Property, Plant, and Equipment and Assets Held for Sale

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Property, Plant, and Equipment and Assets Held for Sale

Property, Plant, and Equipment and Assets Held for Sale

Note 8 — Property, Plant, and Equipment and Assets Held for Sale

Property and equipment, net, consist of the following:

	December 31,
	2018		2017		Average Useful Life
	(in thousands)
Land	$	5,669	$	5,669	N/A
Building and improvements		61,124		54,449	10 – 40 years
Machinery and equipment (1)		128,385		126,829	3 – 10 years
Leasehold improvements		9,033		10,073	3 – 7 years
Gross property, plant, and equipment		204,211		197,020
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		123,927		111,962
Net property, plant, and equipment	$	80,284	$	85,058

(1) Machinery and equipment also includes software, furniture, and fixtures

Depreciation expense was $17.6 million, $14.6 million, and $13.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. During 2016, the Company decided to reduce future investments in certain technologies and, as a result, recorded an impairment charge of $3.3 million of property, plant, and equipment.

As part of the Company’s efforts to reduce costs, enhance efficiency, and streamline operations, the Company removed certain lab equipment that is no longer required and recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $6.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. Additionally, as part of that initiative, the Company listed its two facilities in South Korea for sale. When each facility was reclassified as held for sale, the Company determined that the carrying values of the buildings exceeded their fair market values, less cost to sell, and recorded net impairment charges of $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. Both facilities were sold before the end of 2016 at prices that approximated the revised carrying values.

Finally, during the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1.2 million related to an owned property in St. Paul, Minnesota. The property was sold during 2017, resulting in an additional impairment charge of $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017.There were no assets held for sale as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. All impairment charges were recorded in “Asset impairment” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.