EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2012	Oct. 01, 2011	Sep. 29, 2012	Oct. 01, 2011
Numerator
Net income attributable to Franklin Electric Co., Inc.	$ 21,866,000	$ 19,220,000	$ 69,719,000	$ 51,554,000
Net income attributable to Franklin Electric Co., Inc. excluding undistributed earnings	21,900,000	19,000,000	69,700,000	51,100,000
Basic
Weighted average common shares (in shares)	23.4	23.2	23.4	23.2
Effect of dilutive securities:
Employee and director incentive stock options and stock/stock unit awards (in shares)	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Adjusted weighted average common shares (in shares)	23.9	23.7	23.9	23.7
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.93	$ 0.82	$ 2.98	$ 2.20
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.91	$ 0.80	$ 2.91	$ 2.16
Stock Options
Effect of dilutive securities:
Anti-dilutive stock options (in shares)	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.3
Impo Motor Pompa Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
Numerator
Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to redeemable noncontrolling interest	0		0
Vertical S.p.A.
Numerator
Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to redeemable noncontrolling interest		$ 200,000		$ 500,000