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Product Warranties
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Product Warranties [Abstract] 
Product Warranties

NOTE 17. PRODUCT WARRANTIES

We provide direct customer and end-user warranties for our products. These warranties cover manufacturing defects that would prevent the product from performing in line with its intended and marketed use. The terms of these warranties vary by product and generally provide for the repair or replacement of the defective product. We collect and analyze warranty claims data with a focus on the historic amount of claims, the products involved, the amount of time between the warranty claims and their respective sales and the amount of current sales. The following table summarizes the activity for the accrual of product warranties for the first nine months of 2011 and 2010:

 

 

2011

2010

Balance at January 1

$ 11.9

$ 14.1

Reductions for payments

(12.2)

(14.2)

Current year warranty accruals

11.5

14.5

Preexisting warranty accrual changes

0.3

(0.2)

Effects of foreign exchange translation

-

(0.1)

Balance at September 30

$ 11.5

$ 14.1

 

The warranty provision and related reserve are recorded as a reduction of sales and accounts receivable.