Industries, Inc., a custom tarp and cover manufacturer, announced today its success in patent litigation against rival Raven Industries, Inc. (Raven). The Company obtained a permanent injunction on Dec. 6, 2021, against Raven, preventing further infringing actions regarding the Company’s patented CoverGuard® Internal Strapping System used for temporary grain storage. Raven was also required to pay damages for previous infringing actions. Consequently, Raven had to rapidly develop alternative and non-infringing methods of securing their temporary grain storage covers without the advantage of long-term multi-year field testing.
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary JMI Covers, L.L.C., the Company entered the temporary grain storage cover market over 10 years ago, establishing a reputation for innovating and developing a multitude of products providing quality, safety, and environmental improvements beyond the patented CoverGuard® Internal Strapping System. The removable internal straps are designed for multi-year use, providing additional savings to customers and making used grain covers easier to recycle or repurpose. JMI Covers, L.L.C. was the first to offer disposal services to customers on a large scale, providing recycling or alternative use of customers’ used grain covers (avoiding their disposal in landfills). In the current environmentally conscious world, the quality woven coated North American sourced fabric, predominantly used by JMI Covers, L.L.C. to manufacture temporary grain covers, has proven to be easier to recycle or repurpose than the string reinforced fabric used overwhelmingly by certain competitors. JMI Covers, L.L.C., a family-owned Company in its 50th year of operations, proudly manufactures its temporary grain covers in the U.S. The issue of who owns and manages this grain cover supplier in the future will never be an area of concern as both second and third-generation family members are involved in the business.
