Note 9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 29, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

General Environmental Claims

The Company and certain of its current and former direct and indirect corporate predecessors, subsidiaries and divisions are involved in remedial activities at certain present and former locations and have been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), state environmental agencies and private parties as potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) at a number of hazardous waste disposal sites under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“Superfund”) or equivalent state laws and, as such, may be liable for the cost of cleanup and other remedial activities at these sites.  Responsibility for cleanup and other remedial activities at a Superfund site is typically shared among PRPs based on an allocation formula.  Under the federal Superfund statute, parties could be held jointly and severally liable, thus subjecting them to potential individual liability for the entire cost of cleanup at the site.  Based on its estimate of allocation of liability among PRPs, the probability that other PRPs, many of whom are large, solvent, public companies, will fully pay the costs apportioned to them, currently available information concerning the scope of contamination, estimated remediation costs, estimated legal fees and other factors, the Company has recorded and accrued for environmental liabilities in amounts that it deems reasonable and believes that any liability with respect to these matters in excess of the accruals will not be material.  The ultimate costs will depend on a number of factors and the amount currently accrued represents management’s best current estimate on an undiscounted basis of the total costs to be incurred.  The Company expects this amount to be substantially paid over the next five to ten years.

Other Claims

There are a number of product liability, asbestos and workers’ compensation claims pending against the Company and its subsidiaries.  Many of these claims are proceeding through the litigation process and the final outcome will not be known until a settlement is reached with the claimant or the case is adjudicated.  The Company estimates that it can take up to ten years from the date of the injury to reach a final outcome on certain claims.  With respect to the product liability and workers’ compensation claims, the Company has provided for its share of expected losses beyond the applicable insurance coverage, including those incurred but not reported to the Company or its insurance providers, which are developed using actuarial techniques. Such accruals are developed using currently available claim information, and represent management’s best estimates, including estimated legal fees, on an undiscounted basis.  The ultimate cost of any individual claim can vary based upon, among other factors, the nature of the injury, the duration of the disability period, the length of the claim period, the jurisdiction of the claim and the nature of the final outcome.

Although management believes that the actions specified above in this section individually and in the aggregate are not likely to have outcomes that will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flow, further costs could be significant and will be recorded as a charge to operations when, and if, current information dictates a change in management’s estimates.