Goodwill & Other Intangibles - Gross carrying amount and related accumulated amortization of definite-lived intangible assets (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jan. 31, 2015	Jan. 31, 2014	Jan. 31, 2013
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amount	$ 26,655	$ 14,225	$ 13,500
Accumulated Amortization	(8,165)	(6,069)	(4,819)
Net	18,490us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsNet	8,156us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsNet	8,681us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsNet
Existing Technology [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amount	8,870	7,840	7,500
Accumulated Amortization	(5,239)	(4,164)	(3,375)
Net	3,631	3,676	4,125
Customer Relationships [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amount	14,128	3,494	3,494
Accumulated Amortization	(1,271)	(525)	(300)
Net	12,857	2,969	3,194
Other Intangibles [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amount	3,657	2,891	2,506
Accumulated Amortization	(1,655)	(1,380)	(1,144)
Net	$ 2,002	$ 1,511	$ 1,362

Accumulated amount of amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 350

-SubTopic 30

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (a)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16323-109275

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAccumulatedAmortization
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount before amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsGross
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount after amortization of assets, excluding financial assets and goodwill, lacking physical substance with a finite life.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=ravn_ExistingTechnologyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_CustomerRelationshipsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis=us-gaap_OtherIntangibleAssetsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: