Sioux Steel Wins $12 Million From Rival on Grain-Bin Sweep Tech

Prairie Land Millwright Services Inc. owes Sioux Steel Co. $11.8 million for infringing a farming-equipment patent, an Illinois federal jury ruled.

Sioux Steel—a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer of grain systems and other products based in Sioux Falls, S.D.—sued Mendota, Ill.-based Prairie Land in February 2016.

It accused Prairie Land’s Bin Gator products—paddle sweeps that can pivot along their length—of infringing its patent.

Jurors found the infringement was intentional, according to a minutes entry docketed Thursday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, giving the court the option to increase the award by as much as three ...