Note 14 - Employee benefit plans:

Defined contribution plans - We maintain various defined contribution pension plans. Company contributions are based on matching or other formulas. Defined contribution plan expense approximated $2.1 million in 2013, $2.4 million in 2014 and $2.5 million in 2015.

Accounting for defined benefit pension and postretirement benefits other than pension (OPEB) plans - We recognize all changes in the funded status of these plans through other income. Any future changes will be recognized either in net income, to the extent they are reflected in periodic benefit cost, or through other comprehensive income.

Defined benefit plans - We maintain a defined benefit pension plan in the U.S. We also maintain a plan in the United Kingdom related to a former disposed business unit in the U.K. The benefits under our defined benefit plans are based upon years of service and employee compensation. The plans are closed to new participants and no additional benefits accrue to existing plan participants. Our funding policy is to contribute annually the minimum amount required under ERISA (or equivalent non-U.S.) regulations plus additional amounts as we deem appropriate.

We expect to contribute approximately $.7 million to all of our defined benefit pension plans during 2016. Benefit payments to all plan participants out of plan assets are expected to be the equivalent of:

Years ending December 31,	Amount
	(In thousands)
2016	$	3,652
2017		3,713
2018		3,760
2019		3,773
2020		3,819
Next 5 years		19,192

The funded status of our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligations (PBO):
Benefit obligations at beginning of the year	$	54,658		$	61,225
Interest cost		2,538			2,376
Participant contributions		9			8
Actuarial losses (gains)		8,585			(2,579	)
Change in currency exchange rates		(669	)		(471	)
Benefits paid		(3,896	)		(3,473	)
Benefit obligations at end of the year		61,225			57,086

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of the year		49,402			48,816
Actual return on plan assets		2,404			(1,572	)
Employer contributions		1,553			800
Participant contributions		9			8
Change in currency exchange rates		(656	)		(512	)
Benefits paid		(3,896	)		(3,473	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		48,816			44,067
Funded status	$	(12,409	)	$	(13,019	)

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Noncurrent pension asset	$	-		$	1,303
Accrued pension costs:
Current		(167	)		(167	)
Noncurrent		(12,242	)		(14,155	)
Total	$	(12,409	)	$	(13,019	)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss - actuarial losses, net	$	33,135		$	34,139
Total	$	20,726		$	21,120
Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	$	61,225		$	57,086

The amounts shown in the table above for actuarial losses (gains) at December 31, 2014 and 2015 have not been recognized as components of our periodic defined benefit pension cost as of those dates. These amounts will be recognized as components of our periodic defined benefit cost in future years. These amounts, net of deferred income taxes, are recognized in our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2014 and 2015. We expect that $1.5 million of the unrecognized actuarial losses will be recognized as a component of our periodic defined benefit pension cost in 2016.

The table below details the changes in other comprehensive income during 2013, 2014 and 2015.

	Years ended December 31,
	2013		2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year	$	5,305	$	(9,519	)	$	(2,373	)
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial loss		1,238		934			1,340

Total	$	6,543	$	(8,585	)	$	(1,033	)

The components of our net periodic defined benefit pension cost are presented in the table below. The amount shown below for the amortization of unrecognized actuarial losses in 2013, 2014 and 2015, net of deferred income taxes, was recognized as a component of our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

	Years ended December 31,
	2013			2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Net periodic pension cost:
Interest cost on PBO	$	2,161		$	2,538		$	2,376
Expected return on plan assets		(3,975	)		(3,409	)		(3,353	)
Recognized actuarial losses		1,238			934			1,340

Total	$	(576	)	$	63		$	363

Certain information concerning our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2014		2015
	(In thousands)
PBO at end of the year
U.S. plan	$	50,351	$	47,895
U.K. plan		10,874		9,191

Total	$	61,225	$	57,086
Fair value of plan assets at end of the year
U.S. plan	$	38,131	$	33,573
U.K. plan		10,685		10,494

Total	$	48,816	$	44,067
Plans for which the ABO exceeds plan assets:
PBO	$	61,225	$	47,895
ABO		61,225		47,895
Fair value of plan assets		48,816		33,573

The weighted-average discount rate assumptions used in determining the actuarial present value of our benefit obligations as of December 31, 2014 and 2015 are 3.8% and 4.0%, respectively. Such weighted-average rates were determined using the projected benefit obligations at each date. Since our plans are closed to new participants and no new additional benefits accrue to existing plan participants, assumptions regarding future compensation levels are not applicable. Consequently, the accumulated benefit obligations for all of our defined benefit pension plans were equal to the projected benefit obligations at December 31, 2014 and 2015.

The weighted-average rate assumptions used in determining the net periodic pension cost for 2013, 2014 and 2015 are presented in the table below. Such weighted-average discount rates were determined using the projected benefit obligations as of the beginning of each year and the weighted-average long-term return on plan assets was determined using the fair value of plan assets as of the beginning of each year.

	Years ended December 31,
Rate	2013		2014		2015
Discount rate		3.7%		4.5%		3.8%
Long-term return on plan assets		9.2%		7.2%		7.2%

Variances from actuarially assumed rates will result in increases or decreases in accumulated pension obligations, pension expense and funding requirements in future periods.

At December 31, 2014 and 2015, all of the assets attributable to our U.S. plan were invested in the Combined Master Retirement Trust (CMRT), a collective investment trust sponsored by Contran to permit the collective investment by certain master trusts that fund certain employee benefits plans sponsored by Contran and certain of its affiliates. As previously discussed, prior to his death in December 2013, Mr. Harold Simmons was the sole trustee of the CMRT, and he along with the CMRT’s investment committee, of which Mr. Simmons was a member, actively managed the investments of the CMRT. The CMRT’s long-term investment objective was to provide a rate of return exceeding a composite of broad market equity and fixed income indices (including the S&P 500 and certain Russell indices) while utilizing both third-party investment managers as well as investments directed by Mr. Simmons (prior to his death). During the history of the CMRT from its inception in 1988 through December 31, 2013, the average annual rate of return was 14%. For the year ended December 31, 2013, the assumed long-term rate of return for plan assets invested in the CMRT was 10%. In determining the appropriateness of the long-term rate of return assumption, we primarily relied on the historical rates of return achieved by the CMRT, although we considered other factors as well including, among other things, the investment objectives of the CMRT’s managers and their expectation that such historical returns would in the future continue to be achieved over the long-term.

Following the death of Mr. Simmons in December 2013, the Contran board of directors in January 2014 appointed a financial institution as the new directed trustee of the CMRT, and the Contran board appointed five individuals (all executive officers of Contran) as the new investment committee of the CMRT. During 2014, the new investment committee began a process of reallocating to current and/or new investment managers or various mutual funds and comingled funds the portion of the CMRT assets that had previously been under direct and active management by Mr. Simmons. The reallocation process would be done prudently over a period of time, given the diverse asset composition of this portion of the portfolio and was substantially complete at December 31, 2015. Concurrent with this change in investment strategy in which there is no longer a portion of the CMRT’s assets under direct and active management by Mr. Simmons, and considering the long-term asset mix of the assets of the CMRT and the expected long-term rates of return for such asset components as well as advice from Contran’s actuaries, beginning in 2014 the assumed long-term rate of return for plan assets invested in the CMRT was reduced to 7.5%.

The CMRT unit value is determined semi-monthly, and the plans have the ability to redeem all or any portion of their investment in the CMRT at any time based on the most recent semi-monthly valuation. However, the plans do not have the right to individual assets held by the CMRT and the CMRT has the sole discretion in determining how to meet any redemption request. For purposes of our plan asset disclosure, we consider the investment in the CMRT as a Level 2 input because (i) the CMRT value is established semi-monthly and the plans have the right to redeem their investment in the CMRT, in part or in whole, at any time based on the most recent value and (ii) observable inputs from Level 1 or Level 2 were used to value approximately 80% and 81% of the assets of the CMRT at December 31, 2014 and 2015, respectively, as noted below. The aggregate fair value of all of the CMRT assets, including funds of Contran and its other affiliates that also invest in the CMRT, and supplemental asset mix details of the CMRT are as follows:

	December 31,
	2014			2015
	(In millions)
CMRT asset value	$	715.5		$	648.8
CMRT fair value input:
Level 1		67	%		54	%
Level 2		13			27
Level 3		20			19

		100	%		100	%
CMRT asset mix:
Domestic equities, principally publicly traded		48	%		29	%
International equities, principally publicly traded		11			22
Fixed income securities, principally publicly traded		32			38
Privately managed limited partnerships		7			5
Hedge funds		-			5
Other, primarily cash		2			1

		100	%		100	%

The composition of our December 31, 2014 and 2015 pension plan assets by fair value level is shown in the table below.

	Fair Value Measurements
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2014:
CMRT	$	38,131	$	-	$	38,131
Other		10,685		10,685		-

Total	$	48,816	$	10,685	$	38,131

December 31, 2015:
CMRT	$	33,573	$	-	$	33,573
Other		10,494		10,494		-

Total	$	44,067	$	10,494	$	33,573

Postretirement benefits other than pensions - We provide certain health care and life insurance benefits for eligible retired employees. These plans are closed to new participants, and no additional benefits accrue to existing plan participants. The majority of all retirees are required to contribute a portion of the cost of their benefits and certain current and future retirees are eligible for reduced health care benefits at age 65. We have no OPEB plan assets, rather, we fund postretirement benefits as they are incurred, net of any contributions by the retiree. At December 31, 2015, we currently expect to contribute approximately $.5 million to all OPEB plans during 2016. Contribution to our OPEB plans to cover benefit payments expected to be paid to OPEB plan participants are summarized in the table below:

Years ending December 31,	Amount
	(In thousands)
2016	$	465
2017		425
2018		386
2019		347
2020		311
Next 5 years		1,076

The funded status of our OPEB plans is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Change in accumulated OPEB obligations:
Obligations at beginning of the year	$	3,864		$	3,882
Interest cost		114			108
Actuarial (gain) loss		385			(336	)
Net benefits paid		(481	)		(416	)
Obligations at end of the year		3,882			3,238
Fair value of plan assets		-			-
Funded status	$	(3,882	)	$	(3,238	)

Accrued OPEB costs recognized in the balance sheet:
Current	$	(541	)	$	(465	)
Noncurrent		(3,341	)		(2,773	)
Total	$	(3,882	)	$	(3,238	)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial losses	$	1,025		$	790
Prior service credit		(1,162	)		(541	)
Total	$	(137	)	$	249

The amounts shown in the table above for unrecognized actuarial losses and prior service credit at December 31, 2014 and 2015 have not been recognized as components of our periodic OPEB cost as of those dates. These amounts will be recognized as components of our periodic OPEB cost in future years. These amounts, net of deferred income taxes, are now recognized in our accumulated other comprehensive income at December 31, 2014 and 2015. We expect to recognize approximately $.5 million of the prior service credit and approximately $.2 million of actuarial gains as a component of our periodic OPEB cost in 2016.

The table below details the changes in other comprehensive income during 2013, 2014 and 2015.

	Years ended December 31,
	2013			2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Changes in benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year	$	240		$	(385	)	$	336
Amortization of unrecognized:
Actuarial gain		(146	)		(176	)		(101	)
Prior service credit		(688	)		(644	)		(621	)

Total	$	(594	)	$	(1,205	)	$	(386	)

The components of our periodic OPEB cost are presented in the table below. The amounts shown below for the amortization of unrecognized actuarial gains and prior service credit in 2013, 2014 and 2015, net of deferred income taxes, were recognized as components of our accumulated other comprehensive income at December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

	Years ended December 31,
	2013			2014			2015
	(In thousands)
Net periodic OPEB cost (income):
Interest cost	$	105		$	114		$	108
Amortization of actuarial gain		(146	)		(176	)		(101	)
Amortization of prior service credit		(688	)		(644	)		(621	)

Total	$	(729	)	$	(706	)	$	(614	)

A summary of our key actuarial assumptions used to determine the net benefit obligation as of December 31, 2014 and 2015 follows:

	2014			2015
Health care inflation:
Initial rate		7.0	%		7.0	%
Ultimate rate		5.0	%		5.0	%
Year of ultimate rate achievement		2021			2021
Discount rate		3.0	%		3.2	%

The assumed health care cost trend rates have an effect on the amount we report for health care plans. A one-percent change in assumed health care cost trend rates would not have a material effect on the net periodic OPEB cost for 2015 or on the accumulated OPEB obligation at December 31, 2015.

The weighted-average discount rate used in determining the net periodic OPEB cost for 2015 was 3.0% (the rate was 3.2% in 2014 and 2.5% in 2013). The weighted-average rate was determined using the projected benefit obligation as of the beginning of each year.

Variances from actuarially-assumed rates will result in additional increases or decreases in accumulated OPEB obligations, net periodic OPEB cost and funding requirements in future periods.