15.	Commitments

In January 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with one of the Company’s existing suppliers to purchase from the supplier at least 70 percent of the annual kaolin requirements for the Eufaula plant at specified contract prices. The term of the agreement was three years, with options to extend for an additional six years. In May 2012, the agreement was amended to require the Company to purchase from the supplier at least 50 percent of the annual kaolin requirements for the Eufaula, Alabama plant at specified contract prices for the remainder of 2012 and the ensuing five calendar years. The agreement has options to extend the term for an additional three years. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company purchased from the supplier $968, $2,380 and $2,263, respectively, of kaolin under the agreement.

In January 2003, the Company entered into a mining agreement with a contractor to provide kaolin for the Company’s McIntyre plant at specified contract prices, from lands owned or leased by either the Company or the contractor. The term of the agreement, which commenced on January 1, 2003, and remains in effect until such time as all Company-owned minerals have been depleted, previously required the Company to accept delivery from the contractor of at least 80 percent of the McIntyre plant’s annual kaolin requirements. In 2006, the Company’s plant in Toomsboro, Georgia commenced operations and became part of this agreement. In November 2015, the agreement was amended to require the Company to accept delivery from the contractor of 100 percent of the annual kaolin requirements for the plants in McIntyre and Toomsboro. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company purchased $1,196, $3,245 and $14,823, respectively, of kaolin under the agreement.

In July 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with a supplier to provide hydro sized sand for the Company’s Marshfield, Wisconsin plant at a specified contract price. The term of the agreement was five years commencing on July 30, 2011 and required the Company to purchase a minimum of 40,000 tons and 100,000 tons of hydro sized sand during 2011 and 2012, respectively. Effective January 30, 2012, the agreement was amended and requires the Company to purchase a minimum of 150,000 tons of hydro sized sand annually during 2012 and 2013 and a minimum of 350,000 tons of hydro sized sand in 2014, all at a stated contract price. There were no purchase commitments required during 2015 or through the end of the agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company purchased $0, $3,997, and $6,922, respectively, of sand under this agreement.

In May 2012, the Company entered into a supply agreement with a contractor to provide kaolin for the Company’s manufacturing plant in Millen, Georgia at specified contract prices, from lands owned or leased by either the Company or the contractor. The term of the agreement, which commenced in July 2014, has an initial term of five years with options to extend for an additional five years and requires the Company to accept delivery from the contractor of at least 50 percent of the Millen plant’s annual kaolin requirements. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company purchased $0, $561 and $1,465, respectively, of kaolin under this agreement.

In October 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with a supplier to mine kaolin and process into a slurry for the Company’s manufacturing plant in Millen, Georgia at specified contract prices. The term of the agreement was five years with automatic two (2) year extensions and requires the Company to source at least 50 percent of the Millen plant’s annual slurry requirement from the supplier. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company purchased $0, $1,300 and $577, respectively, of slurry under this agreement.

In November 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with a supplier to provide frac sand for the Company’s Marshfield, Wisconsin plant at a specified contract price. The term of the agreement, which commenced on November 13, 2014, remains in effect until the specified sand is depleted and required the Company to purchase a minimum of 300,000 tons of frac sand during 2015 and 400,000 tons of frac sand for each year thereafter. Effective October 12, 2015, the Company entered into a Letter Agreement with the supplier resulting in the adjustment of required annual minimum purchased tons of frac sand to 123,203 and 116,599 for years 2015 and 2016, respectively. On July 21, 2016, the Company entered into a Letter Agreement with the supplier which removed the required annual minimum purchased tons of frac sand for 2016. The minimum frac sand purchase requirements of 400,000 tons for years 2017 and thereafter until the specified sand is depleted remains unchanged. For the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company purchased $252 and $1,751, respectively, of frac sand under this agreement.

The Company has entered into a lease agreement dated November 1, 2008 with the Development Authority of Wilkinson County (the “Wilkinson County Development Authority”) and a lease agreement dated November 1, 2012 with the Development Authority of Jenkins County (the “Jenkins County Development Authority” and together with the Wilkinson County Development Authority, the “Development Authorities”) each in the State of Georgia. Pursuant to the 2008 agreement, the Wilkinson County Development Authority holds the title to the real and personal property of the Company's McIntyre and Toomsboro manufacturing facilities and leases the facilities to the Company for an annual rental fee of $50 per year through November 1, 2017, and includes a Company renewal option to extend through November 1, 2021. Pursuant to the 2012 agreement, the Jenkins County Development Authority holds title to the real estate and personal property of the Company’s Millen, Georgia manufacturing facility, and leases the facility to the Company until the tenth anniversary of completion of the final phase of the facility. At any time prior to the scheduled termination of either lease, the Company has the option to terminate the lease and purchase the property for a nominal fee plus the payment of any rent payable through the balance of the lease term. Furthermore, the Company has security interests in the titles held by the Development Authorities. The Company has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (the “MOU”) with the Development Authorities and other local agencies, under which the Company receives tax incentives in exchange for its commitment to invest in the county and increase employment. The MOU with the Jenkins County Development Authority also requires the Company to pay an administrative payment of $50 per year during the term of the Millen lease. The Company is required to achieve certain employment levels in order to retain its tax incentives. In the event the Company does not meet the agreed-upon employment targets or the MOU is otherwise terminated, the Company would be subjected to additional property taxes annually. Based on adverse economic conditions beyond the Company’s control that negatively impacted employment levels, a notice dated December 1, 2015 sent by the Company to the Development Authority of Jenkins County declared a force majeure, which suspended employment levels defined in the original agreement and preserved tax incentives until further notification of the restart of plant operations. The suspension period defined in the amended agreement cannot extend beyond January 1, 2021. Based on adverse economic conditions beyond the Company’s control that negatively impacted employment levels, a notice dated February 1, 2016 sent by the Company to the Development Authority of Wilkinson County declared a force majeure, which suspended employment levels defined in the original agreement and preserved tax incentives until further notification of the restart of plant operations. The Development Authority of Jenkins County and the Development Authority of Wilkinson County has not challenged the Company’s declaring a force majeure. The properties subject to these lease agreements are included in Property, Plant and Equipment (net book value of $289,154 at December 31, 2016) in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.