Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Sales	$ 1,177,438,000	$ 1,014,152,000	$ 794,585,000
Cost of sales	825,715,000	708,989,000	549,139,000
Gross profit	351,723,000	305,163,000	245,446,000
Selling, general and administrative expenses	196,496,000	165,488,000	140,535,000
Amortization expense	19,230,000	14,792,000	13,376,000
Impairment of intangible assets	0	3,070,000	0
Loss on disposal of assets	0	0	1,541,000
Operating expenses	215,726,000	183,350,000	155,452,000
Operating income	135,997,000	121,813,000	89,994,000
Other expenses (income):
Interest expense, net	16,275,000	15,679,000	23,371,000
Financing costs amortization	1,306,000	1,530,000	4,383,000
Foreign currency (gain) loss	(242,000)	1,498,000	(734,000)
Other expenses, net	17,339,000	18,707,000	27,020,000
Income before income taxes	118,658,000	103,106,000	62,974,000
Income tax expense (benefit):
Current	32,903,000	35,300,000	21,221,000
Deferred Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Continuing Operations [Abstract]
Deferred	(1,607,000)	(4,518,000)	(2,491,000)
Income tax expense, net	31,296,000	30,782,000	18,730,000
Net income	87,362,000	72,324,000	44,244,000
Noncontrolling interests, net of taxes	4,186,000	1,029,000	168,000
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	83,176,000	71,295,000	44,076,000
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share:
Basic	$ 2.75	$ 2.39	$ 1.51
Diluted	$ 2.60	$ 2.36	$ 1.47
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic	30,209	29,786	29,165
Diluted	31,931	30,194	29,913
Retained Earnings [Member]
Deferred Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Continuing Operations [Abstract]
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 83,176,000	$ 71,295,000	$ 44,076,000