Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Note 6 – Property, Plant and Equipment



	As of December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2018			2017
Land	$	21,525		$	14,620
Buildings and improvements	175,279			135,191
Machinery and equipment	256,301			238,000
Office equipment	64,886			56,554
Property plant and equipment, gross	517,991			444,365
Accumulated depreciation	(317,414		)	(289,909		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	200,577			154,456
Equipment in process	42,182			25,155
Total property, plant and equipment, net	$	242,759		$	179,611

Depreciation expense was $33.5 million in 2018, $29.3 million in 2017 and $26.6 million in 2016. Additionally, we recognized $1.5 million in impairment charges on certain assets in connection with the Isola asset acquisition.

In the second quarter of 2017, we began actively marketing for sale unutilized property in Chandler, Arizona, consisting of a building and two adjacent parcels of land with an aggregate net book value of $0.9 million. In the second quarter of 2018, we completed the sale of the building and one parcel of land and recognized a gain on sale of approximately $0.4 million in operating income. The remaining parcel of land, which was previously classified as held for sale, had a net book value of $0.4 million and was reclassified in the third quarter of 2018 to held and used as the initial held for sale classification had surpassed one year.

In the third quarter of 2017, we completed the sale of a facility located in Belgium that had been classified as held for sale as of June 30, 2017 and recognized a gain on sale of approximately $4.4 million in operating income.

In the first quarter of 2017, we completed the planned sale of a parcel of land in Belgium that had been classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2016 and recognized a gain on sale of approximately $0.9 million in operating income.