Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies

The Company previously disclosed in its Annual Report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 that AC Products, Inc. (“ACP”), a wholly owned subsidiary, has been operating a groundwater treatment system to hydraulically contain groundwater contamination emanating from ACP’s site, the principal contaminant of which is perchloroethylene (“PERC”). As of March 31, 2017, ACP believes it is close to meeting the conditions for closure of the groundwater treatment system, but continues to operate this system while in discussions with the relevant authorities. As of March 31, 2017, the Company believes that the range of potential-known liabilities associated with the balance of the ACP water remediation program is approximately $0.1 million to $1.0 million. The low and high ends of the range are based on the length of operation of the treatment system as determined by groundwater modeling. Costs of operation include the operation and maintenance of the extraction well, groundwater monitoring and program management.

The Company previously disclosed in its Annual Report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 that an inactive subsidiary of the Company that was acquired in 1978 sold certain products containing asbestos, primarily on an installed basis, and is among the defendants in numerous lawsuits alleging injury due to exposure to asbestos. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, there have been no significant changes to the facts or circumstances of this matter previously disclosed, aside from on-going claims and routine payments associated with this litigation. Based on a continued analysis of the existing and anticipated future claims against this subsidiary, it is currently projected that the subsidiary’s total liability over the next 50 years for these claims is approximately $2.2 million (excluding costs of defense).

The Company believes, although there can be no assurance regarding the outcome of other unrelated environmental matters, that it has made adequate accruals for costs associated with other environmental problems of which it is aware. Approximately $0.2 million were accrued at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively, to provide for such anticipated future environmental assessments and remediation costs.The Company is party to other litigation which management currently believes will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.