Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

The following is a summary of property, plant and equipment, at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization as of December 31:



	Estimated Useful Life
	(years)	2011		2010
Land and land improvements	0-15	$	7,855	$	5,446
Buildings and building equipment	15	66,261		61,100
Machinery, tools and equipment	5-12	119,780		131,686
Leasehold improvements (1)	10	24,243		24,300
Computer equipment	3-5	78,543		82,532
Computer software	5-10	170,614		164,708
Furniture and fixtures	5-8	76,962		77,125
Tooling	3-5	80,979		80,255
Construction in progress		17,019		19,083
Total property plant and equipment, at cost		642,256		646,235
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization		449,562		442,773
Total property plant and equipment, net		$	192,694	$	203,462

(1) The estimated useful life for leasehold improvements is the lesser of 10 years or the term of the lease.

During 2011, 2010 and 2009, depreciation expense, computed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, was $50,549, $51,425 and $50,085, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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