Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis Of Presentation And Use Of Estimates [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Certain of our accounts, including contingent consideration, inventories, long-lived assets, goodwill, identifiable intangibles and deferred tax assets and liabilities, including related valuation allowances, are particularly impacted by estimates.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations, and changes in cash flows for the interim periods presented. Certain footnote information has been condensed or omitted from these consolidated financial statements. Therefore, these consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “2022 Form 10-K”) filed on March 22, 2023 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 

Reclassification, Comparability Adjustment [Policy Text Block]

Reclassification

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to be comparable with the current period's presentation. 

Subsequent Events, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Subsequent Events

We have made an assessment of our operations and determined that there were no material subsequent events requiring adjustment to, or disclosure in, our consolidated financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

Business Combinations Policy [Policy Text Block]

Business Combinations

Acquired businesses are accounted for using the purchase method of accounting, which requires that the purchase price be allocated to the net assets acquired at their respective fair values. Any excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Fair values of intangible assets are estimated by valuation models prepared by our management and third-party advisors. The assets purchased and liabilities assumed have been reflected in our consolidated balance sheets, and the operating results are included in the consolidated statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows from the date of acquisition. Any change in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration subsequent to the acquisition date, including changes from events after the acquisition date, will be recognized in the consolidated statement of operations in the period of the estimated fair value change. Acquisition-related transaction costs, including legal and accounting fees and other external costs directly related to the acquisition, are recognized separately from the acquisition and expensed as incurred in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Short-term investments that have maturities of three months or less when purchased are considered to be cash equivalents and are carried at cost, which approximates fair value. Our cash balances, which are deposited with highly reputable financial institutions, at times may exceed the federally insured limits. We have not experienced any losses related to these cash balances and believe the credit risk to be minimal.

Restricted cash at December 31, 2022 represented amounts deposited at our bank in the Netherlands to support a bank guarantee which one of the customers of our Process Technologies segment required as a condition of paying a deposit on a large order they placed with us in 2022. The related order was Euro denominated. The amount of the deposit and related guarantee declined as shipments were made against the order. At September 30, 2023 this deposit had been fully utilized and the bank guarantee had therefore lapsed. At December 31, 2022, the amount of the deposit, and, accordingly, the guarantee, was EUR 1,067, or $1,142.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets and the consolidated statements of cash flows:

	September 30, 2023		December 31, 2022
Cash and cash equivalents	$	41,685	$	13,434
Restricted cash		-		1,142
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	41,685	$	14,576

Receivable [Policy Text Block]

Trade Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses

Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. We grant credit to customers and generally require no collateral. To minimize our risk, we perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers' financial condition. As discussed below under “Effect of Recently Adopted Amendments to Authoritative Accounting Guidance”, effective January 1, 2023, we follow the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 326 (Financial Instruments – Credit Losses) in developing our estimate of the allowance for credit losses related to our accounts receivable. The allowance for credit losses is our best estimate of the amount of expected credit losses in our existing accounts receivable. In establishing the amount of allowance for credit losses, we consider all information available as of the reporting date including information related to past events, such as historical loss rates and actual incurred losses, as well as current conditions that may indicate future risk of loss and any other factors of which we are aware, that we believe could impact the ultimate collectability of the related receivables in future periods.

Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. We do not have any significant off-balance sheet credit exposure related to our customers. Cash flows from accounts receivable are recorded in operating cash flows.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2023, there were no significant changes in the amount of the allowance for credit losses. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, we recorded a bad debt recovery of $79. This amount had been fully written off prior to our acquisition of Acculogic and was no longer in our accounts receivable balance. There was no bad debt expense or recovery recorded during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Our financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, our credit facility, interest rate swaps and our liabilities for contingent consideration. Our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses are carried at cost which approximates fair value, due to the short maturities of the accounts. Our short-term investments are classified as held-to-maturity and carried at amortized cost. Our credit facility and our interest rate swap are discussed further below and in Note 9. Our liabilities for contingent consideration are accounted for in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 820 (Fair Value Measurement). ASC Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for instruments measured at fair value that distinguishes between assumptions based on market data (observable inputs) and our own assumptions (unobservable inputs). Our contingent consideration liabilities are measured at fair value on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs which are inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. These unobservable inputs reflect our assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability and are developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. See Note 3 for further disclosures related to the fair value of our liabilities for contingent consideration.

Goodwill Intangible And Long Lived Assets [Policy Text Block]

Goodwill, Intangible and Long-Lived Assets

We have three reportable segments which are also our reporting units: Electronic Test, Environmental Technologies and Process Technologies.

We account for goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with ASC Topic 350 (Intangibles - Goodwill and Other). Finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful economic life and are carried at cost less accumulated amortization. Goodwill is assessed for impairment annually at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a reporting unit basis, or more frequently when events and circumstances occur indicating that the recorded goodwill may be impaired. Goodwill is considered to be impaired if the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. As a part of the goodwill impairment assessment, we have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, as a result of our qualitative assessment, we determine that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount, a quantitative goodwill impairment test is not required. However, if, as a result of our qualitative assessment, we determine it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, or, if we choose not to perform a qualitative assessment, we are required to perform a quantitative goodwill impairment test to identify potential goodwill impairment and measure the amount of goodwill impairment loss to be recognized. 

The quantitative goodwill impairment test compares the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is considered not impaired. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss will be recognized in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The goodwill impairment assessment is based upon the income approach, which estimates the fair value of our reporting units based upon a discounted cash flow approach. This fair value is then reconciled to our market capitalization at year end with an appropriate control premium. The determination of the fair value of our reporting units requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions including the selection of control premiums, discount rates, terminal growth rates, forecasts of revenue and expense growth rates, income tax rates, changes in working capital, depreciation, amortization and capital expenditures. Changes in assumptions concerning future financial results or other underlying assumptions could have a significant impact on either the fair value of the reporting unit or the amount of the goodwill impairment charge.

Indefinite-lived intangible assets are assessed for impairment annually at the beginning of the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. As a part of the impairment assessment, we have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If, as a result of our qualitative assessment, we determine that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is required; otherwise, no further testing is required. The quantitative impairment test consists of a comparison of the fair value of the intangible asset with its carrying amount. If the carrying amount of the intangible asset exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

Long-lived assets, which consist of finite-lived intangible assets, property and equipment and right-of-use (“ROU”) assets, are assessed for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable or that the useful lives of these assets are no longer appropriate. Each impairment test is based on a comparison of the estimated undiscounted cash flows to the recorded value of the asset group. If impairment is indicated, the asset group is written down to its estimated fair value. The cash flow estimates used to determine the impairment, if any, contain management's best estimates using appropriate assumptions and projections at that time. 

Revenue [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 606 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers). We recognize revenue for the sale of products or services when our performance obligations under the terms of a contract with a customer are satisfied and control of the product or service has been transferred to the customer. Generally, this occurs when we ship a product or perform a service. In certain cases, recognition of revenue is deferred until the product is received by the customer or at some other point in the future when we have determined that we have satisfied our performance obligations under the contract. Our contracts with customers may include a combination of products and services, which are generally capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. In addition to the sale of products and services, we also lease certain of our equipment to customers under short-term lease agreements. We recognize revenue from equipment leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Revenue is recorded in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those products or services. We do not have any material variable consideration arrangements, or any material payment terms with our customers other than standard payment terms which generally range from net 30 to net 90 days. We generally do not provide a right of return to our customers. Revenue is recognized net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities.

Nature of Products and Services

We are a global supplier of innovative test and process technology solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in targeted markets including automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, security and semiconductor. We sell thermal management products including ThermoStreams, ThermoChambers, process chillers, refrigerators and freezers, which we sell under our Temptronic, Sigma, Thermonics and North Sciences product lines, and Ambrell Corporation’s (“Ambrell”) precision induction heating systems, including EKOHEAT® and EASYHEAT^TM products. As a result of the acquisition of Videology, we sell industrial-grade circuit board mounted video digital cameras and related devices, systems and software. We sell semiconductor ATE interface solutions which include manipulators, docking hardware and electrical interface products. As a result of the acquisition of Acculogic, we sell robotics-based electronic production test equipment. We provide post-warranty service and support for the equipment we sell. We sell semiconductor ATE interface solutions and certain thermal management products to the semi market. We also sell many of our products to various other markets including the automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences and security markets.

We lease certain of our equipment under short-term leasing agreements with original lease terms of six months or less. Our lease agreements do not contain purchase options.

Types of Contracts with Customers

Our contracts with customers are generally structured as individual purchase orders which specify the exact products or services being sold or equipment being leased along with the selling price, service fee or monthly lease amount for each individual item on the purchase order. Payment terms and any other customer-specific acceptance criteria are also specified on the purchase order. We generally do not have any customer-specific acceptance criteria, other than that the product performs within the agreed upon specifications. We test substantially all products manufactured as part of our quality assurance process to determine that they comply with specifications prior to shipment to a customer.

Contract Balances

We record accounts receivable at the time of invoicing. Accounts receivable, net of the allowance for credit losses, is included in current assets on our balance sheet. To the extent that we do not recognize revenue at the same time as we invoice, we record a liability for deferred revenue. In certain instances, we also receive customer deposits in advance of invoicing and recording of accounts receivable. Deferred revenue and customer deposits are included in current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets.

As discussed above, we follow the guidance in ASC Topic 326 in developing our estimate of the allowance for credit losses related to our accounts receivable. The allowance for credit losses is our best estimate of the amount of expected credit losses in our existing accounts receivable. We monitor the collectability of accounts receivable on an ongoing basis and record charges for bad debt expense in the period when we determine that a loss is expected to occur based on our assessment.

Costs to Obtain a Contract with a Customer

The only costs we incur associated with obtaining contracts with customers are sales commissions that we pay to our internal sales personnel or third-party sales representatives. These costs are calculated based on set percentages of the selling price of each product or service sold. Commissions are considered earned by our internal sales personnel at the time we recognize revenue for a particular transaction. Commissions are considered earned by third-party sales representatives at the time that revenue is recognized for a particular transaction. We record commission expense in our consolidated statements of operations at the time the commission is earned. Commissions earned but not yet paid are included in current liabilities on our balance sheets.

Product Warranties

In connection with the sale of our products, we generally provide standard one- or two-year product warranties which are detailed in our terms and conditions and communicated to our customers. Our standard warranties are not offered for sale separately from our products; therefore, there is not a separate performance obligation related to our standard warranties. We record estimated warranty expense for our standard warranties at the time of sale based upon historical claims experience. We offer customers an option to separately purchase an extended warranty on certain products. In the case of extended warranties, we recognize revenue in the amount of the sale price for the extended warranty on a straight-line basis over the extended warranty period. We record costs incurred to provide service under an extended warranty at the time the service is provided. Warranty expense is included in selling expense in our consolidated statements of operations.

See Notes 5 and 13 for further information about our revenue from contracts with customers.

Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Inventories

Inventories are valued at cost on a first-in, first-out basis, not in excess of net realizable value. Cash flows from the sale of inventories are recorded in operating cash flows. On a quarterly basis, we review our inventories and record excess and obsolete inventory charges based upon our established objective excess and obsolete inventory criteria. Our criteria identify excess material as the quantity of material on hand that is greater than the average annual usage of that material over the prior three years. Our criteria identify obsolete material as material that has not been used in a work order during the prior twenty-four months. In certain cases, additional excess and obsolete inventory charges are recorded based upon current market conditions, anticipated product life cycles, new product introductions and expected future use of the inventory. The excess and obsolete inventory charges we record establish a new cost basis for the related inventories.

Lessee, Leases [Policy Text Block]

Leases

We account for leases in accordance with ASC Topic 842 (Leases). We determine if an arrangement is a lease at inception. A lease contract is within scope if the contract has an identified asset (property, plant or equipment) and grants the lessee the right to control the use of the asset during the lease term. The identified asset may be either explicitly or implicitly specified in the contract. In addition, the supplier must not have any practical ability to substitute a different asset and would not economically benefit from doing so for the lease contract to be in scope. The lessee’s right to control the use of the asset during the term of the lease must include the ability to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of the asset as well as decision-making authority over how the asset will be used. Leases are classified as either operating leases or finance leases based on the guidance in ASC Topic 842. Operating leases are included in operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets. Finance leases are included in property and equipment and financing lease liabilities. We do not currently have any financing leases.

ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. None of our leases provide an implicit rate; therefore, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease. We include these options in the determination of the amount of the ROU asset and lease liability when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Certain of our operating leases contain predetermined fixed escalations of minimum rentals and rent holidays during the original lease terms. Rent holidays are periods during which we have control of the leased facility but are not obligated to pay rent. For these leases, our ROU asset and lease liability are calculated including any rent holiday in the determination of the life of the lease.

We have lease agreements which contain both lease and non-lease components, which are generally accounted for separately. In addition to the monthly rental payments due, most of our leases for our offices and warehouse facilities include non-lease components representing our portion of the common area maintenance, property taxes and insurance charges incurred by the landlord for the facilities which we occupy. These amounts are not included in the calculation of the ROU assets and lease liabilities as they are based on actual charges incurred in the periods to which they apply.

Operating lease payments are included in cash outflows from operating activities on our consolidated statements of cash flows. Amortization of ROU assets is presented separately from the change in operating lease liabilities and is included in Depreciation and Amortization on our consolidated statements of cash flows.

We have made an accounting policy election not to apply the recognition requirements of ASC Topic 842 to short-term leases (leases with a term of one year or less at the commencement date of the lease). Lease expense for short-term lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

See Note 8 for further disclosures regarding our leases.

Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Interest Rate Swap Agreement

We are exposed to interest rate risk on our floating-rate debt. We have entered into an interest rate swap agreement to effectively convert our floating-rate debt to a fixed-rate basis for a portion of our floating rate debt, as discussed further in Notes 3 and 9. The principal objective of this agreement is to eliminate the variability of the cash flows for interest payments associated with our floating-rate debt, thus reducing the impact of interest rate changes on future interest payment cash flows. We have elected to apply the hedge accounting rules in accordance with ASC Topic 815 (Derivatives and Hedging). Further, we have determined that this agreement qualifies for the shortcut method of hedge accounting. Changes in the fair value of interest rate swap agreements designated as cash flow hedges are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss) within stockholders’ equity and are amortized to interest expense over the term of the related debt. 

Contingent Liability, Repayment of State and Local Grant Funds Received, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Contingent Liability for Repayment of State and Local Grant Funds Received

In connection with leasing a facility in Rochester, New York, which our subsidiary, Ambrell, occupied in May 2018, we entered into agreements with the city of Rochester and the state of New York under which we received grants totaling $550 to help offset a portion of the cost of the leasehold improvements we made to this facility. The final payment of $87 was received during the three months ended March 31, 2022. In exchange for the funds we received under these agreements, we are required to create and maintain specified levels of employment in this location through various dates ending in 2024. If we fail to meet these employment targets, we may be required to repay a proportionate share of the proceeds. At September 30, 2023, $193 of the total proceeds received could still be required to be repaid if we do not meet the targets. We have recorded this amount as a contingent liability which is included in other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet. Those portions of the proceeds which are no longer subject to repayment are reclassified to deferred grant proceeds and amortized to income on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease term for the Rochester facility. Deferred grant proceeds are included in other current liabilities and other liabilities on our balance sheet and totaled $259 at September 30, 2023. At September 30, 2023, we were in compliance with the employment targets as specified in the grant agreement with the city of Rochester. 

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Policy Text Block]

Stock-Based Compensation

We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC Topic 718 (Compensation - Stock Compensation) which requires that employee share-based equity awards be accounted for under the fair value method and requires the use of an option pricing model for estimating fair value of stock options, which is then amortized to expense over the service periods. See further disclosures related to our stock-based compensation plans in Note 10.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes

The asset and liability method is used in accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for operating loss and tax credit carryforwards and for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded to reduce the carrying amounts of deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that such assets will not be realized.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Earnings Per Common Share

Earnings per common share - basic is computed by dividing net earnings by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Earnings per common share - diluted is computed by dividing earnings by the weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding during each period. Common share equivalents represent unvested shares of restricted stock and stock options and are calculated using the treasury stock method. Common share equivalents are excluded from the calculation if their effect is anti-dilutive.

The table below sets forth, for the periods indicated, a reconciliation of weighted average common shares outstanding - basic to weighted average common shares and common share equivalents outstanding - diluted and the average number of potentially dilutive securities that were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share because their effect was anti-dilutive:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2023		2022		2023		2022
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic		11,886,005		10,695,867		11,294,306		10,655,469
Potentially dilutive securities:
Unvested shares of restricted stock and employee stock options		326,312		168,673		371,544		185,175
Weighted average common shares and common share equivalents outstanding - diluted		12,212,317		10,864,540		11,665,850		10,840,644
Average number of potentially dilutive securities excluded from calculation because their effect was anti-dilutive during the period		107,666		518,145		119,585		491,014

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Effect of Recently Adopted Amendments to Authoritative Accounting Guidance

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued amendments to the guidance for accounting for credit losses. In November 2019, the FASB deferred the effective date of these amendments for certain companies, including smaller reporting companies. As a result of the deferral, the amendments were effective for us for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The amendments replaced the incurred loss impairment methodology under current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires the use of a forward-looking expected credit loss model for accounts receivables, loans, and other financial instruments. The amendments require a modified retrospective approach through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. We adopted the amendments when they became effective for us on January 1, 2023. The adoption of these amendments did not have any impact on our consolidated financial statements.