CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Apr. 03, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

CONTINGENCIES

CONTINGENCIES

As a manufacturer of products primarily for use in building construction, the Company is inherently exposed to various types of contingent claims, both asserted and unasserted, in the ordinary course of business. As a result, from time to time, the Company and/or its subsidiaries become involved in various legal proceedings or other contingent matters arising from claims or potential claims arising out of its operations and businesses that cover a wide range of matters, including, among others, environmental, contract, employment, intellectual property, securities, personal injury, property damage, product liability, warranty, and modification, adjustment or replacement of component parts or units sold, which may include product recalls. The Company insures (or self insures) against these risks to the extent deemed prudent by its management and to the extent insurance is available. The Company regularly reviews the status of ongoing proceedings and other contingent matters along with legal counsel. Liabilities for such items are recorded when it is probable that the liability has been incurred and when the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. Liabilities are adjusted when additional information becomes available. Management believes that the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows. However, such matters are subject to many uncertainties and outcomes and are not predictable with assurance.

Further, due to the lack of adequate information and the potential impact of present regulations and any future regulations, there are certain circumstances in which no range of potential exposure may be reasonably estimated. Also, it is not possible to ascertain the ultimate legal and financial liability with respect to certain contingent liabilities, including lawsuits, and therefore no such estimate has been made as of April 3, 2021.

Environmental

The Company’s operations are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws. Among other things, these laws regulate the emissions or discharge of materials into the environment; govern the use, storage, treatment, disposal and management of hazardous substances and wastes; protect the health and safety of its employees and the end-users of its products; regulate the materials used in its products; and impose liability for the costs of investigating and remediating (as well as other damages resulting from) present and past releases of hazardous substances. Violations of these laws or of any conditions contained in environmental permits can result in substantial fines or penalties, injunctive relief, requirements to install pollution controls or other equipment, and civil sanctions.

The Company could be held liable for costs to investigate, remediate or otherwise address contamination at any real property it has ever owned, operated or used as a disposal site, or at other sites where we or predecessors may have released hazardous materials. The Company could incur fines, penalties or sanctions or be subject to third-party claims, including indemnification claims, for property damage, personal injury or otherwise as a result of violations of (or liabilities under) environmental, health and safety laws, or in connection with releases of hazardous or other materials.

MW Manufacturers Inc. (“MW”), a subsidiary of Ply Gem Industries, Inc., entered into a September 2011 Administrative Order on Consent with the EPA under the Corrective Action Program to address known releases of hazardous substances at MW’s Rocky Mount, Virginia property. A Phase I RCRA Facility Investigation (“RFI”) was submitted to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“VDEQ”) in December 2015, and a Phase II RFI and the Human Health Risk Assessment and Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment were submitted in October 2018. A Limited Corrective Measures Study (“LCMS”) based on the investigations was submitted to the VDEQ for review and approval in September 2019. The VDEQ concurred with the LCMS and prepared a Statement of Basis, which was published for a 30-day public review and comment in April 2021. The Company has recorded a liability of $4.5 million for this MW site, of which $1.0 million is in other current liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of April 3, 2021. 

The EPA is investigating groundwater contamination at a Superfund site in York, Nebraska, referred to as the PCE/TCE Northeast Contamination Site (“PCE/TCE Site”). Kroy Building Products, Inc. (“KBP”), a subsidiary of Ply Gem Industries, Inc., has been identified as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at the site and has liability for investigation and remediation costs associated with the contamination. On May 17, 2019, KBP and an unrelated respondent, Kroy Industries, Inc., entered into an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent with the EPA to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (“RI/FS”) of the PCE/TCE Site. A final RI/FS Work Plan was submitted to EPA in November 2019 and approved in December 2019. RI Phase I field sampling and mobile laboratory analysis was initiated in Spring 2020. After a delay due to worsening conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phase 2 of the R1 Phase field work is anticipated to resume in Q2 2021. The Company has recorded a liability of $4.4 million within other current liabilities in its consolidated balance sheet as of April 3, 2021. The Company will adjust our remediation liability in future periods, if necessary, as the RI/FS progresses or if additional requirements are imposed. The Company may be able to recover a portion of costs incurred in connection with the PCE/TCE Site from other potentially responsible parties, though there is no assurance we would receive any funds.

Based on current information, the Company is not aware of any environmental compliance obligations, claims or investigations that will have a material adverse effect on its results of operations, cash flows or financial position except as

otherwise disclosed in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. However, there can be no guarantee that previously known or newly discovered matters will not result in material costs or liabilities.

Litigation

The Company believes it has valid defenses to the outstanding claims discussed below and will vigorously defend all such claims; however, litigation is subject to many uncertainties and there cannot be any assurance that the Company will ultimately prevail or, in the event of an unfavorable outcome or settlement of litigation, that the ultimate liability would not be material and would not have a material adverse effect on the business, results of operations, cash flows or financial position of the Company.

In November 2018, Aurora Plastics, LLC (“Aurora”) initiated an arbitration demand against Atrium Windows and Doors, Inc., Atrium Extrusion Systems, Inc., and North Star Manufacturing (London) Ltd. (collectively, “Atrium”) pursuant to a Third Amended and Restated Vinyl Compound and Supply Agreement dated as of December 22, 2016. A settlement was reached in this case during the fourth quarter of 2019. The Company has a $3.9 million liability related to the settlement, of which $2.3 million is in other current liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of April 3, 2021.

On November 14, 2018, an individual stockholder, Gary D. Voigt, filed a putative class action Complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Clayton Dubilier & Rice, LLC (“CD&R”), Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund VIII, L.P. (“CD&R Fund VIII”), and certain directors of the Company. Voigt purports to assert claims on behalf of himself, on behalf of a class of other similarly situated stockholders of the Company, and derivatively on behalf of the Company, the nominal defendant. An Amended Complaint was filed on April 11, 2019. The Amended Complaint asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment against CD&R Fund VIII and CD&R, and for breach of fiduciary duty against twelve director defendants in connection with the Merger. Defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint and, on February 10, 2020, the court denied the motions except as to four of the director defendants. Voigt seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial.

Other contingencies

The Company’s imports of fabricated structural steel (“FSS”) from its Mexican affiliate, Building Systems de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (“BSM”) were subject to antidumping (“AD”) and countervailing duty (“CVD”) tariff proceedings before the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”). The proceedings were initiated in February 2019 by the American Institute of Steel Construction against FSS being imported into the USA from Mexico, Canada, and China. In 2019, the DOC issued preliminary tariff rates and in 2020 finalized CVD and AD tariff rates of 0% and 8.47%, respectively, for the Company’s imports of FSS from BSM. However, in February 2020, in a 3 to 2 vote, the USITC concluded there was no injury or threat of injury to the domestic FSS industry. In March 2020 the USITC opinion was published in the Federal Register, ceasing the Company’s requirement to pay the AD and CVD tariffs. The Company received full reimbursement for the $4.1 million in tariffs previously deposited with United States Customs and Border Protection and recorded a reduction in costs of sales during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. This matter has been appealed and the Company will continue to vigorously advocate its position that its import of FSS from BSM should not be subject to any CVD or AD tariffs.