COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | NOTE 15 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Environmental Compliance and Remediation Liabilities The Company’s operations and products are subject to a variety of environmental laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates and sells products governing, among other things, air emissions, wastewater discharges, the use, handling and disposal of hazardous materials, soil and groundwater contamination, employee health and safety, and product content, performance and packaging. Certain environmental laws may impose the entire cost or a portion of the cost of investigating and cleaning up a contaminated site, regardless of fault, upon any one or more of a number of parties, including the current or previous owners or operators of the site. These environmental laws also impose liability on any person who arranges for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances at a contaminated site. Third parties may also make claims against owners or operators of sites and users of disposal sites for personal injuries and property damage associated with releases of hazardous substances from those sites. In connection with the Company’s restructuring initiatives, during the third quarter of 2012, the Company identified a liability associated with the planned sale of the Cicero Avenue Facility. The liability is associated with environmental remediation costs that were identified while preparing the site for sale. During 2013, the Company applied for and was accepted into the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“IEPA”) voluntary site remediation program. In the first quarter of 2014, the Company completed a comprehensive review of remedial options for the Cicero Avenue Facility and selected a preferred remediation technology. As part of the voluntary site remediation program, the Company submitted a plan to the IEPA for approval to conduct a pilot study to test the effectiveness of the selected remediation technology. On July 23, 2014, the Company received comments from the IEPA regarding the proposed site remediation plan. The Company provided additional information to the IEPA in response to those comments, and determined that no change to the remediation plan or the financial reserve was needed at that time. In the third quarter of 2015, the Company obtained additional information regarding potential remediation options and modified the remediation plan, which caused an increase in the estimated cost of remediation and resulted in the Company increasing its reserve associated with this matter by $874 . The Company is currently reviewing these options and will continue to reevaluate its remediation activities and the reserve balance associated with this matter as additional information is obtained. As of March 31, 2016, the accrual balance associated with this matter totaled $1,300 . Warranty Liability The Company provides warranty terms that range from one to five years for various products supplied by the Company. In certain contracts, the Company has recourse provisions for items that would enable recovery from third parties for amounts paid to customers under warranty provisions. As of March 31, 2016 and 2015, estimated product warranty liability was $582 and $635 , respectively, and is recorded within accrued liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. The changes in the carrying amount of the Company’s total product warranty liability for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 were as follows: For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 2015 Balance, beginning of period $ $ Addition to (reduction of) warranty reserve — Warranty claims Balance, end of period $ $ Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Based upon past experience and judgment, the Company establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts with respect to accounts receivable. The Company’s standard allowance estimation methodology considers a number of factors that, based on its collections experience, the Company believes will have an impact on its credit risk and the collectability of its accounts receivable. These factors include individual customer circumstances, history with the Company, the length of the time period during which the account receivable has been past due and other relevant criteria. The Company monitors its collections and write-off experience to assess whether or not adjustments to its allowance estimates are necessary. Changes in trends in any of the factors that the Company believes may impact the collectability of its accounts receivable, as noted above, or modifications to its credit standards, collection practices and other related policies may impact the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts and its financial results. The activity in the accounts receivable allowance liability for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 consisted of the following: For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 2015 Balance at beginning of period $ $ Bad debt expense Balance at end of period $ $ Collateral In select instances, the Company has pledged specific inventory and machinery and equipment assets to serve as collateral on related payable or financing obligations. Liquidated Damages In certain customer contracts, the Company has agreed to pay liquidated damages in the event of qualifying delivery or production delays. These damages are typically limited to a specific percentage of the value of the product in question and/or are dependent on actual losses sustained by the customer. The Company does not believe that this potential exposure will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. There was $379 reserved for liquidated damages as of March 31, 2016. Workers’ Compensation Reserves At the beginning of the third quarter of 2013, the Company began to self-insure for its workers’ compensation liabilities, including reserves for self-retained losses. Historical loss experience combined with actuarial evaluation methods and the application of risk transfer programs are used to determine required workers’ compensation reserves. The Company takes into account claims incurred but not reported when determining its workers’ compensation reserves. Although the ultimate outcome of these matters may exceed the amounts recorded and additional losses may be incurred, the Company does not believe that any additional potential exposure for such liabilities will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. As of March 31, 2016, the Company had $1,537 accrued for self-insured workers’ compensation liabilities. Other As of December 31, 2015, approximately 14% of the Company’s employees were covered by two collective bargaining agreements with local unions at Brad Foote’s Cicero, Illinois and Neville Island, Pennsylvania locations. The current collective bargaining agreement with the Cicero union is expected to remain in effect through February 2018. The current collective bargaining agreement with the Neville Island union is expected to remain in effect through October 2017. See Note 16, “New Markets Tax Credit Transaction” of these consolidated financial statements for a discussion of a strategic financing transaction (the “NMTC Transaction”) which originally related to the Company’s drivetrain service center in Abilene, Texas (the “Abilene Gearbox Facility”), and was amended in August 2015 to also include the activities of the Company’s heavy industries business conducted in the same building in Abilene, Texas (the “Abilene Heavy Industries Facility”). The Abilene Gearbox Facility focused on servicing the growing installed base of MW wind turbines as they come off warranty and, to a limited extent, industrial gearboxes requiring precision repair and testing. The Abilene Heavy Industries Facility focuses on heavy weldment fabrication for industries including those related to compressed natural gas distribution. Pursuant to the NMTC Transaction, the gross loan and investment in the Abilene Heavy Industries Facility and the Abilene Gearbox Facility of $10,000 is expected to generate $3,900 in tax credits over a period of seven years, which the NMTC Transaction makes available to Capital One, National Association (“Capital One”). The Abilene Heavy Industries Facility and the Abilene Gearbox Facility must operate and remain in compliance with the terms and conditions of the NMTC Transaction during the seven -year compliance period, or the Company may be liable for the recapture of $3,900 in tax credits to which Capital One is otherwise entitled. The Company does not anticipate any credit recaptures will be required in connection with the NMTC Transaction. |