Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

Certain assets and liabilities are required to be recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, while other assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, generally as a result of acquisitions or impairment charges. Fair value is determined based on the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. GAAP also classifies the inputs used to measure fair value into the following hierarchy:


Level 1:	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.


Level 2:	Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability.


Level 3:	Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. There were no Level 3 recurring measurements of assets or liabilities as of December 31, 2018.

Interest Rate Swap

The Company entered into a $250.0 million interest rate swap on February 7, 2017. The swap was designated as a cash flow hedge as its purpose is to reduce the variability of cash flows from interest payments related to a portion of the Company’s variable-rate debt. The swap effectively converts $250.0 million of the Company’s variable-rate debt based on one-month LIBOR to a fixed rate of 3.89% (including a 2.00% spread on underlying debt at December 31, 2018). The variable interest rate resets monthly and the swap is a five year arrangement, maturing on February 28, 2022.

The Company classifies the interest rate swap as Level 2 because the inputs into the valuation model are observable or can be derived or corroborated utilizing observable market data at commonly quoted intervals. The interest rate swap was highly effective as of December 31, 2018; therefore, the increase in fair value of $2.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2018 is included in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets and is shown as a change in other comprehensive income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). No amount of ineffectiveness has been recorded into earnings related to this cash flow hedge. The interest rate swap was classified as an asset, with fair values of $4.3 million and $2.1 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and was recorded in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets.

The company received a net interest payment totaling $0.2 million of interest income during the year ended December 31, 2018, and made a net interest payment totaling $1.6 million of interest expense during the year ended December 31, 2017. The net interest payments have been recognized as an adjustment to interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Foreign Exchange Contracts

The Company has operations in countries that have transactions outside their functional currencies and periodically enters into foreign exchange contracts. These contracts are used to hedge the net exposures of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and are designated as either cash flow hedges or fair value hedges. Gains or losses on net foreign currency hedges are intended to offset losses or gains on the underlying net exposures in an effort to reduce the earnings volatility resulting from fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates. There were no open foreign currency exchange contracts as of December 31, 2018.

Natural Gas Forward Contracts

The Company periodically enters into natural gas forward purchase contracts to hedge against increases in commodity costs. The Company’s commodity contracts qualified for the exception related to normal purchases and sales during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, as the Company takes delivery in the normal course of business.

Debt

The Company measures fair value on its debt instruments using interest rates available to the Company for borrowings with similar terms and maturities and is categorized as Level 2. See Note 11, “Debt,” for the fair value of the Company’s debt as of December 31, 2018.

Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements

In addition to assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis, the Company is required to record certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a nonrecurring basis, generally as a result of acquisitions or the remeasurement of assets resulting in impairment charges. See Note 3, “Acquisitions and Strategic Investments,” for further discussion on acquisitions. See Note 4, “Restructuring, Impairment and Transaction-Related Charges,” and Note 8, “Property, Plant and Equipment,” for further discussion on impairment charges recorded as a result of the remeasurement of certain long-lived assets.

Other Estimated Fair Value Measurements

The Company records the fair value of its forward contracts and pension plan assets on a recurring basis. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents, receivables, inventories, restricted cash, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their carrying values as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. See Note 15, “Employee Retirement Plans,” for the details of Level 1 and Level 2 inputs related to employee retirement plans.