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,
2018		$13,402
2019	12,249
2020	11,748
2021	10,904
2022	9,759
Thereafter	16,065
Total minimum lease commitments		$74,127

Total rent expense charged to operations for operating leases in fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015 amounted to $15.6 million, $14.7 million and $11.9 million, respectively.

Guarantees

As of October 31, 2017, the Company has arranged for standby letters of credit aggregating $4.2 million, which are supported by its revolving credit facility and pertain to payment guarantees related to potential workers' compensation claims and a facility lease as well as 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 2017 and 2016 are as follows (in thousands):



	Year ended October 31,
	2017			2016
Balances as of beginning of year		$3,351			$3,203
Accruals for warranties	2,254			3,025
Warranty claims settled	(2,684		)	(2,877		)
Balances as of end of year		$2,921			$3,351

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.