Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

5. Property, Plant and Equipment

PP&E consist of the following:


(In millions)	December 31, 2012		December 31, 2011
Land	$	26.0	$	25.6
Buildings and improvements		276.8		224.5
Machinery and equipment		562.7		479.4
Software		80.6		91.4
Office equipment and other assets		55.1		32.0
Construction in progress		21.0		57.6

Gross Property, Plant and Equipment		1,022.2		910.5
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization		436.2		404.5

Net Property, Plant and Equipment	$	586.0	$	506.0


	For the Year Ended December 31,
(In millions)	2012		2011		2010
Depreciation and amortization on PP&E	$	56.0	$	49.8	$	44.1

Interest charges capitalized (in construction in progress)	$	0.8	$	1.9	$	1.0

Buildings at December 31, 2012 includes $49.9 million related to the Company’s lease for its new corporate headquarters facility as the Company is considered the owner for financial statement reporting purposes. At December 31, 2011, $17.4 million was recorded in construction in progress.

The Company recorded approximately $0.7 million of accelerated depreciation expense in cost of sales for the year ended 2012 in connection with the reorganization of its Green River, Wyoming facility.

The Company recognized charges related to equipment obsolescence, which occur in the ordinary course of business, and plant impairment charges during the three year period ended December 31, 2012 as follows:


	For the Year Ended December 31,
(In millions)	2012		2011		2010
Segments:
Consumer Domestic	$	1.6	$	1.9	$	0.6
Consumer International		0.4		0.2		0.0
Specialty Products		0.1		1.0		3.1

Total	$	2.1	$	3.1	$	3.7

The 2012 Consumer Domestic and Specialty Products charges are due to the idling of equipment and the Consumer International charge is due to the cancelation of a software project. The Consumer Domestic charge recorded in 2011 is a result of the idling of equipment. The Specialty Products charge recorded in 2011 is associated with the Company’s decision to explore strategic options for the chemical business in Brazil. In 2010, the Company recorded a plant asset impairment charge of approximately $3.1 million, representing the carrying value of certain assets, associated with the Company’s Brazilian subsidiary, Quimica Geral do Nordeste S.A (“QGN”). The charge is a result of a reduction in forecasted sales volume which has negatively impacted projected profitability. The charge is included in cost of sales in the Specialty Products Division segment income statement.

- 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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