COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitments

The Company leases certain property and equipment, including manufacturing facilities and office equipment under operating leases.  Some of these leases provide the Company with the option after the initial lease term either to purchase the property at the then fair market value or renew the lease at the then fair rental value.  Generally, management expects that leases will be renewed or replaced by other leases in the normal course of business.

Future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases for the next five fiscal years and thereafter are estimated to be as follows (in thousands):

Year ending October 31,
2015		$9,787
2016	8,830
2017	6,704
2018	3,239
2019	1,458
Thereafter	5,903
Total minimum lease commitments		$35,921

Total rent expense charged to operations for operating leases in fiscal 2014, 2013 and 2012 amounted to $11.2 million, $9.8 million and $7.9 million, respectively.

Guarantees

As of October 31, 2014, the Company has arranged for standby letters of credit aggregating $2.3 million, which are supported by its revolving credit facility. One letter of credit in the amount of $1.5 million is to satisfy the security requirement of the Company's insurance company for potential workers' compensation claims and the remainder pertain to performance guarantees related to customer contracts entered into by certain of the Company's subsidiaries.

Product Warranty

Changes in the Company’s product warranty liability in fiscal 2014 and 2013 are as follows (in thousands):

	Year ended October 31,
	2014			2013
Balances as of beginning of year		$3,233			$2,571
Accruals for warranties	3,005			1,308
Acquired warranty liabilities	—			556
Warranty claims settled	(2,159		)	(1,202		)
Balances as of end of year		$4,079			$3,233

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.