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Business Segment and Geographic Disclosures
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Business Segment and Geographic Disclosures
Business Segment and Geographic Disclosures
Fuel Tech segregates its financial results into two reportable segments representing two broad technology segments as follows:
•
The Air Pollution Control technology segment includes technologies to reduce NOx emissions in flue gas from boilers, incinerators, furnaces and other stationary combustion sources. These include Low and Ultra Low NOx Burners (LNB and ULNB), Over-Fire Air (OFA) systems, NOxOUT® and HERT™ Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) systems, and Advanced Selective Catalytic Reduction (ASCR™) systems. The ASCR system includes ULNB, OFA, and SNCR components, along with a downsized SCR catalyst, Ammonia Injection Grid (AIG), and Graduated Straightening Grid (GSG™) systems to provide high NOx reductions at significantly lower capital and operating costs than conventional SCR systems. The NOxOUT CASCADE® and NOxOUT-SCR® processes are basic types of ASCR systems, using just SNCR and SCR catalyst components. ULTRA™ technology creates ammonia at a plant site using safe urea for use with any SCR application. Flue Gas Conditioning systems are chemical injection systems offered in markets outside the U.S. and Canada to enhance electrostatic precipitator and fabric filter performance in controlling particulate emissions.
•
The FUEL CHEM® technology segment, which uses chemical processes in combination with advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Chemical Kinetics Modeling (CKM) boiler modeling, for the control of slagging, fouling, corrosion, opacity and other sulfur trioxide-related issues in furnaces and boilers through the addition of chemicals into the furnace using TIFI® Targeted In-Furnace Injection™ technology.
The “Other” classification includes those profit and loss items not allocated by Fuel Tech to each reportable segment. Further, there are no intersegment sales that require elimination.
Fuel Tech evaluates performance and allocates resources based on reviewing gross margin by reportable segment. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies (Note 1 in our annual report on Form 10-K). Fuel Tech does not review assets by reportable segment, but rather, in aggregate for Fuel Tech as a whole.
Information about reporting segment net sales and gross margin are provided below: 
Three months ended March 31, 2014
 
Air Pollution
Control Segment
 
FUEL CHEM
Segment
 
Other
 
Total
Revenues from external customers
 
$
10,734

 
$
7,927

 
$
—

 
$
18,661

Cost of sales
 
(7,030
)
 
(3,780
)
 
—

 
(10,810
)
Gross margin
 
3,704

 
4,147

 
—

 
7,851

Selling, general and administrative
 
—

 
—

 
(8,744
)
 
(8,744
)
Research and development
 
—

 
—

 
(244
)
 
(244
)
Operating income (loss)
 
$
3,704

 
$
4,147

 
$
(8,988
)
 
$
(1,137
)
 
Three months ended March 31, 2013
 
Air Pollution
Control Segment
 
FUEL CHEM
Segment
 
Other
 
Total
Revenues from external customers
 
$
12,947

 
$
9,537

 
$
—

 
$
22,484

Cost of sales
 
(8,583
)
 
(4,469
)
 
—

 
(13,052
)
Gross margin
 
4,364

 
5,068

 
—

 
9,432

Selling, general and administrative
 
—

 
—

 
(8,458
)
 
(8,458
)
Research and development
 
—

 
—

 
(933
)
 
(933
)
Operating income (loss)
 
$
4,364

 
$
5,068

 
$
(9,391
)
 
$
41

Information concerning Fuel Tech’s operations by geographic area is provided below. Revenues are attributed to countries based on the location of the customer. Assets are those directly associated with operations of the geographic area.
 
 
Three Months Ended 
 March 31,
 
 
 
2014
2013
 
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
United States
 
$
9,229

$
12,866

 
Foreign
 
9,432

9,618

 
 
 
$
18,661

$
22,484

 


 
 
March 31,
2014
 
December 31,
2013
Assets:
 
 
 
 
United States
 
$
80,008

 
$
83,464

Foreign
 
27,517

 
26,594

 
 
$
107,525

 
$
110,058