Business Segments - (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 27, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2017 USD ($) segment	Dec. 27, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Reportable Segments | segment			3
Total net sales	$ 563,697	$ 573,573	$ 1,740,348	$ 1,704,775
Net sales revenue by services	563,697	573,573	1,740,348	1,704,775
Total intersegment sales	34,690	32,076	103,560	103,977
Total operating earnings	55,023	55,461	183,964	184,046
Restructuring charges	1,153	(3,204)	(5,037)	(7,051)	$ (305)
Inventory write-off relating to exit activities - See Note 8	502	0	(2,157)	0
Gain (Loss) Related to Litigation Settlement			(17,000)	799
Litigation Settlement, Amount	(17,000)	0	(17,000)	(3,201)
Gain on sale of facility			0	4,348
Reserve Power
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales revenue by services	271,291	271,948	844,781	810,448
Motive Power
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales revenue by services	292,406	301,625	895,567	894,327
Americas
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	313,972	306,331	968,516	945,839
Total intersegment sales	6,319	6,334	19,304	23,041
Total operating earnings	45,949	40,572	139,149	134,344
Restructuring charges	0	(865)	(892)	(1,435)
Gain (Loss) Related to Litigation Settlement	0	0	0	799
Europe
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	186,069	196,829	563,765	582,896
Total intersegment sales	22,086	17,537	66,186	59,999
Total operating earnings	20,435	16,525	57,268	54,218
Restructuring charges	1,153	(2,153)	(3,663)	(4,706)
Inventory write-off relating to exit activities - See Note 8	502	0	(2,157)	0
Litigation Settlement, Amount	(17,000)	0	(17,000)	(4,000)
Asia
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	63,656	70,413	208,067	176,040
Total intersegment sales	6,285	8,205	18,070	20,937
Total operating earnings	3,984	1,568	11,741	1,388
Restructuring charges	0	(186)	(482)	(910)
Gain on sale of facility	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 4,348