COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Guarantees

The Company has arranged for a standby letter of credit for $1.5 million to meet the security requirement of its insurance company for potential workers’ compensation claims, which is supported by the Company’s revolving credit facility.

Product Warranty

Changes in the Company’s product warranty liability for the nine months ended July 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, are as follows (in thousands):

	Nine months ended July 31,
	2012			2011
Balances as of beginning of fiscal year		$2,231			$1,636
Accruals for warranties	1,136			1,052
Warranty claims settled	(923		)	(722		)
Balances as of July 31		$2,444			$1,966

Additional Contingent Purchase Consideration

As part of the agreement to acquire a subsidiary by the ETG in fiscal 2007, the Company may have been obligated to pay additional purchase consideration of up to 73 million Canadian dollars in aggregate, which translates to approximately $71 million U.S. dollars based on the June 30, 2012 exchange rate, had the subsidiary met certain earnings objectives through June 2012. Based on the subsidiary’s actual earnings through the measurement period, no additional purchase consideration will be paid.

Litigation

The Company is involved in various legal actions arising in the normal course of business. Based upon the Company’s and its legal counsel’s evaluations of any claims or assessments, management is of the opinion that the outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.