10-K/A

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K/A

(Amendment No. 1)

x	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

OR

o	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period from             to

Commission File No. 1-11442

CHART INDUSTRIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware	34-1712937
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

One Infinity Corporate Centre Drive,
Suite 300, Garfield Heights, Ohio	44125-5370
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:

(440) 753-1490

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01	The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes   x   No  o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  o  No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x     No  o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.   x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer	x	Accelerated filer	o
Non-accelerated filer	o (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)	Smaller reporting company	o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes   o     No   x

The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price of $53.98 per share at which the common equity was last sold, as of the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $1,567,055,270.

As of February 15, 2012 , there were 29,634,788 outstanding shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the following document are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: the definitive Proxy Statement to be used in connection with the Registrant's Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 24, 2012 (the “2012 Proxy Statement”).

Except as otherwise stated, the information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is as of December 31, 2011.

Explanatory Note

Chart Industries, Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 solely for the purpose of furnishing Exhibit 101 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with Rule 405 of Regulation S-T. Exhibit 101 provides financial information for the year formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language). No changes have been made to the original Annual Report on Form 10-K other than as described above. This Amendment No. 1 does not reflect any subsequent events occurring after the original filing date of the Annual Report on Form 10-K or modify or update in any way disclosure made in the original filing.

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

Exhibits. See the Index to Exhibits at page E-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

2

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

CHART  INDUSTRIES, INC.
By:	/S/    Matthew J. Klaben
	Matthew J. Klaben Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Date: March 29, 2012

3

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
2.1	Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 2, 2005 by and among Chart Industries, Inc., certain of its stockholders, First Reserve Fund X, L.P. and CI Acquisition, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).
3.1	Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Amendment No. 5 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).
3.2	Amended and Restated By-Laws, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant's current report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 19, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).
4.1	Form of Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Amendment No. 4 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).
4.2	Indenture, dated August 3, 2011 by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 5, 2011 (File No. 001-11442)).
4.3	Supplemental Indenture, dated August 3, 2011 by and between Chart Industries, Inc, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 5, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
4.4	Form of 2.00% Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes due 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 5, 2011 (File No. 001-11442)).
10.1	Form of Amended and Restated Management Stockholders Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).
10.2	Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.1	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2005 and 2006 grants) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).*
10.2.2	Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (for non-employee directors) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to Amendment No. 4 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).*
10.2.3	Form of 2008 Performance Unit Agreement under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4.4 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.4	Form of 2009 Performance Unit Agreement under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.5 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.5	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2007 and 2008 grants) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's current report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 7, 2007 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.6	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2009 grants) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.7 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.7	Forms of Stock Award Agreement and Deferral Election Form (for non-employee directors) (2008 grants) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4.6 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.2.8	Forms of Stock Award Agreement and Deferral Election Form (for non-employee directors) (2009 grants) under the Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3	Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A to the Registrant's definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, 2009 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.1	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2010 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.2	Form of Restricted Stock Agreement (2010 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4.2 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 (File No. 001-11442)).*

E-1

10.3.3	Forms of Stock Award Agreement and Deferral Election Form (for eligible directors) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4.3 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.4	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2011 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.4 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.5	Form of Restricted Stock Agreement (2011 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.5 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.6	Form of Performance Unit Agreement (2011 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.6 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.7	Form of Leveraged Restricted Share Unit Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2012 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.3.8	Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement (2012 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan.* (x)
10.3.9	Form of Performance Unit Agreement (2012 grants) under the Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan.* (x)
10.4	Amended and Restated Chart Industries, Inc. Voluntary Deferred Income Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's current report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on June 28, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.5	Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).*
10.5.1	Amendment No. 1 to Chart Executive Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.6	Chart Industries, Inc. 2009 Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix B to the Registrant's definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, 2009 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.7	Credit Agreement, dated May 18, 2010, among Chart Industries, Inc., Chart Industries Luxembourg S.à r.l., the lenders from time to time party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as Administrative Agent, RBS Citizens, National Association, U.S. Bank National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as Co-Syndication Agents and Bank of America, N.A. as Documentation Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's amended Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 20, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).
10.8	Guarantee and Collateral Agreement, dated May 18, 2010, among Chart Industries, Inc., certain subsidiaries of Chart Industries, Inc., and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 19, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).
10.9	Employment Agreement, dated February 26, 2008, by and between Registrant and Samuel F. Thomas (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.9.1	Amendment No. 1, effective January 1, 2009, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Samuel F. Thomas (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.9.2	Amendment No. 2, effective January 1, 2010, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Samuel F. Thomas (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.9.3	Amendment No. 3, dated January 1, 2012, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Samuel F. Thomas (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2012 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.10	Employment Agreement, dated February 26, 2008, by and between Registrant and Michael F. Biehl (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.10.1	Amendment No. 1, effective January 1, 2009, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Michael F. Biehl (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.10.2	Amendment No. 2, dated January 1, 2012, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Michael F. Biehl (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2012 (File No. 001-11442)).*

E-2

10.11	Employment Agreement, dated February 26, 2008, by and between Registrant and Matthew J. Klaben (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.11.1	Amendment No. 1, effective January 1, 2009, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Matthew J. Klaben (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.11.2	Amendment No. 2, dated January 1, 2012, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Matthew J. Klaben (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2012 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.12	Transition Agreement, dated August 24, 2010, by and between Registrant and James H. Hoppel, Jr. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on August 27, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.13	Employment Agreement, dated February 26, 2008, by and between Registrant and Kenneth J. Webster (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.13.1	Amendment No. 1, effective January 1, 2009, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Kenneth J. Webster (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13.1 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.13.2	Amendment No. 2, effective January 1, 2010, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Registrant and Kenneth J. Webster (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.13.3	Amendment No. 3, dated January 1, 2012, to the Employment Agreement dated February 26, 2008 by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Kenneth J. Webster. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 5, 2012 (File No. 001-11442)).*
10.14	Form of Indemnification Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-133254)).
10.15	IAM Agreement 2010-2013, effective February 6, 2010, by and between Chart Energy & Chemicals, Inc. and Local Lodge 2191 of District Lodge 66 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 (File No. 001-11442)).
10.16	Base Call Option Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
10.16.1	Base Call Option Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
10.16.2	Base Warrants Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011 (File No. 001-11442)).
10.16.3	Base Warrants Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
10.16.4	Base Capped Call Option Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
10.16.5	Base Capped Call Option Transaction Confirmation, dated as of July 28, 2011, by and between Chart Industries, Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on August 3, 2011(File No. 001-11442)).
21.1	List of Subsidiaries. (x)
23.1	Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. (x)
31.1	Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of the Company's Chief Financial Officer. (x)
31.2	Rule 13a-14(a) Certification of the Company's Chief Executive Officer. (x)
32.1	Section 1350 Certification of the Company's Chief Financial Officer. (xx)
32.2	Section 1350 Certification of the Company's Chief Executive Officer. (xx)

E-3

101** The following financial statements from the Company's Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2011, formatted in XBRL: (i) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow, (iv) the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. In accordance with Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be part of any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933 or Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

_______________

(x)	Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2012.
(xx)	Previously furnished as an exhibit to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2012.
*	Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
**	Furnished herewith.

E-4

XML

Debt And Credit Arrangements (Details) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($) Y	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 03, 2011 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Subordinated Debt [Member] Subordinated Notes, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Subordinated Debt [Member] Subordinated Notes, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Senior Credit Facility [Member]	May 18, 2010 Line of Credit [Member] Senior Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Prior Senior Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Line of Credit [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Term Loan [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Line of Credit [Member] Revolver [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Credit Facility [Member] Senior Term Loan, Due 2015 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Additional Paid-in Capital [Member] Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Carrying Amount, Deferred Financing Fees [Member] Convertible Notes Payable [Member] Convertible Notes, Due 2018 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Chart Ferox [Member] Facility 2 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Flow Instruments And Engineering Gmbh [Member] EUR (€) lines_of_credit	Dec. 31, 2011 Bonding/Guarantee Facility [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Line of Credit [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Overdraft Facility [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems Co., Ltd. [Member] Foreign Facilities [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Chart Ferox [Member] CZK creditfacilities	Dec. 31, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] Chart Ferox [Member] Facility 1 [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Gross amount of long-term debt				$ 174,474,000		$ 0	$ 0	$ 163,175,000									$ 55,250,000	$ 61,750,000
Short-term debt	4,758,000	0													4,758,000	0														4,758,000
Components of the Company's borrowings
Total debt	234,482,000	224,925,000
Less: current maturities	(11,258,000)	(6,500,000)
Long-term debt	223,224,000	218,425,000
Aggregate principal amount of debt				250,000,000	250,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of debt				242,700,000
Stated interest rate				2.00%
Minimum percentage of conversion price of Convertible Notes on each trading day				130.00%
Convertible Notes principal amount denominator for trading price				1,000,000
Unamortized discount	(75,526,000)			(75,526,000)
Maximum allowable percentage of the product of the last reported sale price of Common Stock and coversion rate for Convertible Notes Payable				97.00%
Number of common shares convertible				14.4865
Conversion price per share				$ 69.03
Percent of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes plus accrued interest to be purchased by the Company subject to Company undergoing a fundamental change				100.00%
Minimum holding percentage of convertible notes payable required to declare Convertible Notes to be due and payable in events of default				25.00%
Percent of Convertible Notes declarable as due and payable in certain events of default				100.00%
Number of shares of convertible debt hedged and capped call				3,622
Convertible Notes payment call options and capped call transactions	66,486,000	0	0	(66,486,000)
Initial cap price of the call transactions and the strike price of warrant transactions				$ 84.96
Proceeds from issuance of warrants	48,848,000	0	0	48,848,000
Net cost of Convertible Note Hedge and all capped transactions				17,638,000
Liability component of Convertible Notes before present value calculation					170,885,000
Carrying value of equity component				79,115,000	79,115,000
Percentage used as debt rate for present value of cash flows				7.90%
Interest expense for the Convertible Notes				5,672,000
Debt instrument interest expense excluding non-cash accretion expense				2,083,000
Interest accretion of convertible notes discount	3,589,000	0	0	3,589,000
Carrying amount of deferred financing fees				(7,277,000)																			(2,303,000)	(4,974,000)
Principal amount of liability component				250,000,000
Carrying value of liability component				174,474,000
Number of years to maturity	5
Maximum borrowing capicity of line of credit facility										200,000,000							65,000,000		135,000,000							320,000	30,000,000	60,000,000	10,000,000		175,000,000
Number of Credit Facilities Maintained																															2
Deferred financing fees written off due to refinancing							2,969,000							1,706,000
Sub-limit for issuance of swingline loans																			25,000,000
Sub-limit for letters of credit																			50,000,000
Maximum amount for foreign currency denominated letters of credit and borrowings																			40,000,000
Maximum amount of permitable subsidiary borrowings																			40,000,000
Periodic payment of debt instrument																	1,625,000
Percentage in excess of federal funds rate related to election of ABR borrowing																	0.50%
Percentage in excess of LIBOR rate related to election of ABR borrowing																	1.00%
Commitment fee percentage												0.30%	0.50%
Applicable Margin for Eurocurrency Revolving Facility Borrowings																				2.00%	3.50%
Fronting fee percentage charged for issuance of letters of credit											0.125%
Maximum percentage of capital stock guaranteed by company's material Non-U.S. subsidiaries for obligations under the Senior Credit Facility									65.00%
Amount of extinguished debt							163,175,000
Subordinated notes redemption price percentage of principal							103.042%
Remption price of Subordinated Notes principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest							175,600,000
Call premium in conjunction with redemption of Subordinated Notes							4,964,000
Amount of letters of credit outstanding																						35,875,000
Amount of line of credit facility outstanding																			0
Number of lines of credit maintained by Flow																										2
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities up to one year																																0.70%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities between one and three years																																0.80%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for maturities between three and five years																																1.20%
Letter of credit and guarantee fees percentage of face amount for all maturities																									0.70%
Bank guarantees supported by credit facilities																																2,248,000
Maturities of Long-term Debt [Abstract]
2012	11,258,000
2013	6,500,000
2014	6,500,000
2015	35,750,000
2016	0
Thereafter	250,000,000
Total	310,008,000
Interest paid	16,608,000	16,774,000	16,820,000
Fair value of debt instrument																	$ 45,426,000
Weighted average interest rate of debt																	2.73%
Effective interest rate of debt				7.90%			9.125%
Minimum trading days required during thirty consecutive trading days where last reported sales price is at least 130 percent of conversion price	20 days
Maximum days after any five trading day period in which trading price was less than 97 percent of last reported sale price of Common Stock times conversion rate	5 days
Revolving line of credit time to maturity	12 months

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Reporting Segments (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 segments		Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010		Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 segments		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	3										3
Sales from external customers											$ 794,585		$ 555,455		$ 597,458
Sales from external customers											794,585		555,455		597,458
Depreciation and amortization expense											27,915		23,577		21,412
Operating income (loss)	25,155		29,043	21,489	14,307	18,099		13,239	8,563	7,603	89,994		47,504		94,334
Total assets	1,174,475					954,839	[1],[2]				1,174,475		954,839	[1],[2]	926,503	[1],[3]
Capital expenditures											22,380		16,939		13,190
Goodwill	288,770					275,252					288,770		275,252
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Interest expense, net											23,371		16,196		15,817
Amortization of deferred financing costs											4,383		3,063		1,616
Gain on acquisition of business									(1,124)		0		(1,124)		(6,954)
Foreign currency loss (gain)											(734)		871		(687)
Income before income taxes and minority interest											62,974		28,498		84,542
Sales											794,585		555,455		597,458
Long-lived assets	576,846					548,743					576,846		548,743
Energy & Chemicals [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											205,033		137,801		255,074
Depreciation and amortization expense											7,417		7,338		7,335
Operating income (loss)											27,489		6,121		61,852
Total assets	203,067	[1],[4]				188,407	[1],[2]				203,067	[1],[4]	188,407	[1],[2]	205,482	[1],[3]
Capital expenditures											5,228		973		2,707
Goodwill	83,215					83,215					83,215		83,215		83,215
Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											390,332		269,293		252,197
Depreciation and amortization expense											11,767		10,474		10,104
Operating income (loss)											61,415		41,934		39,888
Total assets	556,688	[1],[4]				513,215	[1],[2]				556,688	[1],[4]	513,215	[1],[2]	486,620	[1],[3]
Capital expenditures											7,808		8,563		7,168
Goodwill	158,381					148,010					158,381		148,010		144,290
BioMedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											199,220		148,361		90,187
Depreciation and amortization expense											7,588		5,197		3,591
Operating income (loss)											35,911		30,698		15,912
Total assets	226,729	[1],[4]				227,138	[1],[2]				226,729	[1],[4]	227,138	[1],[2]	135,977	[1],[3]
Capital expenditures											6,692		4,594		2,022
Goodwill	47,174					44,027					47,174		44,027		37,027
Corporate [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											0		0		0
Depreciation and amortization expense											1,143		568		382
Operating income (loss)											(34,821)		(31,249)		(23,318)
Total assets	187,729	[1],[4]				26,079	[1],[2]				187,729	[1],[4]	26,079	[1],[2]	98,424	[1],[3]
Capital expenditures											2,652		2,809		1,293
Medical respiratory products [Member] | BioMedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											138,411		95,666		41,793
Biological storage systems [Member] | BioMedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											60,809		52,695		43,966
BioMedical Segment - Other [Member] | BioMedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											0		0		4,428
Cryogenic bulk storage systems [Member] | Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											183,932		117,907		135,523
Cryogenic packaged gas systems and beverage liquid CO2 systems [Member] | Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											147,526		103,129		80,278
Cryogenic systems and components [Member] | Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											33,038		20,221		10,987
Cryogenic services [Member] | Distribution & Storage [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											25,836		28,036		25,409
Heat exchangers [Member] | Energy & Chemicals [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											158,975		113,313		172,374
Cold boxes and LNG VIP [Member] | Energy & Chemicals [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											46,058		24,488		82,700
United States [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											503,011		391,691		441,583
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Sales											503,011		391,691		441,583
Long-lived assets	326,439					391,428					326,439		391,428
Czech Republic [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											87,285		72,486		79,865
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Sales											87,285		72,486		79,865
Long-lived assets	78,921					86,680					78,921		86,680
China [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											71,752		45,203		28,641
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Sales											71,752		45,203		28,641
Long-lived assets	73,469					69,243					73,469		69,243
Germany [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											122,001		0		0
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Sales											122,001		0		0
Long-lived assets	95,932					0					95,932		0
Other Non-U.S. Countries [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Sales from external customers											10,536		46,075		47,369
Reconciliation of the reportable segments' operating income to consolidated income before taxes and minority interest
Sales											10,536		46,075		47,369
Long-lived assets	$ 2,085					$ 1,392					$ 2,085		$ 1,392

[1] Corporate assets at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and deferred income taxes.

[2] Total assets at December 31, 2010 include goodwill of $83,215, $148,010 and $44,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

[3] Total assets at December 31, 2009 include goodwill of $83,215, $144,290 and $37,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

[4] Total assets at December 31, 2011 include goodwill of $83,215, $158,381 and $47,174 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

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Lease Commitments (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Leases [Abstract]
Rental expense under operating leases	$ 8,817	$ 8,481	$ 7,221
Future minimum lease payments for non-cancelable operating leases
2012	6,841
2013	6,256
2014	4,835
2015	3,619
2016	2,537
Thereafter	10,933
Future minimum lease payments	$ 35,021

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Property, Plant and Equipment (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Depreciation expense	$ 14,539	$ 12,528	$ 10,696
Property, plant and equipment, gross	200,375	162,067
Less accumulated depreciation	(63,074)	(45,909)
Property, plant and equipment, net	137,301	116,158
Land and Buildings [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	96,984	72,783
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, minimum	20
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, maximum	35
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	79,173	69,572
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, minimum	3
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, maximum	12
Computer equipment, furniture and fixtures [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	16,043	10,912
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, minimum	3
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life, maximum	7
Construction in Process [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 8,175	$ 8,800

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Restructuring Activities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

Schedule of Restructuring and Related Costs

The following tables summarize the Company’s restructuring activities for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009:

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2011	$	103		$	387		$	2,088		$	—		$	2,578
Restructuring charges	—			315			4,940			437			5,692
Asset impairment	—			—			(1,218		)	—			(1,218		)
Cash payments	(103		)	(587		)	(4,812		)	(437		)	(5,939		)
Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	—		$	115		$	998		$	—		$	1,113

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2010	$	682		$	1,608		$	503		$	88		$	2,881
Restructuring charges	—			(45		)	4,723			78			4,756
Asset impairment	—			—			(1,546		)	(100		)	(1,646		)
Cash payments	(579		)	(1,176		)	(1,592		)	(66		)	(3,413		)
Balance as of December 31, 2010	$	103		$	387		$	2,088		$	—		$	2,578

	Year Ended December 31, 2009
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2009	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Restructuring charges	1,004			3,397			3,336			283			8,020
Asset impairment	—			(234		)	(996		)	—			(1,230		)
Cash payments	(322		)	(1,555		)	(1,837		)	(195		)	(3,909		)
Balance as of December 31, 2009	$	682		$	1,608		$	503		$	88		$	2,881

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Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Allowance for doubtful accounts [Member]
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves
Balance at beginning of period	$ 3,008		$ 1,727		$ 2,312
Additions - Charged to costs and expenses	4,205		3,326		2,386
Additions - Charged to other accounts	52	[1]	489	[1]	0
Deductions	(4,919)	[2]	(2,552)	[2]	(3,007)	[2]
Translations	14		18		36
Balance at end of period	2,360		3,008		1,727
Allowance for obsolete and excess inventory [Member]
Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves
Balance at beginning of period	3,181		4,184		1,912
Additions - Charged to costs and expenses	3,331		1,800		4,450
Additions - Charged to other accounts	0		201	[1]	910	[1]
Deductions	(3,398)	[3]	(2,965)	[3]	(3,148)	[3]
Translations	77		(39)		60
Balance at end of period	$ 3,191		$ 3,181		$ 4,184

[1] Reserves at date of acquisition of subsidiary or subsidiaries.

[2] Reversal of amounts previously recorded as bad debt and uncollectible accounts written off.

[3] Inventory items written off against the allowance.

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Income Taxes (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2008
Income before taxes and minority interest
United States	$ 42,429	$ 18,415	$ 70,695
Foreign	20,545	10,083	13,847
Income before income taxes	62,974	28,498	84,542
Current:
Federal	14,369	12,673	21,779
State	876	900	462
Foreign	5,976	3,765	2,896
Current income tax expense (benefit)	21,221	17,338	25,137
Deferred:
Federal	(962)	(8,603)	(1,718)
State	(66)	77	(142)
Foreign	(1,463)	(819)	109
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)	(2,491)	(9,345)	(1,751)
Total income tax expense (benefit)	18,730	7,993	23,386
Reconciliation of income taxes
Income tax expense at U.S. statutory rate	22,041	9,974	29,589
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	810	976	319
Foreign income (loss), net of credit on foreign taxes	137	176	(31)
Effective tax rate differential of earnings outside of U.S.	(1,901)	(1,221)	(1,455)
Foreign investment tax credit	(777)	(305)	(385)
Non-taxable gain on acquisiton of business	0	(394)	(2,434)
Non-deductible (taxable) items	74	(144)	(735)
(Income) provision for tax contingencies	(28)	2	(69)
Domestic production activities deduction	(1,626)	(1,071)	(1,413)
Deferred tax assets:
Accruals and reserves	14,036	13,699
Pensions	5,562	4,245
Inventory	1,630	1,363
Stock options	4,539	5,412
Tax credit carryforwards	1,070	594
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards	1,405	861
Federal net operating loss carryforward	0	10,189
State net operating loss carryforward	1,442	947
Other - net	1,138	1,279
Total deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	30,822	38,589
Valuation allowance	(1,869)	(758)
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	28,953	37,831
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	16,392	11,973
Intangibles	38,888	52,312
Convertible notes	3,613	0
Total deferred tax liabilities	58,893	64,285
Net deferred tax liabilities	(29,940)	(26,454)
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Excluding Amounts Pertaining to Examined Tax Returns [Roll Forward]
Unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of the year				2,440
Additions for tax positions of prior years	128	2,170	22
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(22)	(22)	(22)
Lapse of statutes of limitation	(134)	(1,150)	(433)
Unrecognized tax benefits at end of the year	2,440	2,468	1,470		1,903
Income Taxes Paid	17,130	15,266	24,659
Accrual for interest and penalties	77
Accrual for additional interest associated with uncertain tax positions	42	50
Possible future decreases in unrecognized tax benefits	$ 1,022

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Narrative (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($) customers	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Czech koruna against Euro [Member] CZK	Dec. 31, 2011 Euro against U.S. dollar [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Czech koruna against U.S. Dollar [Member] CZK	Dec. 31, 2011 Japanese Yen against U.S. dollar [Member] JPY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2010 Japanese Yen against U.S. dollar [Member] JPY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2011 Euros against the Czech koruna [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2010 Euros against the Czech koruna [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Norwegian kroner against euro [Member] NOK	Dec. 31, 2011 British pounds against the U.S. dollar [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2010 U.S. dollars against the euro [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Austrailian dollars against the U.S. dollar [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2010 British pounds against the euro [Member] GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2010 Foreign Exchange Forward [Member] USD ($)
Minimum ownership percentage of investments in affiliates required to be accounted for under the equity method	20.00%
Maximum ownership percentage of investments in affiliates required to be accounted for under the equity method	50.00%
Minimum maturity duration of short-term, highly liquid variable-rate intruments	3 months
Maximum maturity duration of short-term, highly liquid variable-rate intruments	6 months
Foreign currency translation adjustments	$ 12,635	$ 14,938
Pension liability adjustments, net of taxes	(9,642)	(5,127)
Warranty expense	7,420	5,893	3,316
Percentage of sales from foreign countries	58.00%	57.00%	59.00%
Number of top customers used for evaluation of credit risk of consolidated sales	10
Maximum percentage of consolidated sales attributable to one customer	10.00%	10.00%	10.00%
Percentage of sales from top ten customers	36.00%	38.00%	47.00%
Allowance for doubtful accounts	2,360	3,008
Inventory, Net [Abstract]
Raw materials and supplies	64,832	35,565
Work in process	36,045	23,643
Finished goods	48,945	45,227
Inventories, net	149,822	104,435
Gain (loss) on foreign currency hedges	1,233	(630)	1,492
Forward currency contract amounts				17,500	11,500	4,700	130,000	386,853	3,340	16,900	3,000	250	5,000	500	75
Fair value of derivative assets	489
Fair value of derivative liability	107															807
Movement in Standard Product Warranty Accrual [Roll Forward]
Balance at beginning of period	12,101	8,764	8,636
Warranty usage	(8,085)	(3,827)	(4,335)
Acquired warranty reserves	1,745	1,271	1,147
Balance at end of period	13,181	12,101	8,764
Pension liability adjustment taxes	(2,633)	(470)
Accumluated other comprehensive income	$ 2,993	$ 9,811

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Contingencies (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies	$ 4,645	$ 6,355
Expected Number of Years of Environmental Remediation Expeditures	16 years

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Balance Sheet Components

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Supplemental Balance Sheet Disclosures [Text Block]

Balance Sheet Components

The following table summarizes the components of other current assets, other assets, net, other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	December 31,
	2011		2010
Other current assets:
Deposits	$	338	$	407
Assets held for sale	2,824		2,824
Deferred income taxes	14,004		12,686
Income taxes receivable	3,063		—
Other receivables	6,478		5,310
	$	26,707	$	21,227
Other assets, net:
Deferred financing costs	$	6,631	$	6,039
Cash value life insurance	1,426		1,513
Other	2,165		4,281
	$	10,222	$	11,833
Other current liabilities:
Accrued interest	$	2,099	$	3,206
Accrued other taxes	2,005		2,497
Accrued income taxes	—		1,066
Accrued rebates	7,969		4,090
Accrued employee separation and plant closure costs	1,113		2,578
Accrued other	11,467		12,376
	$	24,653	$	25,813
Other long-term liabilities:
Accrued environmental	$	4,745	$	6,355
Accrued contingent consideration	6,150		5,845
Accrued contingencies and other	1,462		1,034
	$	12,357	$	13,234

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Income Taxes Operating Loss Carryforwards (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Federal net operating losses resulting from acquisition	$ 38,700
State net operating losses resulting from acquisition	34,400
State net operating losses usable after limitations from Internal Revenue Code 382	25,100
State net operating loss carryforward	1,442	947
Valuation allowance	1,869	758
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards	1,405	861
State and Local Jurisdiction [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Valuation allowance	(695)
Foreign Country [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Valuation allowance	(1,174)
Foreign operating losses available to carryforward	5,741
Foreign operating losses expiring between 2014 and 2016	3,629
Foreign operating losses to be carried forward indefinitely	2,112
Investments in Foreign Subsidiaries and Foreign Corporate Joint Ventures that are Essentially Permanent in Duration [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Deferred tax liability for foreign subsidiaries' undistributed earnings	$ 115,847

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Stock Option Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Disclosure of Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option activity for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	December 31, 2011				December 31, 2010
	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of period	1,581		$	11.68	1,491		$	10.39
Granted	150		36.75		250		17.27
Exercised	(724	)	9.72		(143	)	7.42
Expired or forfeited	(29	)	21.27		(17	)	17.35
Outstanding at end of period	978		$	16.69	1,581		$	11.68
Exercisable at end of year*	563		$	11.72	1,118		$	9.46
Participants at end of year	73				65
Available for future grants at end of year	533				795

 _______________

* Remaining contractual term of 7.0 years

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value

Weighted average grant date fair values of stock options and the assumptions used in estimating the fair values are as follows:

	2011			2010			2009
Weighted average grant date fair value	$	24.33		$	12.03		$	11.02
Expected term (years)	6.25			6.25			6.25
Risk-free interest rate	2.43		%	2.46		%	2.07		%
Expected volatility	72.47		%	77.84		%	74.87		%

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Employee Benefit Plans (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Net Benefit Costs

The following table sets forth the components of net periodic pension expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Interest cost	$	2,409		$	2,447		$	2,397
Expected return on plan assets	(2,575		)	(2,353		)	(1,827		)
Amortization of net loss	365			269			678
Total pension expense (benefit)	$	199		$	363		$	1,248

Schedule of Changes in Projected Benefit Obligation and Plan Assets, Funded Status and Amounts Recognized on the Balance Sheet

The following table sets forth changes in the projected benefit obligation and plan assets, the funded status of the plans and the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet:

	December 31, 2011			December 31, 2010
Change in projected benefit obligation:
January 1 projected benefit obligation	$	44,693		$	41,627
Interest cost	2,409			2,447
Benefits paid	(1,641		)	(1,568		)
Actuarial losses	4,464			2,187
December 31 projected benefit obligation	$	49,925		$	44,693
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at January 1	$	33,210		$	30,981
Actual return	(473		)	3,261
Employer contributions	2,924			536
Benefits paid	(1,641		)	(1,568		)
Fair value at December 31	$	34,020		$	33,210
The funded status of the pension plans was as follows:
Funded status (plan assets less than projected benefit obligations)	$	(15,905	)	$	(11,483	)
Unrecognized actuarial loss	15,355			8,208
Net amount recognized	$	(550	)	$	(3,275	)

Schedule of Assumptions Used

The actuarial assumptions used in determining the funded status information and subsequent net periodic pension cost are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Discount rate	4.50	%	5.50	%	6.00	%
Expected long-term weighted average rate of return on plan assets	7.75	%	7.75	%	7.75	%

Schedule of Allocation of Plan Assets

The Company’s pension plan weighted-average actual (which is periodically rebalanced) and target asset allocations by asset category at December 31 are as follows:

			Actual
	Target		2011		2010
Equity	55	%	56	%	57	%
Fixed income funds	43	%	44	%	41	%
Cash and cash equivalents	2	%	—	%	2	%
Total	100	%	100	%	100	%

Schedule of Changes in Fair Value of Plan Assets

The fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets utilizing the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

	December 31, 2011
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Pooled separate accounts - Equity	$	19,109	$	—	$	19,109	$	—
Pooled separate accounts - Fixed income funds	14,909		—		12,654		—
Pooled separate accounts - Cash and cash equivalents	2		—		2,257		—
Total	$	34,020	$	—	$	34,020	$	—

Schedule of Expected Benefit Payments

Based upon current actuarial estimates, the Company expects to contribute $2,172 to its defined benefit pension plan in 2012 and expects the following benefit payments to be paid by the plan:

2012	$	1,796
2013	1,869
2014	1,977
2015	2,068
2016	2,223
In aggregate during five years thereafter	13,508
	$	23,441

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Employee Benefit Plans (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 pension_plan	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of frozen defined benefit pension plans	1
Components of net periodic pension expense
Interest cost	$ 2,409	$ 2,447	$ 2,397
Expected return on plan assets	(2,575)	(2,353)	(1,827)
Amortization of net loss	365	270	679
Total pension expense (benefit)	199	363	1,248
Change in projected benefit obligation:
January 1 projected benefit obligation	44,693	41,627
Interest cost	2,409	2,447	2,397
Benefits paid	(1,641)	(1,568)
Actuarial losses	4,464	2,187
December 31 projected benefit obligation	49,925	44,693	41,627
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at January 1	33,210	30,981
Actual return	(473)	3,261
Employer contributions	2,924	536
Benefits paid	(1,641)	(1,568)
Fair value at December 31	34,020	33,210	30,981
The funded status of the pension plans was as follows:
Funded status (plan assets less than projected benefit obligations)	(15,905)	(11,483)
Unrecognized actuarial loss	15,355	8,208
Net amount recognized	(550)	(3,275)
Unrecognized actuarial losses recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income	(4,515)	1,280
Actuarial assumptions used in determining the funded status information and subsequent net periodic pension cost
Discount rate	4.50%	5.50%	6.00%
Expected long-term weighted average rate of return on plan assets	7.75%	7.75%	7.75%
Weighted-average actual and target asset allocation
Target asset allocations	100.00%
Actual asset allocations	100.00%	100.00%
Expected future benefit plan contributions	2,172
Expected future benefit payments
2012	1,796
2013	1,869
2014	1,977
2015	2,068
2016	2,223
In aggregate during five years thereafter	13,508
Total future benefit payments	23,441
Multi-employer pension plan expense	518	391	525
Defined contribution savings plan expense	6,241	4,949	5,015
Level 1 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Level 2 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	34,020
Level 3 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Equity [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	19,109
Weighted-average actual and target asset allocation
Target asset allocations	55.00%
Actual asset allocations	56.00%	57.00%
Equity [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Equity [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	19,109
Equity [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Fixed Income Funds [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	14,909
Weighted-average actual and target asset allocation
Target asset allocations	43.00%
Actual asset allocations	44.00%	41.00%
Fixed Income Funds [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Fixed Income Funds [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	12,654
Fixed Income Funds [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	2
Weighted-average actual and target asset allocation
Target asset allocations	2.00%
Actual asset allocations	0.00%	2.00%
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member] | Level 1 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	0
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member] | Level 2 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	2,257
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at December 31	$ 0

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Lease Commitments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Leases [Abstract]

Operating Leases of Lessee Disclosure

The following table summarizes the future minimum lease payments for non-cancelable operating leases for the next five years and thereafter as of December 31, 2011:

2012	$	6,841
2013	6,256
2014	4,835
2015	3,619
2016	2,537
Thereafter	10,933
	$	35,021

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Reporting Segments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Schedule of Segment Reporting Information, by Segment

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	205,033	$	390,332	$	199,220	$	—		$	794,585
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,417		11,767		7,588		1,143			27,915
Operating income (loss)	27,489		61,415		35,911		(34,821		)	89,994
Total assets(A)(B)	203,067		556,688		226,729		187,729			1,174,213
Capital expenditures	5,228		7,808		6,692		2,652			22,380

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	137,801	$	269,293	$	148,361	$	—		$	555,455
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,338		10,474		5,197		568			23,577
Operating income (loss)	6,121		41,934		30,698		(31,249		)	47,504
Total assets(A)(C)	188,407		513,215		227,138		26,079			954,839
Capital expenditures	973		8,563		4,594		2,809			16,939

	Year Ended December 31, 2009
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	255,074	$	252,197	$	90,187	$	—		$	597,458
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,335		10,104		3,591		382			21,412
Operating income (loss)	61,852		39,888		15,912		(23,318		)	94,334
Total assets(A)(D)	205,482		486,620		135,977		98,424			926,503
Capital expenditures	2,707		7,168		2,022		1,293			13,190

 _______________

(A) Corporate assets at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and deferred income taxes.

(B) Total assets at December 31, 2011 include goodwill of $83,215, $158,381 and $47,174 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

(C) Total assets at December 31, 2010 include goodwill of $83,215, $148,010 and $44,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

(D) Total assets at December 31, 2009 include goodwill of $83,215, $144,290 and $37,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

Reconciliation of Operating Profit (Loss) from Segments to Consolidated

A reconciliation of the total of the reportable segments’ operating income to consolidated income before income taxes and minority interest is presented below:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Operating income	$	89,994		$	47,504		$	94,334
Other expense (income):
Interest expense, net	23,371			16,196			15,817
Amortization of deferred financing costs	4,383			3,063			1,616
Gain on acquisition of business	—			(1,124		)	(6,954		)
Foreign currency loss (gain)	(734		)	871			(687		)
Income before income taxes and minority interest	$	62,974		$	28,498		$	84,542

Reconciliation of Revenue from Segments to Consolidated

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Product Sales Information:
Energy and Chemicals Segment
Heat exchangers	$	158,975	$	113,313	$	172,374
Cold boxes and LNG VIP	46,058		24,488		82,700
	$	205,033	$	137,801	$	255,074
Distribution and Storage Segment
Cryogenic bulk storage systems	$	183,932	$	117,907	$	135,523
Cryogenic packaged gas systems and beverage liquid CO2 systems	147,526		103,129		80,278
Cryogenic systems and components	33,038		20,221		10,987
Cryogenic services	25,836		28,036		25,409
	$	390,332	$	269,293	$	252,197
BioMedical Segment
Medical respiratory products	$	138,411	$	95,666	$	41,793
Biological storage systems	60,809		52,695		43,966
Other	—		—		4,428
	199,220		148,361		90,187
Total Sales	$	794,585	$	555,455	$	597,458

Schedule of Revenue from External Customers and Long-Lived Assets, by Geographical Areas

	Year Ended December 31, 2011				Year Ended December 31, 2010				Year Ended December 31, 2009
Geographic Information:	Sales		Long-Lived Assets		Sales		Long-Lived Assets		Sales
United States	$	503,011	$	326,439	$	391,691	$	391,428	$	441,583
Czech Republic	87,285		78,921		72,486		86,680		79,865
China	71,752		73,469		45,203		69,243		28,641
Germany	122,001		95,932		—		—		—
Other Non-U.S. Countries	10,536		2,085		46,075		1,392		47,369
Total	$	794,585	$	576,846	$	555,455	$	548,743	$	597,458

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Accounting Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation: The consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and require management to make certain estimates and assumptions. These may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. They may also affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure and Significant Accounting Policies

Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Nature of Operations: Chart Industries, Inc. (the “Company”), is a leading global manufacturer of standard and custom-engineered products and systems serving a wide variety of low-temperature and cryogenic applications. The Company has developed an expertise in cryogenic systems and equipment, which operate at low temperatures sometimes approaching absolute zero. The majority of the Company’s products, including vacuum insulated containment vessels, heat exchangers, cold boxes and other cryogenic components, are used throughout the liquid-gas supply chain for the purification, liquefaction, distribution, storage and end-use of industrial gases and hydrocarbons. The Company has domestic operations located across the United States, including the principal executive offices located in Ohio, and an international presence in Asia, Australia and Europe.

Principles of Consolidation: The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Investments in affiliates where the Company’s ownership is between 20 percent and 50 percent, or where the Company does not have control but has the ability to exercise significant influence over operations or financial policy, are accounted for under the equity method.

Basis of Presentation: The consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and require management to make certain estimates and assumptions. These may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. They may also affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassifications: In 2010, the Company determined shipping and handling revenues should be recorded in sales and related shipping and handling costs should be recorded in cost of sales. Previously, both shipping and handling revenues and costs were netted within sales. Prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

Cost of Sales: Any expenses associated with manufacturing are included in cost of sales. These costs include all materials, direct and indirect labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving, inspection, internal transfers and distribution and warehousing of inventory. In addition, shop supplies, facility maintenance costs, manufacturing engineering, project management and depreciation expense for assets used in the manufacturing process are included in cost of sales.

Selling, general and administrative costs (“SG&A”): SG&A includes selling, marketing, customer service, product management, design engineering, and other administrative costs not directly supporting the manufacturing process as well as depreciation expense associated with non-manufacturing assets. In addition, SG&A includes corporate operating expenses for executive management, accounting, tax, treasury, human resources, information technology, legal, internal audit, risk management and stock-based compensation expense.

Cash and Cash Equivalents: The Company considers all investments with an initial maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The December 31, 2011 and 2010 balances include money market investments.

Short Term Investments: From time to time, the Company invests in short-term, highly liquid, variable rate instruments, which have stated maturities of greater than three months but less than six months. These short term investments are recorded at cost which approximates fair value. The Company has determined that its investment securities are available and intended for use in current operations and, accordingly, has classified investment securities as current assets. There are no short-term investments as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Concentrations of Credit Risks: The Company sells its products to gas producers, distributors and end-users across the industrial gas, hydrocarbon and chemical processing industries in countries all over the world. Approximately 58%, 57% and 59% of sales were to foreign countries in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. No single customer exceeded ten percent of consolidated sales in 2011, 2010 and 2009. Sales to the Company’s top ten customers accounted for 36%, 38% and 47% of consolidated sales in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The Company’s sales to particular customers fluctuate from period to period, but the large gas producer and distributor customers of the Company tend to be a consistently large source of revenue for the Company. To minimize credit risk from trade receivables, the Company reviews the financial condition of potential customers in relation to established credit requirements before sales credit is extended and monitors the financial condition of customers to help ensure timely collections and to minimize losses. Additionally, for certain domestic and foreign customers, particularly in the Energy and Chemicals (“E&C”) segment, the Company requires advance payments, letters of credit and other such guarantees of payment. Certain customers also require the Company to issue letters of credit or performance bonds, particularly in instances where advance payments are involved, as a condition of placing the order.

The Company is also subject to concentrations of credit risk with respect to its cash and cash equivalents and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. To minimize credit risk from these financial instruments, the Company enters into these arrangements with major banks and other quality financial institutions and invests only in high-quality instruments. The Company does not expect any counterparties to fail to meet their obligations in this area.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts: The Company evaluates the collectibility of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations (e.g., bankruptcy filings, or substantial downgrading of credit scores), a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the receivable to the amount the Company believes will be collected. The Company also records allowances for doubtful accounts based on the length of time the receivables are past due and historical experience. The allowance for doubtful accounts balance at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $2,360 and $3,008, respectively.

Inventories: Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market with cost being determined by the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method at December 31, 2011 and 2010. The components of inventory are as follows:

	December 31,
	2011		2010
Raw materials and supplies	$	64,832	$	35,565
Work in process	36,045		23,643
Finished goods	48,945		45,227
	$	149,822	$	104,435

Inventory Valuation Reserves: The Company determines inventory valuation reserves based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific problem in the valuation of a certain item, a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the item to its net realizable value. The Company also recognizes reserves based on the actual usage in recent history and projected usage in the near-term. If circumstances change (e.g., lower-than-expected or higher-than-expected usage), estimates of the net realizable value could be changed by a material amount.

Property, Plant and Equipment: All capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment are stated on the basis of cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, whereas major improvements are capitalized. The cost of applicable assets is depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method for financial reporting purposes and accelerated methods for income tax purposes. Depreciation expense was $14,539, $12,528 and $10,696 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The following table summarizes the components of property, plant and equipment:

		December 31,
Classification	Estimated Useful Life	2011			2010
Land and buildings	20-35 years	$	96,984		$	72,783
Machinery and equipment	3-12 years	79,173			69,572
Computer equipment, furniture and fixtures	3-7 years	16,043			10,912
Construction in process		8,175			8,800
		200,375			162,067
Less accumulated depreciation		(63,074		)	(45,909		)
Total property, plant and equipment, net		$	137,301		$	116,158

The Company monitors its property, plant and equipment, and finite-lived intangible assets for impairment indicators on an ongoing basis. If impairment indicators exist, the Company performs the required analysis and records impairment charges. In conducting its analysis, the Company compares the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment loss is measured and recognized. An impairment loss is measured as the difference between the net book value and the fair value of the long-lived assets. Fair value is estimated based upon either discounted cash flow analyses or estimated salvage values. Cash flows are estimated using internal forecasts as well as assumptions related to discount rates. Changes in economic or operating conditions impacting these estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of long-lived assets.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets: The Company does not amortize goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets, but reviews them at least annually, and on an interim basis if necessary, for impairment using a measurement date of October 1st. The Company amortizes intangible assets that have finite lives over their useful lives.

With respect to goodwill, the Company assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. The reporting units are the same as our operating segments, which are also the reportable segments: Energy & Chemicals, Distribution & Storage, and BioMedical. The Company first evaluates relevant events and circumstances, such as macroeconomic conditions and the Company's overall financial performance to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the first and second steps of the goodwill impairment test are not necessary. Otherwise, the Company would perform the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. The Company then evaluates how significant each of the identified factors could be to the fair value or carrying amount of a reporting unit and weighs these factors in totality in forming a conclusion whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. As of October 1, 2011 and based on the Company's qualitative assessment, the Company determined that it was not more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying amount of each reporting unit and, therefore, the two-step goodwill impairment test was not necessary. In 2010, to test for impairment of goodwill, we estimated the fair market value of each our reporting units. We used the income and market approaches to develop fair value estimates, which were weighted equally to arrive at a fair value estimate for each reporting unit. With respect to the income approach, we developed a model which incorporated our estimates of future cash flows, estimates of allocations of certain assets and cash flows among reporting units, estimates of future growth rates and management's judgment regarding the applicable discount rates to use to discount the estimated cash flows. With respect to the market approach, we used the guideline company method selecting companies with similar assets or businesses to estimate fair value of each reporting unit.

With respect to other indefinite-lived intangible assets, the Company determines the fair value of any indefinite-lived intangible assets using an income approach, compares the fair value to its carrying amount and records an impairment loss if the carrying amount exceeds its fair value. The Company uses the relief from royalty method to develop fair value estimates for trade names and trademarks. This method focuses on the level of royalty payments that the user of an intangible asset would be willing to pay for the use of the asset if it were not owned by the user. This method has been consistently applied between years. As of October 1, 2011, the Company determined that the fair values of trade names and trademarks exceeded their carrying amounts.

The following table displays the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization for finite-lived intangible assets and indefinite-lived intangible assets:

	Weighted Average Estimated Useful Life	December 31, 2011					December 31, 2010
		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
Finite-lived assets
Unpatented technology	9 years	$	18,113	$	(9,024	)	$	15,073	$	(7,275	)
Patents	10 years	9,080		(5,434		)	8,497		(4,304		)
Product names	14 years	5,638		(1,818		)	5,676		(1,285		)
Non-compete agreements	3 years	2,130		(2,130		)	2,130		(1,952		)
Customer relations	13 years	130,488		(48,840		)	127,062		(39,103		)
		$	165,449	$	(67,246	)	$	158,438	$	(53,919	)
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Goodwill		$	288,770				$	275,252
Trademarks and trade names		39,280					37,911
In-process research and development		3,070					3,070
		$	331,120				$	316,233

Amortization expense for intangible assets subject to amortization was $13,376, $11,049 and $10,716 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and is estimated to range from approximately $13,500 to $9,500 annually for fiscal years 2012 through 2017, respectively.

Goodwill increased $13,518 during the year ended December 31, 2011. Acquisitions accounted for $14,585 of the increase offset by $(1,067) representing the impact of foreign currency translation adjustments.

Financial Instruments: The fair values of cash equivalents, short term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and short term bank debt approximate their carrying amount because of the short maturity of these instruments.

Derivative Instruments: The Company utilizes certain derivative financial instruments to enhance its ability to manage foreign currency risk that exists as part of ongoing business operations. Derivative instruments are entered into for periods consistent with related underlying exposures and do not constitute positions independent of those exposures. The Company does not enter into contracts for speculative purposes, nor is it a party to any leveraged derivative instrument.

The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange risk as a result of transactions in currencies other than the functional currency of certain subsidiaries. The Company utilizes foreign currency forward purchase and sale contracts to manage the volatility associated with foreign currency purchases and certain intercompany transactions in the normal course of business. Contracts typically have maturities of less than one year. Principal currencies include the euro, British pound and Czech koruna. The Company’s foreign currency forward contracts do not qualify as hedges as defined by accounting guidance. Changes in their fair value are recorded as foreign currency (gains) losses in the consolidated statement of operations and in the operating activities section of the statement of cash flows. The changes in fair value generated a net gain of $1,233 for 2011, a net loss of $630 for 2010, and a net gain of $1,492 for 2009.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company held forward currency contracts to buy 17,500 Czech koruna against the euro and to sell (i) 11,500 euros against the U.S. dollar, (ii) 4,700 Czech koruna against the U.S. Dollar, (iii) 130,000 Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar, (iv) 3,340 euros against the Czech koruna, (v) 3,000 Norwegian kroner against the euro, and (vi) 250 British pounds against the U.S. dollar. At December 31, 2011, the fair value of the Company’s derivative assets and liabilities representing foreign currency forward contracts was $489 and $107, respectively. These were recorded on the balance sheet as other current assets and liabilities. As of December 31, 2010, the Company held forward currency contracts to sell (i) 16,900 euros against the Czech koruna, (ii) 386,853 Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar, (iii) 5,000 U.S. dollars against the euro, (iv) 500 Australian dollars against the U.S dollar, and (v) 75 British pounds against the euro. At December 31, 2010, the fair value of the Company’s derivative liabilities representing foreign currency forward contracts was $807. These were recorded on the balance sheet as other current liabilities. The Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are not exchange traded instruments and, accordingly, are classified as being valued utilizing level 2 inputs which are based on observable inputs such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets.

Product Warranties: The Company provides product warranties with varying terms and durations for the majority of its products. The Company records warranty expense in cost of sales. The changes in the Company’s consolidated warranty reserve are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Balance at beginning of period	$	12,101		$	8,764		$	8,636
Warranty expense	7,420			5,893			3,316
Warranty usage	(8,085		)	(3,827		)	(4,335		)
Acquired warranty reserves	1,745			1,271			1,147
Balance at end of period	$	13,181		$	12,101		$	8,764

Shareholders’ Equity: The Company reports comprehensive income in its consolidated statement of shareholders’ equity. The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are as follows:

	December 31,
	2011			2010
Foreign currency translation adjustments	$	12,635		$	14,938
Pension liability adjustments, net of taxes of ($2,633) and ($470) at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively	(9,642		)	(5,127		)
	$	2,993		$	9,811

Fair Value of Financial Instruments: The Company measures financial assets and liabilities at fair value in three levels of inputs. The three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in the valuation methodologies, is:

Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 — Valuations based on observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3 — Valuations based on unobservable inputs reflecting our own assumptions, consistent with reasonably available assumptions made by other market participants. These valuations require significant judgment.

Revenue Recognition: For the majority of the Company’s products, revenue is recognized when products are shipped, title has transferred and collection is reasonably assured. For these products, there is also persuasive evidence of an arrangement and the selling price to the buyer is fixed or determinable. For brazed aluminum heat exchangers, cold boxes, liquefied natural gas fueling stations and engineered tanks, the Company uses the percentage of completion method of accounting. Earned revenue is based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion after giving effect to the most current estimates. Earned revenue on contracts in process at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, totaled $219,315, $240,239 and $295,530, respectively. Timing of amounts billed on contracts varies from contract to contract and could cause significant variation in working capital needs. Amounts billed on percentage of completion contracts in process at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 totaled $265,686, $239,600 and $298,131, respectively. The cumulative impact of revisions in total cost estimates during the progress of work is reflected in the period in which these changes become known. Earned revenue reflects the original contract price adjusted for agreed upon claims and change orders, if any. Losses expected to be incurred on contracts in process, after consideration of estimated minimum recoveries from claims and change orders, are charged to operations as soon as such losses are known. Pre-contract costs relate primarily to salaries and benefits incurred to support the selling effort and, accordingly, are expensed as incurred. Change orders resulting in additional revenue and profit are recognized upon approval by the customer based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion. Change orders resulting in additional revenue and profit are recognized upon approval by the customer based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion. Certain contracts include incentive-fee arrangements. The incentive fees in such contracts can be based on a variety of factors but the most common are the achievement of target completion dates, target costs, and/or other performance criteria. Incentive fee revenue is not recognized until it is earned. Timing of amounts billed on contracts varies from contract to contract and could cause a significant variation in working capital requirements.

Shipping and Handling Costs: Amounts billed to customers for shipping are classified as sales, and the related costs are classified as cost of sales. Shipping revenue of $8,595, $6,537 and $5,507 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, are included in sales. Shipping costs of $11,443, $8,488, and $5,942 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, are included in the cost of sales.

Advertising Costs: The Company incurred advertising costs of $4,548, $3,268 and $3,355 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Such costs are expensed as incurred and included in SG&A.

Research and Development Costs: The Company incurred research and development costs of $4,375, $3,858 and $3,256 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Such costs are expensed as incurred and included in SG&A.

Foreign Currency Translation: The functional currency for the majority of the Company’s foreign operations is the applicable local currency. The translation from the applicable foreign currencies to U.S. dollars is performed for balance sheet accounts using exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and for revenue and expense accounts using a weighted average exchange rate during the period. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of shareholders’ equity. Gains or losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are charged to operations as incurred.

Income Taxes: The Company and its U.S. subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. Deferred income taxes are provided for temporary differences between financial reporting and the consolidated tax return in accordance with the liability method. A valuation allowance is provided against net deferred tax assets when conditions indicate that it is more likely than not that the benefit related to such assets will not be realized.

The Company utilizes a two-step approach for the recognition and measurement of uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position and determine whether it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more likely than not of being realized upon settlement.

Interest and penalties related to income taxes are accounted for as income tax expense.

Stock-Based Compensation: The Company records stock-based compensation according to current accounting guidance which requires all share-based payments to employees and directors, including grants of employee stock options, to be measured at fair value on the date of grant.

Compensation for share-based awards is recognized on a ratable basis over the vesting period. The total cost of a share-based payment award is reduced by estimated forfeitures expected to occur over the vesting period which generally is equivalent to the required service period of the award. See Note H for further discussions regarding stock options and other share-based awards.

Earnings per share: The following table presents calculations of income per share of common stock:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$	44,076	$	20,160	$	61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — basic	$	1.51	$	0.71	$	2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — diluted	$	1.47	$	0.69	$	2.11
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding — basic	29,165		28,534		28,457
Incremental shares issuable upon assumed conversion and exercise of stock options	748		721		524
Total shares — diluted	29,913		29,255		28,981

Shares issuable under Convertible Notes were excluded from diluted earnings per share since the conversion price was greater than the average market price of the Company's common stock during the period. Certain options to purchase common stock of the Company were not included in net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share-diluted as they were anti-dilutive and consisted of 107, 362 and 170 shares for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2011-09, “Compensation - Retirement Benefits - Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80).” The Company has historically participated in the multiemployer plan for union employees at the Company's La Crosse, Wisconsin facility. The amendments in the ASU require the Company to provide additional separate disclosures for multiemployer pension plans and multiemployer other postretirement benefit plans. The amendments are effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011 and are applied retrospectively for all prior periods presented. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact of the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350).” The amendments in the ASU permit an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the first and second steps of the goodwill impairment test are not necessary. Otherwise, the entity would perform the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. The amendments are effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption in permitted, including for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed as of a date before September 15, 2011. The Company early adopted the new guidance and its adoption did not have a material impact of the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220).” The amendments in the ASU revise the manner in which entities present comprehensive income in their financial statements. The new guidance removes the presentation options in Topic 220 and requires entities to report components of comprehensive income in either (1) a continuous statement of comprehensive income or (2) two separate but consecutive statements. The amendments do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company does not believe that the adoption of this guidance will have a material effect on the financial statements of the Company since the amendments affect financial statement presentation only.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, “Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs (Topic 820).” The amendments in the ASU aim to align the principles for fair value measurements and the related disclosure requirements in accordance with U.S. GAAP and IFRS. This ASU mainly contains clarifications such as the specification that the concepts of highest and best use and valuation premise in a fair value measurement are relevant only when measuring the fair value of nonfinancial assets and are not relevant when measuring the fair value of financial assets or of liabilities. The ASU also requires new disclosures under U.S. GAAP such as quantitative information about the unobservable inputs used in a fair value measurement that is categorized within the Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. This ASU is effective during interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption by public companies is not permitted. The Company does not believe that the adoption of this guidance will have a material effect on the financial statements of the Company.

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Quarterly Data (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information

Selected quarterly data for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter		Total
Sales	$	162,941	$	200,698	$	211,311	$	219,635	$	794,585
Gross profit	52,486		62,330		66,631		63,999		245,446
Operating income	14,307		21,489		29,043		25,155		89,994
Net income	7,403		11,020		17,505		8,316		44,244
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	7,530		10,591		17,540		8,415		44,076
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—basic	$	0.26	$	0.36	$	0.60	$	0.29
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—diluted	$	0.25	$	0.35	$	0.59	$	0.28

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	First Quarter		Second Quarter			Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter		Total
Sales	$	118,268	$	139,144		$	139,205	$	158,838	$	555,455
Gross profit	34,276		37,575			42,801		50,647		165,299
Operating income	7,603		8,563			13,239		18,099		47,504
Net income	1,419		2,458			6,665		9,963		20,505
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	1,384		2,399		(1)	6,575		9,802		20,160
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—basic	$	0.05	$	0.08		$	0.23	$	0.34
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—diluted	$	0.05	$	0.08		$	0.23	$	0.33

 _______________

(1) Includes $1,124 gain from acquisition of business.

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Restructuring Activities (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			15 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Jun. 30, 2011
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	$ 3,497	$ 3,730		$ 7,300
Summary of Restructuring Activities
Beginning balance	2,578	2,881	0
Restructuring charges	5,692	4,756	8,020
Asset impairment	(1,218)	(1,646)	(1,230)
Cash payments	(5,939)	(3,413)	(3,909)
Ending balance	1,113	2,578	2,881
Employee separtion benefits [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	1,172
Termination Benefits, and Other Misc. Asset Write Downs
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			8,020
Cost of Sales [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	2,061	2,579
Cost of Sales [Member] | Termination Benefits, and Other Misc. Asset Write Downs
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			3,605
Selling, General and Administrative Expense [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	2,414	531
Selling, General and Administrative Expense [Member] | Termination Benefits, and Other Misc. Asset Write Downs
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			3,185
Asset impairment [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		1,646
Asset impairment [Member] | Termination Benefits, and Other Misc. Asset Write Downs
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			(1,230)
Loss on disposal of assets [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs	1,218
Energy & Chemicals [Member]
Summary of Restructuring Activities
Beginning balance	103	682	0
Restructuring charges	0	0	1,004
Asset impairment	0	0	0
Cash payments	(103)	(579)	(322)
Ending balance	0	103	682
Distribution & Storage [Member]
Summary of Restructuring Activities
Beginning balance	387	1,608	0
Restructuring charges	315	(45)	3,397
Asset impairment	0	0	(234)
Cash payments	(587)	(1,176)	(1,555)
Ending balance	115	387	1,608
BioMedical [Member]
Summary of Restructuring Activities
Beginning balance	2,088	503	0
Restructuring charges	4,940	4,723	3,336
Asset impairment	(1,218)	(1,546)	(996)
Cash payments	(4,812)	(1,592)	(1,837)
Ending balance	998	2,088	503
Corporate [Member]
Summary of Restructuring Activities
Beginning balance	0	88	0
Restructuring charges	437	78	283
Asset impairment	0	(100)	0
Cash payments	(437)	(66)	(195)
Ending balance	$ 0	$ 0	$ 88

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Consolidated Balance Sheets (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 256,861	$ 165,112
Accounts receivable, net	131,904	88,131
Inventories, net	149,822	104,435
Unbilled contract revenue	25,247	22,070
Prepaid expenses	7,088	5,121
Other current assets	26,707	21,227
Total Current Assets	597,629	406,096
Property, plant and equipment, net	137,301	116,158
Goodwill	288,770	275,252
Identifiable intangible assets, net	140,553	145,500
Other assets, net	10,222	11,833
TOTAL ASSETS	1,174,475	954,839	[1],[2]
Current Liabilities
Short-term debt	4,758	0
Accounts payable	84,297	54,749
Customer advances and billings in excess of contract revenue	102,996	51,661
Accrued salaries, wages and benefits	29,108	20,359
Warranty reserve	13,181	12,101
Current portion of long-term debt	6,500	6,500
Other current liabilities	24,653	25,813
Total Current Liabilities	265,493	171,183
Long-term debt	223,224	218,425
Long-term deferred tax liability, net	43,945	39,140
Accrued pension liabilities	15,905	11,483
Other long-term liabilities	12,357	13,234
Shareholders’ Equity
Common stock, par value $.01 per share — 150,000,000 shares authorized, as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, 29,612,684 and 28,831,724 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively	296	288
Additional paid-in capital	333,034	258,425
Retained earnings	274,716	230,640
Accumulated other comprehensive income	2,993	9,811
Total Chart Industries, Inc. shareholders’ equity	611,039	499,164
Noncontrolling interest	2,512	2,210
Total equity	613,551	501,374
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$ 1,174,475	$ 954,839

[1] Corporate assets at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and deferred income taxes.

[2] Total assets at December 31, 2010 include goodwill of $83,215, $148,010 and $44,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

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Stock Option Plans (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 Y		Dec. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2009
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 5,433		$ 4,933		$ 3,279
Stock-based compensation recognized tax benefits	7,879		796		30
Total share-based compensation	3,660
Share-based compensation expected period of recognition	2.1
Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Contractual term	10 years
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Outstanding at beginning of period, shares	1,581,000		1,491,000
Outstanding at beginning of period, price	$ 11.68		$ 10.39
Granted, shares	150,000		250,000
Granted, price	$ 36.75		$ 17.27
Exercised	(724,000)		(143,000)
Exercised, price	$ 9.72		$ 7.42
Expired or forfeited, shares	(29,000)		(17,000)
Expired or forfeited, price	$ 21.27		$ 17.35
Outstanding at end of period, shares	978,000		1,581,000		1,491,000
Outstanding at end of period, price	$ 16.69		$ 11.68		$ 10.39
Exercisable at end of year, shares	563,000	[1]	1,118,000	[1]
Exercisable at end of year, price	$ 11.72		$ 9.46
Participants at end of year	73		65
Available for future grants at end of year	533,000		795,000
Remaining contractual term (in years)	7.0
Intrinsic value of the options oustanding	36,558		34,940
Intrinsic value of the options exercisable	23,801		27,190
Total fair value of options vested	1,957		1,755		1,421
Total intrinsic value of options exercised in period	28,784		3,327		594
Weighted average grant date fair value	$ 24.33		$ 12.03		$ 11.02
Expected term (years)	6.25		6.25		6.25
Risk-free interest rate	2.43%		2.46%		2.07%
Expected volatility	72.47%		77.84%		74.87%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Number	978,000		1,581,000		1,491,000
Stock Options [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Award vesting period	4 years
Stock Options [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Award vesting period	5 years
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	2,198		1,162
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Granted in period	59,000		192,000
Award vesting period	3 years				3 years
Weighted-average per share fair values	$ 36.75		$ 17.85
Performance Share Units [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Weighted average per share fair value	$ 36.75				$ 5.26
Award vesting period	3 years				3 years
Performance Share Units [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Percent of total shared units earned out of total share units granted	0.00%
Performance Share Units [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Percent of total shared units earned out of total share units granted	150.00%
Stock Incentive Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares reserved for issuance	3,421,000
Stock Incentive Plan [Member] | Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Outstanding at end of period, shares	632,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Number	632,000
Stock Incentive Plan [Member] | Performance Based Stock Awards [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock awards oustanding	145,000
Omnibus Equity Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares reserved for issuance	1,250,000
Omnibus Equity Plan [Member] | Stock Options [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Outstanding at end of period, shares	348,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Number	348,000
Omnibus Equity Plan [Member] | Performance Based Stock Awards [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock awards oustanding	56,000
Omnibus Equity Plan [Member] | Restricted Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock awards oustanding	172,000
Omnibus Equity Plan [Member] | Performance Share Units [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Granted in period	59,000				164,000
Director [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	360		330		300
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding [Roll Forward]
Granted in period	8,000		18,000		24,000
Fair market value of stock awards	$ 360		$ 330		$ 300

[1] Remaining contractual term of 7.0 years

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Consolidated Statements Of Cash Flows (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income	$ 44,244	$ 20,505	$ 61,156
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization of deferred financing costs	4,383	3,063	1,616
Call premium related to redemption of long-term debt	4,964	0	0
Employee stock and stock option related compensation expense	5,433	4,933	3,279
Asset impairment	1,218	1,773	1,230
Depreciation and amortization	27,915	23,577	21,412
Interest accretion of convertible notes discount	3,589	0	0
Gain on acquisition of business	0	(1,124)	(6,954)
Foreign currency transaction (gain) loss	(734)	871	(687)
Loss on disposal of assets	323	0	0
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)	(2,491)	(9,345)	(1,751)
Other	(536)	3,236	1,999
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(33,095)	(2,614)	15,217
Inventory	(31,628)	(13,717)	25,221
Unbilled contract revenues and other current assets	(10,949)	(2,554)	27,112
Accounts payable and other current liabilities	17,889	10,505	(16,567)
Deferred income taxes	138	(337)	641
Customer advances and billings in excess of contract revenue	50,995	(198)	(45,998)
Net Cash Provided By Operating Activities	81,658	38,574	86,926
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Capital expenditures	(22,380)	(16,939)	(13,190)
Proceeds from sale of assets	0	989	107
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	(37,680)	(47,865)	(18,086)
Proceeds from maturities of short term investments	0	0	32,264
Other investing activities	388	(400)	(1,897)
Net Cash (Used In) Investing Activities	(59,672)	(64,215)	(802)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Principal payments on long term debt	(6,500)	(18,250)	0
Payment of financing costs	(7,277)	(2,857)	0
Stock option exercise proceeds	7,027	1,063	746
Tax benefit from exercise of stock options	7,879	796	30
Retirement of long-term debt, including call premium	168,139	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of short-term debt	4,758	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes	250,000	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of warrants	48,848	0	0
Payment for call options related to convertible notes	(66,486)	0	0
Payment of contingent consideration	(1,300)	0	0
Other financing activities	(1,099)	(54)	0
Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Financing Activities	67,711	(19,302)	776
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	89,697	(44,943)	86,900
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	2,052	(1,113)	2,103
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	165,112	211,168	122,165
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF PERIOD	$ 256,861	$ 165,112	$ 211,168

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Revenue Recognition and Other Costs (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Deferred Revenue Arrangement [Line Items]
Earned revenue	$ 219,315	$ 240,239	$ 295,530
Amounts billed to customers	265,686	239,600	298,131
Shipping revenue	(8,595)	(6,537)	(5,507)
Research and development costs	4,375	3,858	3,256
Cost of Sales [Member]
Deferred Revenue Arrangement [Line Items]
Shipping costs	11,443	8,488	5,942
Selling, General and Administrative Expense [Member]
Deferred Revenue Arrangement [Line Items]
Advertising costs	$ 4,548	$ 3,268	$ 3,355

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Schedule of Inventory, Current

The components of inventory are as follows:

	December 31,
	2011		2010
Raw materials and supplies	$	64,832	$	35,565
Work in process	36,045		23,643
Finished goods	48,945		45,227
	$	149,822	$	104,435

Property, Plant and Equipment

The following table summarizes the components of property, plant and equipment:

		December 31,
Classification	Estimated Useful Life	2011			2010
Land and buildings	20-35 years	$	96,984		$	72,783
Machinery and equipment	3-12 years	79,173			69,572
Computer equipment, furniture and fixtures	3-7 years	16,043			10,912
Construction in process		8,175			8,800
		200,375			162,067
Less accumulated depreciation		(63,074		)	(45,909		)
Total property, plant and equipment, net		$	137,301		$	116,158

Schedule of Goodwill

The following table displays the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization for finite-lived intangible assets and indefinite-lived intangible assets:

	Weighted Average Estimated Useful Life	December 31, 2011					December 31, 2010
		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization			Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
Finite-lived assets
Unpatented technology	9 years	$	18,113	$	(9,024	)	$	15,073	$	(7,275	)
Patents	10 years	9,080		(5,434		)	8,497		(4,304		)
Product names	14 years	5,638		(1,818		)	5,676		(1,285		)
Non-compete agreements	3 years	2,130		(2,130		)	2,130		(1,952		)
Customer relations	13 years	130,488		(48,840		)	127,062		(39,103		)
		$	165,449	$	(67,246	)	$	158,438	$	(53,919	)
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Goodwill		$	288,770				$	275,252
Trademarks and trade names		39,280					37,911
In-process research and development		3,070					3,070
		$	331,120				$	316,233

Schedule of Product Warranty Liability

The changes in the Company’s consolidated warranty reserve are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Balance at beginning of period	$	12,101		$	8,764		$	8,636
Warranty expense	7,420			5,893			3,316
Warranty usage	(8,085		)	(3,827		)	(4,335		)
Acquired warranty reserves	1,745			1,271			1,147
Balance at end of period	$	13,181		$	12,101		$	8,764

Schedule of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Shareholders’ Equity: The Company reports comprehensive income in its consolidated statement of shareholders’ equity. The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are as follows:

	December 31,
	2011			2010
Foreign currency translation adjustments	$	12,635		$	14,938
Pension liability adjustments, net of taxes of ($2,633) and ($470) at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively	(9,642		)	(5,127		)
	$	2,993		$	9,811

Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted

The following table presents calculations of income per share of common stock:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$	44,076	$	20,160	$	61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — basic	$	1.51	$	0.71	$	2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — diluted	$	1.47	$	0.69	$	2.11
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding — basic	29,165		28,534		28,457
Incremental shares issuable upon assumed conversion and exercise of stock options	748		721		524
Total shares — diluted	29,913		29,255		28,981

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010		Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Earnings Per Share, Diluted, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 8,415	$ 17,540	$ 10,591	$ 7,530	$ 9,802	$ 6,575	$ 2,399	[1]	$ 1,384	$ 44,076	$ 20,160	$ 61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - basic	$ 0.29	$ 0.60	$ 0.36	$ 0.26	$ 0.34	$ 0.23	$ 0.08		$ 0.05	$ 1.51	$ 0.71	$ 2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - diluted	$ 0.28	$ 0.59	$ 0.35	$ 0.25	$ 0.33	$ 0.23	$ 0.08		$ 0.05	$ 1.47	$ 0.69	$ 2.11
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic										29,165	28,534	28,457
Incremental shares issuable upon assumed conversion and exercise of stock options										748	721	524
Total shares - diluted										29,913	29,255	28,981
Stock Options [Member]
Earnings Per Share, Diluted, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive stock options excluded from total shares-diluted										107	362	170

[1] Includes $1,124 gain from acquisition of business.

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Debt And Credit Arrangements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Debt

The following table shows the components of the Company’s borrowings at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

	December 31,
	2011			2010
Senior term loan, due May 2015, average interest rate of 2.73% at December 31, 2011	$	55,250		$	61,750
Convertible notes, due 2018, interest accrued at 7.9%	174,474			—
Subordinated notes, due 2015, interest accrued at 9.125%	—			163,175
Foreign facilities	4,758			—
Total debt	234,482			224,925
Less: current maturities	(11,258		)	(6,500		)
Long-term debt	$	223,224		$	218,425

Convertible Notes Payable Components

The following table represents the principal balance, the unamortized discount and the net carrying amount of the liability component and the carrying amount of the equity component of the Convertible Notes:

	December 31, 2011
Principal balance of liability component	$	250,000
Unamortized discount	(75,526		)
Carrying value of liability component	$	174,474
Equity component	$	79,115

Schedule of Maturities of Long-term Debt

The scheduled annual maturities of long-term debt at December 31, 2011, are as follows:

Year	Amount
2012	$	11,258
2013	6,500
2014	6,500
2015	35,750
2016	—
Thereafter	250,000
	$	310,008
Less: unamortized discount	(75,526		)
	$	234,482

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Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Total	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]	Noncontrolling Interest [Member]
Balance, beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2008	$ 405,452	$ 284	$ 247,638	$ 149,469	$ 6,569	$ 1,492
Share outstanding, beginning of period at Dec. 31, 2008		28,398,000
Net income	61,156	0		61,011		145
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Foreign currency translation adjustments	3,475	0	0	0	3,427	48
Amortization of unrecognized losses	679	0	0	0	679	0
Decrease in pension liability, net of tax expense	2,429	0	0	0	2,429	0
Comprehensive income	67,739
Compensation expense recognized for employee stock options	3,279	0	3,279	0	0	0
Exercise of options		84,000
Exercise of options	746	1	745	0	0	0
Tax benefit of non-qualifying stock options	30	0	30	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of warrants	0
Balance, end of period at Dec. 31, 2009	477,246	285	251,692	210,480	13,104	1,685
Share outstanding, end of period at Dec. 31, 2009		28,482,000
Net income	20,505	0		20,160		345
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Foreign currency translation adjustments	(2,573)	0	0	0	(2,753)	180
Amortization of unrecognized losses	270	0	0	0	270	0
Decrease in pension liability, net of tax expense	(810)	0	0	0	(810)	0
Comprehensive income	17,392
Compensation expense recognized for employee stock options	4,933	0	4,933	0	0	0
Exercise of options		350,000
Exercise of options	1,063	1	1,062	0	0	0
Tax benefit of non-qualifying stock options	796	0	796	0	0	0
Other	(56)	2	(58)	0	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of warrants	0
Balance, end of period at Dec. 31, 2010	501,374	288	258,425	230,640	9,811	2,210
Share outstanding, end of period at Dec. 31, 2010	28,831,724	28,832,000
Net income	44,244	0	0	44,076	0	168
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Foreign currency translation adjustments	(2,169)	0	0	0	(2,303)	134
Amortization of unrecognized losses	365	0	0	0	365	0
Decrease in pension liability, net of tax expense	(4,880)	0	0	0	(4,880)	0
Comprehensive income	37,560
Compensation expense recognized for employee stock options	5,433	0	5,433	0	0	0
Exercise of options		781,000
Exercise of options	7,027	8	7,019	0	0	0
Tax benefit of non-qualifying stock options	7,879	0	7,879	0	0	0
Other	(1,098)	0	(1,098)	0	0	0
Equity component of convertible notes issuance, net of deferred financing fees and deferred taxes	48,521	0	48,521	0	0	0
Proceeds from issuance of warrants	48,848	0	48,848	0	0	0
Purchase of call options net of deferred taxes	(41,993)	0	(41,993)	0	0	0
Balance, end of period at Dec. 31, 2011	$ 613,551	$ 296	$ 333,034	$ 274,716	$ 2,993	$ 2,512
Share outstanding, end of period at Dec. 31, 2011	29,612,684	29,613,000

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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	150,000,000	150,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	29,612,684	28,831,724
Common stock, shares outstanding	29,612,684	28,831,724

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Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure

Contingencies

Environmental

The Company is subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations concerning, among other matters, waste water effluents, air emissions and handling and disposal of hazardous materials such as cleaning fluids. The Company is involved with environmental compliance, investigation, monitoring and remediation activities at certain of its owned and formerly owned manufacturing facilities and at one owned facility that is leased to a third party, and, except for these continuing remediation efforts, believes it is currently in substantial compliance with all known environmental regulations. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company had undiscounted accrued environmental reserves of $4,645 and $6,355, respectively, recorded in other long-term liabilities. The Company accrues for certain environmental remediation-related activities for which commitments or remediation plans have been developed and for which costs can be reasonably estimated. These estimates are determined based upon currently available facts and circumstances regarding each facility. Actual costs incurred may vary from these estimates due to the inherent uncertainties involved. Future expenditures relating to these environmental remediation efforts are expected to be made over the next 16 years as ongoing costs of remediation programs.

Although the Company believes it has adequately provided for the cost of all known environmental conditions, the applicable regulatory agencies could insist upon different and more costly remediation than those the Company believes are adequate or required by existing law or third parties may seek to impose environmental liabilities on the Company. The Company believes that any additional liability in excess of amounts accrued which may result from the resolution of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity, cash flows or results of operations.

Legal Proceedings

The Company is occasionally subject to various legal actions related to performance under contracts, product liability, taxes, employment matters, environmental matters, intellectual property and other matters incidental to the normal course of its business. Based on the Company’s historical experience in litigating these actions, as well as the Company’s current assessment of the underlying merits of the actions and applicable insurance, if any, management believes that the final resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse affect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity, cash flows or results of operations. Future developments may, however, result in resolution of these legal claims in a way that could have a material adverse effect.

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Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Feb. 15, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	true
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	CHART INDUSTRIES INC
Amendment Description	To furnish Exhibit 101 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with Rule 405 of Regulation S-T
Entity Central Index Key	0000892553
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		29,634,788
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 1,567,055,270

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Reporting Segments (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Reporting Segments

Reportable Segments

The structure of the Company’s internal organization is divided into the following three reportable segments, which are also the Company's operating segments: Energy and Chemicals (“E&C”), Distribution and Storage (“D&S”) and BioMedical. The Company’s reportable segments are business units that are each managed separately because they manufacture, offer and distribute distinct products with different production processes and sales and marketing approaches. The E&C segment sells brazed aluminum and air-cooled heat exchangers, cold boxes and liquefied natural gas vacuum-insulated pipe to natural gas, petrochemical processing and industrial gas companies who use them for the liquefaction and separation of natural and industrial gases. The D&S segment sells cryogenic bulk storage systems, cryogenic packaged gas systems, cryogenic systems and components, beverage liquid CO₂ systems, cryogenic flow meter systems and cryogenic services to various companies for the storage and transportation of both industrial and natural gases. The BioMedical segment sells medical respiratory products, biological storage systems and other oxygen products. Due to the nature of the products that each segment sells, there are no intersegment sales. Corporate includes operating expenses for executive management, accounting, tax, treasury, human resources, information technology, legal, internal audit, risk management and stock-based compensation expenses that are not allocated to the reporting segments.

The Company evaluates performance and allocates resources based on operating income or loss from continuing operations before net interest expense, financing costs amortization expense, foreign currency gain or loss, income taxes and noncontrolling interest. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in Note A.

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	205,033	$	390,332	$	199,220	$	—		$	794,585
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,417		11,767		7,588		1,143			27,915
Operating income (loss)	27,489		61,415		35,911		(34,821		)	89,994
Total assets(A)(B)	203,067		556,688		226,729		187,729			1,174,213
Capital expenditures	5,228		7,808		6,692		2,652			22,380

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	137,801	$	269,293	$	148,361	$	—		$	555,455
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,338		10,474		5,197		568			23,577
Operating income (loss)	6,121		41,934		30,698		(31,249		)	47,504
Total assets(A)(C)	188,407		513,215		227,138		26,079			954,839
Capital expenditures	973		8,563		4,594		2,809			16,939

	Year Ended December 31, 2009
	Reportable Segments
	Energy and Chemicals		Distribution and Storage		BioMedical		Corporate			Total
Sales from external customers	$	255,074	$	252,197	$	90,187	$	—		$	597,458
Depreciation and amortization expense	7,335		10,104		3,591		382			21,412
Operating income (loss)	61,852		39,888		15,912		(23,318		)	94,334
Total assets(A)(D)	205,482		486,620		135,977		98,424			926,503
Capital expenditures	2,707		7,168		2,022		1,293			13,190

 _______________

(A) Corporate assets at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short term investments and deferred income taxes.

(B) Total assets at December 31, 2011 include goodwill of $83,215, $158,381 and $47,174 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

(C) Total assets at December 31, 2010 include goodwill of $83,215, $148,010 and $44,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

(D) Total assets at December 31, 2009 include goodwill of $83,215, $144,290 and $37,027 for the Energy and Chemicals, Distribution and Storage and BioMedical segments, respectively.

A reconciliation of the total of the reportable segments’ operating income to consolidated income before income taxes and minority interest is presented below:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Operating income	$	89,994		$	47,504		$	94,334
Other expense (income):
Interest expense, net	23,371			16,196			15,817
Amortization of deferred financing costs	4,383			3,063			1,616
Gain on acquisition of business	—			(1,124		)	(6,954		)
Foreign currency loss (gain)	(734		)	871			(687		)
Income before income taxes and minority interest	$	62,974		$	28,498		$	84,542

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Product Sales Information:
Energy and Chemicals Segment
Heat exchangers	$	158,975	$	113,313	$	172,374
Cold boxes and LNG VIP	46,058		24,488		82,700
	$	205,033	$	137,801	$	255,074
Distribution and Storage Segment
Cryogenic bulk storage systems	$	183,932	$	117,907	$	135,523
Cryogenic packaged gas systems and beverage liquid CO2 systems	147,526		103,129		80,278
Cryogenic systems and components	33,038		20,221		10,987
Cryogenic services	25,836		28,036		25,409
	$	390,332	$	269,293	$	252,197
BioMedical Segment
Medical respiratory products	$	138,411	$	95,666	$	41,793
Biological storage systems	60,809		52,695		43,966
Other	—		—		4,428
	199,220		148,361		90,187
Total Sales	$	794,585	$	555,455	$	597,458

	Year Ended December 31, 2011				Year Ended December 31, 2010				Year Ended December 31, 2009
Geographic Information:	Sales		Long-Lived Assets		Sales		Long-Lived Assets		Sales
United States	$	503,011	$	326,439	$	391,691	$	391,428	$	441,583
Czech Republic	87,285		78,921		72,486		86,680		79,865
China	71,752		73,469		45,203		69,243		28,641
Germany	122,001		95,932		—		—		—
Other Non-U.S. Countries	10,536		2,085		46,075		1,392		47,369
Total	$	794,585	$	576,846	$	555,455	$	548,743	$	597,458

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Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Sales	$ 794,585	$ 555,455	$ 597,458
Cost of sales	549,139	390,156	395,577
Gross profit	245,446	165,299	201,881
Selling, general and administrative expenses	140,535	104,973	95,601
Amortization expense	13,376	11,049	10,716
Asset impairment	1,218	1,773	1,230
Loss on disposal of assets	323	0	0
Operating expenses, total	155,452	117,795	107,547
Operating income	89,994	47,504	94,334
Other expense (income):
Interest expense, net	23,371	16,196	15,817
Amortization of deferred financing costs	4,383	3,063	1,616
Foreign currency (gain) loss	(734)	871	(687)
Gain on acquisition of business	0	(1,124)	(6,954)
Other nonoperating income	27,020	19,006	9,792
Income before income taxes	62,974	28,498	84,542
Income tax expense (benefit):
Current	21,221	17,338	25,137
Deferred	(2,491)	(9,345)	(1,751)
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	18,730	7,993	23,386
Net income	44,244	20,505	61,156
Noncontrolling interest, net of taxes	168	345	145
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$ 44,076	$ 20,160	$ 61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - basic	$ 1.51	$ 0.71	$ 2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - diluted	$ 1.47	$ 0.69	$ 2.11
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic	29,165	28,534	28,457
Diluted	29,913	29,255	28,981

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Acquisitions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Business Acquisition, Entity Acquired and Reason for Acquisition [Abstract]

Acquisitions

Acquisitions

On August 1, 2011, Chart Germany GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity interests of GOFA Gocher Fahrzeugbau GmbH and related companies (“GOFA”) for a total purchase price of €26,261 net of cash acquired, including a final working capital adjustment of €947. The preliminary fair value of the net assets acquired and goodwill at the date of acquisition were $28,372 and $11,438, respectively. The allocation of the purchase price is based on the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and the related income tax impact of the acquisition adjustments. Goodwill was established due to the benefits that will be derived from the expansion of the Company's LNG distribution product offering in Europe. GOFA, located in Goch, Germany, designs, manufactures, sells and services cryogenic and noncryogenic mobile equipment. GOFA results are included in the Company’s Distribution & Storage segment and added $572 in net income during the year ended December 31, 2011.

The purchase price allocation related to the GOFA acquisition is presented below:

Net assets acquired:
Cash	$	1,974
Accounts receivable	4,645
Inventory	8,382
Property and equipment	15,555
Other assets	118
Intangible assets	7,258
Goodwill	11,438
Liabilities assumed	(9,560		)
Total purchase price	$	39,810

On April 1, 2011, Chart Inc. completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity of Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium, Inc. (“CFIC”) for a total potential purchase price of $5,000 in cash, of which $2,000 has been paid. The remaining portion of the potential total purchase price represents contingent consideration to be paid over three years based on the attainment of certain revenue targets. The estimated value of the contingent consideration at acquisition was $1,650, valued according to a discounted cash flow approach, which includes assumptions for the probabilities of achieving the gross sales targets and the discount rate applied to the projected payments. The estimated fair value of the contingent consideration at December 31, 2011 was $1,857, valued according to a discounted cash flow approach, which includes assumptions for the probabilities of achieving the gross sales targets and the discount rate applied to the projected payments. The increase in fair value of the contingent consideration for the year ended December 31, 2011 of $207 was recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. The valuation of contingent consideration is classified as utilizing Level 3 inputs consistent with reasonably available assumptions which would be made by other market participants. The fair value of the net assets acquired and goodwill at the date of acquisition were $732 and $2,938, respectively. The goodwill was established due to the synergistic opportunities to enhance technology for cryogenic applications and grow sales in new product lines. CFIC is located in Troy, New York and develops and manufactures thermoacoustic technology products for cryogenic, heat transfer and related applications. CFIC’s results are included in the Company’s BioMedical segment. CFIC's results are included in the Company’s BioMedical segment and added $840 in sales during the year ended December 31, 2011.

In December 2010, Caire Inc. (“Caire”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, completed the acquisition of SeQual Technologies Inc. (“SeQual”) for a total potential purchase price of $60,000 in cash, of which $38,312 was paid after working capital adjustments. The cash purchase price is subject to post closing adjustments. Goodwill arising from this acquisition is primarily attributable to SeQual's technology and leadership position in the transportable segment of the oxygen therapy industry. The majority of the remaining potential total purchase price represents contingent consideration to be paid over two years beginning in 2012 based on the achievement of certain gross profit targets. The estimated fair value of the contingent consideration at December 31, 2011 was $4,369, valued according to a discounted cash flow approach, which includes assumptions for the probabilities of achieving the gross profit targets and the discount rate applied to the projected payments. The decrease in fair value of the contingent consideration for the year ended December 31, 2011 of $731 was recorded as a reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. The valuation of contingent consideration is classified as utilizing Level 3 inputs consistent with reasonably available assumptions which would be made by other market participants. SeQual is located in San Diego, California and develops, manufactures and markets products for numerous applications utilizing pressure swing adsorption technology for air separation with its primary focus on medical oxygen concentrators. SeQual’s results are included in the Company’s BioMedical segment and added $35,081 in sales during the year ended December 31, 2011.

The purchase price allocation related to the SeQual acquisition is presented below:

Net assets acquired:
Cash	$	218
Accounts receivable	6,169
Inventory	4,959
Property and equipment	711
Other assets	184
Intangible assets	31,760
Goodwill	7,210
Liabilities assumed	(7,799		)
Total purchase price	$	43,412

In August 2010, Chart Inc. acquired substantially all of the assets of Cryotech International, Inc. (“Cryotech”) for a potential total purchase price of $6,653 in cash, of which $4,053 was paid at closing. The remaining portion of the potential total purchase price represents contingent consideration to be paid over two years based on the achievement of certain revenue targets. After the first contingent consideration payment of $1,300 in August 2011, the estimated fair value of the potential remaining contingent consideration at December 31, 2011 was $841. The contingent consideration was valued according to a discounted cash flow approach, which includes assumptions for the probabilities of achieving the revenue targets and the discount rate applied to the projected payments. The increase in fair value of the contingent consideration for the year ended December 31, 2011 of $341 was recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. The valuation of contingent consideration is classified as utilizing Level 3 inputs consistent with reasonably available assumptions which would be made by other market participants. The fair value of the assets acquired and goodwill at the date of acquisition were $1,626 and $4,227, respectively. Goodwill consists of the anticipated geographic expansion afforded by this acquisition and synergies from the combination of Cryotech's product offerings with existing product lines. Cryotech is located in San Jose, California and designs, manufactures, sells, and services cryogenic injectors, vacuum insulated piping systems, and manifolds, and also repairs liquid cylinders. Cryotech’s results are included in the Company’s Distribution & Storage segment and added $11,928 in sales during the year ended December 31, 2011.

In April 2010, Chart Japan Co., Ltd. completed the acquisition of Covidien Japan Inc.’s liquid oxygen therapy business for $1,008 in cash. The fair value of the assets acquired at closing was $2,132 which exceeded the cash paid and, accordingly, resulted in a gain on acquisition of business of $1,124 during the second quarter of 2010. Purchase accounting for this acquisition has been finalized. Available public information indicated that Covidien sought to streamline its business portfolio in an expeditious manner and reallocate resources to other businesses, therefore, the liquid oxygen therapy business was considered a non-core asset. Net income of $842 was added to the Company’s BioMedical segment during the year ended December 31, 2011 as a result of the acquisition.

Pro-forma information related to these acquisitions has not been presented because the impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations is not material.

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Restructuring Activities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]

Restructuring Activities

Restructuring Activities

In April 2010, Caire Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, announced its plan to close its liquid oxygen therapy manufacturing facility in Plainfield, Indiana and relocate the manufacturing and customer service operations to a facility close to existing BioMedical operations in Canton, Georgia. The Plainfield facility was acquired as part of the 2009 acquisition of the liquid oxygen therapy business of Covidien plc. The closure was substantially completed in the second quarter of 2011. The total cost of the restructuring was approximately $7,300 which includes asset impairment charges. The cost includes cash expenditures for employee retention and separation benefits, as well as lease exit costs and loss on disposal of remaining assets. The Company recorded $3,497 and $3,730 for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, related to the closure of the Plainfield, Indiana BioMedical facility. The Company also recorded $1,172 in restructuring costs for employee separation benefits related to the integration of SeQual Technologies Inc., which was acquired on December 28, 2010. These charges were recorded in cost of sales ($2,061 and $2,579 for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively), selling, general and administrative expenses ($2,414and $531 for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively), loss on disposal of assets ($1,218 for the year ended December 31, 2011) and asset impairment charges ($1,646 for the year ended December 31, 2010).

During 2009, the Company recorded $8,020, related to termination benefits primarily in the Distribution & Storage and BioMedical segments and the write-down to net realizable value of certain assets at the Denver, Colorado facility and land held for sale in Plaistow, New Hampshire. These charges were recorded in cost of sales ($3,605), selling, general and administrative expenses ($3,185) and asset impairment charges ($1,230).

The following tables summarize the Company’s restructuring activities for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009:

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2011	$	103		$	387		$	2,088		$	—		$	2,578
Restructuring charges	—			315			4,940			437			5,692
Asset impairment	—			—			(1,218		)	—			(1,218		)
Cash payments	(103		)	(587		)	(4,812		)	(437		)	(5,939		)
Balance as of December 31, 2011	$	—		$	115		$	998		$	—		$	1,113

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2010	$	682		$	1,608		$	503		$	88		$	2,881
Restructuring charges	—			(45		)	4,723			78			4,756
Asset impairment	—			—			(1,546		)	(100		)	(1,646		)
Cash payments	(579		)	(1,176		)	(1,592		)	(66		)	(3,413		)
Balance as of December 31, 2010	$	103		$	387		$	2,088		$	—		$	2,578

	Year Ended December 31, 2009
	Energy & Chemicals			Distribution & Storage			BioMedical			Corporate			Total
Balance as of January 1, 2009	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—
Restructuring charges	1,004			3,397			3,336			283			8,020
Asset impairment	—			(234		)	(996		)	—			(1,230		)
Cash payments	(322		)	(1,555		)	(1,837		)	(195		)	(3,909		)
Balance as of December 31, 2009	$	682		$	1,608		$	503		$	88		$	2,881

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Balance Sheet Components (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Schedule of Other Assets and Other Liabilities [Table Text Block]

The following table summarizes the components of other current assets, other assets, net, other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	December 31,
	2011		2010
Other current assets:
Deposits	$	338	$	407
Assets held for sale	2,824		2,824
Deferred income taxes	14,004		12,686
Income taxes receivable	3,063		—
Other receivables	6,478		5,310
	$	26,707	$	21,227
Other assets, net:
Deferred financing costs	$	6,631	$	6,039
Cash value life insurance	1,426		1,513
Other	2,165		4,281
	$	10,222	$	11,833
Other current liabilities:
Accrued interest	$	2,099	$	3,206
Accrued other taxes	2,005		2,497
Accrued income taxes	—		1,066
Accrued rebates	7,969		4,090
Accrued employee separation and plant closure costs	1,113		2,578
Accrued other	11,467		12,376
	$	24,653	$	25,813
Other long-term liabilities:
Accrued environmental	$	4,745	$	6,355
Accrued contingent consideration	6,150		5,845
Accrued contingencies and other	1,462		1,034
	$	12,357	$	13,234

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Quarterly Data

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Quarterly Financial Information

Quarterly Data (Unaudited)

Selected quarterly data for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31, 2011
	First Quarter		Second Quarter		Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter		Total
Sales	$	162,941	$	200,698	$	211,311	$	219,635	$	794,585
Gross profit	52,486		62,330		66,631		63,999		245,446
Operating income	14,307		21,489		29,043		25,155		89,994
Net income	7,403		11,020		17,505		8,316		44,244
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	7,530		10,591		17,540		8,415		44,076
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—basic	$	0.26	$	0.36	$	0.60	$	0.29
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—diluted	$	0.25	$	0.35	$	0.59	$	0.28

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	First Quarter		Second Quarter			Third Quarter		Fourth Quarter		Total
Sales	$	118,268	$	139,144		$	139,205	$	158,838	$	555,455
Gross profit	34,276		37,575			42,801		50,647		165,299
Operating income	7,603		8,563			13,239		18,099		47,504
Net income	1,419		2,458			6,665		9,963		20,505
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	1,384		2,399		(1)	6,575		9,802		20,160
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—basic	$	0.05	$	0.08		$	0.23	$	0.34
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per share—diluted	$	0.05	$	0.08		$	0.23	$	0.33

 _______________

(1) Includes $1,124 gain from acquisition of business.

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Stock Option Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments

Stock Option Plans

Under the Amended and Restated 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (“Stock Incentive Plan”) which became effective in October 2005, the Company could grant stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”), stock awards and performance based stock awards to employees and directors. The Stock Incentive Plan reserved 3,421 for issuance. As of December 31, 2011, 632 options and 145 performance based stock awards were outstanding under the Stock Incentive Plan. The Company no longer grants stock options or awards under this plan.

Under the 2009 Omnibus Equity Plan (“Omnibus Equity Plan”) which was approved by the shareholders in May 2009, the Company may grant stock options, SARs, RSUs, restricted stock, performance shares and common shares to employees and directors. The maximum number of shares available for grant is 1,250, which may be treasury shares or unissued shares. As of December 31, 2011, 348 options, 172 restricted stock awards and 56 performance based stock awards were outstanding under the Omnibus Equity Plan.

The Company recognized stock-based compensation of $5,433, $4,933 and $3,279 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The Company also recognized related tax benefits of $7,879, $796 and $30 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. As of December 31, 2011, total share-based compensation of $3,660 is expected to be recognized over the remaining weighted average period of approximately 2.1 years.

Stock Options

Under the terms of the Omnibus Equity Plan and the Stock Incentive Plan, stock options generally have either a 4 or 5 year graded vesting period, an exercise price equal to the fair market value of a share of common stock on the date of grant, and a contractual term of 10 years.

The following table summarizes the Company’s stock option activity for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010:

	December 31, 2011				December 31, 2010
	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Shares		Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of period	1,581		$	11.68	1,491		$	10.39
Granted	150		36.75		250		17.27
Exercised	(724	)	9.72		(143	)	7.42
Expired or forfeited	(29	)	21.27		(17	)	17.35
Outstanding at end of period	978		$	16.69	1,581		$	11.68
Exercisable at end of year*	563		$	11.72	1,118		$	9.46
Participants at end of year	73				65
Available for future grants at end of year	533				795

 _______________

* Remaining contractual term of 7.0 years

The intrinsic value of the options outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $36,558 and 34,940, respectively. The intrinsic value of the options exercisable at December 31, 2011 and 2010 was $23,801 and $27,190, respectively. The total fair value of options vested was $1,957, $1,755 and $1,421 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 was $28,784, $3,327 and $594, respectively.

The Company uses a Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock options. The expected volatility and expected term of the options are based on historical information. The risk free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield in effect at the time of the grant.

Weighted average grant date fair values of stock options and the assumptions used in estimating the fair values are as follows:

	2011			2010			2009
Weighted average grant date fair value	$	24.33		$	12.03		$	11.02
Expected term (years)	6.25			6.25			6.25
Risk-free interest rate	2.43		%	2.46		%	2.07		%
Expected volatility	72.47		%	77.84		%	74.87		%

Performance Stock Awards

The Company granted 59 performance share units under the Omnibus Equity Plan during 2011 and 164 performance share units under the Stock Incentive Plan in 2009. The performance share units granted in 2011 and 2009 are earned over a 3 year period beginning on January 1, 2011 and 2009, respectively. Total units earned may vary between 0% and 150% of the units granted based on the attainment of pre-determined performance and market condition targets as determined by the Board of Directors. The Company valued the performance stock awards based on market conditions using a Monte Carlo Simulation model that was performed by an outside valuation firm. The fair value of the performance based units was calculated using a Black-Scholes model and the probability of any units being earned is evaluated each reporting period. The weighted average per share fair values were $36.75 and $5.26 for the 2011 and 2009 grants, respectively.

Other

In 2011, 2010 and 2009, the Company granted the non-employee directors stock awards covering 8, 18 and 24 shares, respectively, of common stock that had fair market values of $360, $330 and $300. The stock awards were fully vested on the date of grant. The Company recorded $360, $330 and $300 of compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The Company also granted 59 and 192 restricted stock awards during 2011 and 2010, respectively. These restricted stock awards vest ratably over a three year period and are valued based on fair value on date of grant. The weighted average fair value was $36.75 and $17.85 for 2011 and 2010 grants, respectively. The Company recorded $2,198 and $1,162 of compensation expense related to the restricted stock awards in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

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Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Abstract]

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Income before income taxes and minority interest consists of the following:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
United States	$	42,429	$	18,415	$	70,695
Foreign	20,545		10,083		13,847
	$	62,974	$	28,498	$	84,542

Significant components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Current:
Federal	$	14,369		$	12,673		$	21,779
State	876			900			462
Foreign	5,976			3,765			2,896
	21,221			17,338			25,137
Deferred:
Federal	(962		)	(8,603		)	(1,718		)
State	(66		)	77			(142		)
Foreign	(1,463		)	(819		)	109
	(2,491		)	(9,345		)	(1,751		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

The reconciliation of income taxes computed at the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to income tax expense is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Income tax expense at U.S. statutory rate	$	22,041		$	9,974		$	29,589
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	810			976			319
Foreign income (loss), net of credit on foreign taxes	137			176			(31		)
Effective tax rate differential of earnings outside of U.S.	(1,901		)	(1,221		)	(1,455		)
Foreign investment tax credit	(777		)	(305		)	(385		)
Non-taxable gain on acquisition of business	—			(394		)	(2,434		)
Non-deductible (taxable) items	74			(144		)	(735		)
(Income) provision for tax contingencies	(28		)	2			(69		)
Domestic production activities deduction	(1,626		)	(1,071		)	(1,413		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effect of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	December 31, 2011			December 31, 2010
Deferred tax assets:
Accruals and reserves	$	14,036		$	13,699
Pensions	5,562			4,245
Inventory	1,630			1,363
Stock options	4,539			5,412
Tax credit carryforwards	1,070			594
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards	1,405			861
Federal net operating loss carryforward	—			10,189
State net operating loss carryforward	1,442			947
Other — net	1,138			1,279
Total deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	$	30,822		$	38,589
Valuation allowance	(1,869		)	(758		)
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	$	28,953		$	37,831
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	$	16,392		$	11,973
Intangibles	38,888			52,312
Convertible notes	3,613			—
Total deferred tax liabilities	$	58,893		$	64,285
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	29,940		$	26,454

Tax Credit Carryforwards: As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a gross deferred tax asset for tax credit carryforwards of $1,070. These credit carryforwards are subject to expiration in 2015.

Federal and State net operating loss carryforwards: As a result of the SeQual acquisition, the Company acquired $38,700 of federal net operating losses and $34,400 of state net operating losses. Internal Revenue Code 382 will limit the use of state net operating losses to $25,100.  The Company made an election under Internal Revenue Code Section 338(g) which resulted in a step-up in tax basis of the acquired assets in exchange for the extinguishment of the federal loss carryovers.  The remaining state net operating losses expire between 2012 and 2030.  The gross deferred tax asset for the state net operating losses of $1,442 is partially offset by a valuation allowance of $695.

Foreign net operating loss carryforwards: As of December 31, 2011, cumulative foreign operating losses of $5,741 generated by the Company were available to reduce future taxable income. Approximately $3,629 of these operating losses expire between 2014 and 2016. The remaining $2,112 can be carried forward indefinitely. The gross deferred tax asset for the foreign operating losses of $1,405 is partially offset by a valuation allowance of $1,174.

The Company has not provided for income taxes on approximately $115,847 of foreign subsidiaries' undistributed earnings as of December 31, 2011, since the earnings retained have been reinvested indefinitely by the subsidiaries. It is not practicable to estimate the additional income taxes and applicable foreign withholding taxes that would be payable on the remittance of such undistributed earnings.

The Company had net income tax payments of $17,130, $15,266 and $24,659 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The reconciliation of beginning to ending unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Unrecognized tax benefits at beginning of the year	$	2,468		$	1,470		$	1,903
Additions for tax positions of prior years	128			2,170			22
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(22		)	(22		)	(22		)
Lapse of statutes of limitation	(134		)	(1,150		)	(433		)
Unrecognized tax benefits at end of the year	$	2,440		$	2,468		$	1,470

The amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2011 was $2,440. This amount, if ultimately recognized, will reduce the Company’s annual effective tax rate.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense. The Company had accrued approximately $77 for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2011. The Company accrued approximately $42 and $50 for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively, in additional interest associated with uncertain tax positions.

The Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, and various states and foreign jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are subject to the interpretation of the related tax laws and regulations and require significant judgment to apply. With few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2005.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) commenced an examination of the Company’s U.S. income tax return for 2008 during 2010. In addition, the IRS is examining the 2005 and 2006 amended returns that were filed. The Company expects the examinations to be completed during 2012. Due to the potential resolution of the federal examination and the expiration of various statutes of limitation, it is reasonably possible the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2011 may decrease within the next twelve months by approximately $1,022.

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Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has one defined benefit pension plan which is frozen, that covers certain U.S. hourly and salary employees. The defined benefit plan provides benefits based primarily on the participants’ years of service and compensation.

The following table sets forth the components of net periodic pension expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Interest cost	$	2,409		$	2,447		$	2,397
Expected return on plan assets	(2,575		)	(2,353		)	(1,827		)
Amortization of net loss	365			269			678
Total pension expense (benefit)	$	199		$	363		$	1,248

The following table sets forth changes in the projected benefit obligation and plan assets, the funded status of the plans and the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet:

	December 31, 2011			December 31, 2010
Change in projected benefit obligation:
January 1 projected benefit obligation	$	44,693		$	41,627
Interest cost	2,409			2,447
Benefits paid	(1,641		)	(1,568		)
Actuarial losses	4,464			2,187
December 31 projected benefit obligation	$	49,925		$	44,693
Change in plan assets:
Fair value at January 1	$	33,210		$	30,981
Actual return	(473		)	3,261
Employer contributions	2,924			536
Benefits paid	(1,641		)	(1,568		)
Fair value at December 31	$	34,020		$	33,210
The funded status of the pension plans was as follows:
Funded status (plan assets less than projected benefit obligations)	$	(15,905	)	$	(11,483	)
Unrecognized actuarial loss	15,355			8,208
Net amount recognized	$	(550	)	$	(3,275	)

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company recorded unrecognized actuarial losses of $4,515 and $1,280 in accumulated other comprehensive income, respectively.

The actuarial assumptions used in determining the funded status information and subsequent net periodic pension cost are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Discount rate	4.50	%	5.50	%	6.00	%
Expected long-term weighted average rate of return on plan assets	7.75	%	7.75	%	7.75	%

The discount rate reflects the current rate at which the pension liabilities could be effectively settled at year end. In estimating this rate, the Company looks to rates of return on high quality, fixed-income investments that receive one of the two highest ratings given by a recognized rating agency and the expected timing of benefit payments under the plan.

The expected long-term weighted average rate of return on plan assets was established using the Company’s target asset allocation for equity and debt securities and the historical average rates of return for equity and debt securities. The Company employs a total return investment approach whereby a mix of equities and fixed income investments are used to maximize the long-term return of plan assets for a prudent level of risk. Risk tolerance is established through careful consideration of short and long-term plan liabilities, plan funded status and corporate financial condition. The investment portfolio contains a diversified blend of equity and fixed-income investments. Furthermore, equity investments are diversified across U.S. and non-U.S. stocks, as well as growth, value, and small and large capitalizations. Investment risk is measured and monitored on an ongoing basis through quarterly investment portfolio reviews, annual liability measurements and periodic asset/liability studies.

The Company’s pension plan weighted-average actual (which is periodically rebalanced) and target asset allocations by asset category at December 31 are as follows:

			Actual
	Target		2011		2010
Equity	55	%	56	%	57	%
Fixed income funds	43	%	44	%	41	%
Cash and cash equivalents	2	%	—	%	2	%
Total	100	%	100	%	100	%

At December 31, 2011, the plan assets were invested in pooled separate accounts. The fair values of participation units held in pooled separate accounts are based on their net asset values, as reported by the managers of the pooled separate accounts as supported by the unit prices of actual purchase and sale transactions occurring as of or close to the financial statement date. Therefore, the Company’s plan assets are valued using Level 2 inputs. At December 31, 2010, the plan assets were valued using Level 1 inputs which are quoted prices for the investments in active markets.

The fair values of the Company’s pension plan assets utilizing the fair value hierarchy are as follows:

	December 31, 2011
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Pooled separate accounts - Equity	$	19,109	$	—	$	19,109	$	—
Pooled separate accounts - Fixed income funds	14,909		—		12,654		—
Pooled separate accounts - Cash and cash equivalents	2		—		2,257		—
Total	$	34,020	$	—	$	34,020	$	—

The Company’s funding policy is to contribute at least the minimum funding amounts required by law. Based upon current actuarial estimates, the Company expects to contribute $2,172 to its defined benefit pension plan in 2012 and expects the following benefit payments to be paid by the plan:

2012	$	1,796
2013	1,869
2014	1,977
2015	2,068
2016	2,223
In aggregate during five years thereafter	13,508
	$	23,441

The Company contributes to a multi-employer plan for certain collective bargaining U.S. employees. The risks of participating in this multi-employer plan are different from a single employer plan in the following aspects:

(a) Assets contributed to the multi-employer by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers.

(b) If a participating employer ceases contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be inherited by the remaining participating employers.

(c) If the Company chooses to stop participating in the multi-employer plan, the Company may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the underfunded status of the plan, referred to as a withdrawal liability.

The Company has assessed and determined that the multi-employer plan to which it contributes is not significant to the Company's financial statements. The Company does not expect to incur a withdrawal liability or expect to significantly increase its contribution over the remainder of the contract period. The Company made contributions to the bargaining unit supported multi-employer pension plan resulting in expense of $518, $391 and $525 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The Company has a defined contribution savings plan that covers most of its U.S. employees. Company contributions to the plan are based on employee contributions, and a Company match and discretionary contributions. Expenses under the plan totaled $6,241, $4,949 and $5,015 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

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Lease Commitments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Leases [Abstract]

Leases of Lessee Disclosure

Lease Commitments

The Company incurred $8,817, $8,481, and $7,221 of rental expense under operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Certain leases contain rent escalation clauses and lease concessions that require additional rental payments in the later years of the term. Rent expense for these types of leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the minimum lease term. In addition, the Company has the right, but no obligation, to renew certain leases for various renewal terms.

The following table summarizes the future minimum lease payments for non-cancelable operating leases for the next five years and thereafter as of December 31, 2011:

2012	$	6,841
2013	6,256
2014	4,835
2015	3,619
2016	2,537
Thereafter	10,933
	$	35,021

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	$ 165,449	$ 158,438
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(67,246)	(53,919)
Goodwill	288,770	275,252
Indefinite-lived intangible assets, including Goodwill	331,120	316,233
Amortization expense for intangible assets
Amortization expense	13,376	11,049	10,716
Goodwill increase (decrease)	13,518
Goodwill acquired during period	14,585
Foreign currency translation adjustments, due to aquisitions, impact on Goodwill	(1,067)
Minimum [Member]
Amortization expense for intangible assets
2012	9,500
2013	9,500
2014	9,500
2015	9,500
2016	9,500
2017	9,500
Maximum [Member]
Amortization expense for intangible assets
2012	13,500
2013	13,500
2014	13,500
2015	13,500
2016	13,500
2017	13,500
Unpatented Technology [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	18,113	15,073
Finite-lived assets, weighted average estimated useful life (years)	9
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(9,024)	(7,275)
Patents [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	9,080	8,497
Finite-lived assets, weighted average estimated useful life (years)	10
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(5,434)	(4,304)
Product Names [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	5,638	5,676
Finite-lived assets, weighted average estimated useful life (years)	14
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(1,818)	(1,285)
Non-compete Agreements [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	2,130	2,130
Finite-lived assets, weighted average estimated useful life (years)	3
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(2,130)	(1,952)
Customer Relations [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets	130,488	127,062
Finite-lived assets, weighted average estimated useful life (years)	13
Finite-lived assets, accumulated amortization	(48,840)	(39,103)
Trademarks and trade names [Member]
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets (Excluding Goodwill)	39,280	37,911
In-process Research and Development
Schedule of Finite-lived and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets (Excluding Goodwill)	$ 3,070	$ 3,070

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Nature of Operations and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation: The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Investments in affiliates where the Company’s ownership is between 20 percent and 50 percent, or where the Company does not have control but has the ability to exercise significant influence over operations or financial policy, are accounted for under the equity method.

Reclassification

Reclassifications: In 2010, the Company determined shipping and handling revenues should be recorded in sales and related shipping and handling costs should be recorded in cost of sales. Previously, both shipping and handling revenues and costs were netted within sales. Prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

Cost of Sales

Cost of Sales: Any expenses associated with manufacturing are included in cost of sales. These costs include all materials, direct and indirect labor, inbound freight, purchasing and receiving, inspection, internal transfers and distribution and warehousing of inventory. In addition, shop supplies, facility maintenance costs, manufacturing engineering, project management and depreciation expense for assets used in the manufacturing process are included in cost of sales.

Selling, general and administrative costs

Selling, general and administrative costs (“SG&A”): SG&A includes selling, marketing, customer service, product management, design engineering, and other administrative costs not directly supporting the manufacturing process as well as depreciation expense associated with non-manufacturing assets. In addition, SG&A includes corporate operating expenses for executive management, accounting, tax, treasury, human resources, information technology, legal, internal audit, risk management and stock-based compensation expense.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents: The Company considers all investments with an initial maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The December 31, 2011 and 2010 balances include money market investments.

Short Term Investments

Short Term Investments: From time to time, the Company invests in short-term, highly liquid, variable rate instruments, which have stated maturities of greater than three months but less than six months. These short term investments are recorded at cost which approximates fair value. The Company has determined that its investment securities are available and intended for use in current operations and, accordingly, has classified investment securities as current assets. There are no short-term investments as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts: The Company evaluates the collectibility of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations (e.g., bankruptcy filings, or substantial downgrading of credit scores), a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the receivable to the amount the Company believes will be collected. The Company also records allowances for doubtful accounts based on the length of time the receivables are past due and historical experience.

Inventories

Inventories: Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market with cost being determined by the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method at December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Inventory Valuation Reserves: The Company determines inventory valuation reserves based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific problem in the valuation of a certain item, a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the item to its net realizable value. The Company also recognizes reserves based on the actual usage in recent history and projected usage in the near-term. If circumstances change (e.g., lower-than-expected or higher-than-expected usage), estimates of the net realizable value could be changed by a material amount.

Inventory Valuation Reserve

Inventories: Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market with cost being determined by the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method at December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Inventory Valuation Reserves: The Company determines inventory valuation reserves based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific problem in the valuation of a certain item, a specific reserve is recorded to reduce the item to its net realizable value. The Company also recognizes reserves based on the actual usage in recent history and projected usage in the near-term. If circumstances change (e.g., lower-than-expected or higher-than-expected usage), estimates of the net realizable value could be changed by a material amount.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment: All capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment are stated on the basis of cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred, whereas major improvements are capitalized. The cost of applicable assets is depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method for financial reporting purposes and accelerated methods for income tax purposes. Depreciation expense was $14,539, $12,528 and $10,696 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The following table summarizes the components of property, plant and equipment:

		December 31,
Classification	Estimated Useful Life	2011			2010
Land and buildings	20-35 years	$	96,984		$	72,783
Machinery and equipment	3-12 years	79,173			69,572
Computer equipment, furniture and fixtures	3-7 years	16,043			10,912
Construction in process		8,175			8,800
		200,375			162,067
Less accumulated depreciation		(63,074		)	(45,909		)
Total property, plant and equipment, net		$	137,301		$	116,158

The Company monitors its property, plant and equipment, and finite-lived intangible assets for impairment indicators on an ongoing basis. If impairment indicators exist, the Company performs the required analysis and records impairment charges. In conducting its analysis, the Company compares the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived assets to the related net book values. If the undiscounted cash flows exceed the net book value, the long-lived assets are considered not to be impaired. If the net book value exceeds the undiscounted cash flows, an impairment loss is measured and recognized. An impairment loss is measured as the difference between the net book value and the fair value of the long-lived assets. Fair value is estimated based upon either discounted cash flow analyses or estimated salvage values. Cash flows are estimated using internal forecasts as well as assumptions related to discount rates. Changes in economic or operating conditions impacting these estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of long-lived assets.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets: The Company does not amortize goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets, but reviews them at least annually, and on an interim basis if necessary, for impairment using a measurement date of October 1st. The Company amortizes intangible assets that have finite lives over their useful lives.

With respect to goodwill, the Company assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. The reporting units are the same as our operating segments, which are also the reportable segments: Energy & Chemicals, Distribution & Storage, and BioMedical. The Company first evaluates relevant events and circumstances, such as macroeconomic conditions and the Company's overall financial performance to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the Company determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the first and second steps of the goodwill impairment test are not necessary. Otherwise, the Company would perform the first step of the two-step goodwill impairment test. The Company then evaluates how significant each of the identified factors could be to the fair value or carrying amount of a reporting unit and weighs these factors in totality in forming a conclusion whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. As of October 1, 2011 and based on the Company's qualitative assessment, the Company determined that it was not more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying amount of each reporting unit and, therefore, the two-step goodwill impairment test was not necessary. In 2010, to test for impairment of goodwill, we estimated the fair market value of each our reporting units. We used the income and market approaches to develop fair value estimates, which were weighted equally to arrive at a fair value estimate for each reporting unit. With respect to the income approach, we developed a model which incorporated our estimates of future cash flows, estimates of allocations of certain assets and cash flows among reporting units, estimates of future growth rates and management's judgment regarding the applicable discount rates to use to discount the estimated cash flows. With respect to the market approach, we used the guideline company method selecting companies with similar assets or businesses to estimate fair value of each reporting unit.

With respect to other indefinite-lived intangible assets, the Company determines the fair value of any indefinite-lived intangible assets using an income approach, compares the fair value to its carrying amount and records an impairment loss if the carrying amount exceeds its fair value. The Company uses the relief from royalty method to develop fair value estimates for trade names and trademarks. This method focuses on the level of royalty payments that the user of an intangible asset would be willing to pay for the use of the asset if it were not owned by the user. This method has been consistently applied between years.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy

Financial Instruments: The fair values of cash equivalents, short term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and short term bank debt approximate their carrying amount because of the short maturity of these instruments.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments: The Company measures financial assets and liabilities at fair value in three levels of inputs. The three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in the valuation methodologies, is:

Level 1 — Valuations based on quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 — Valuations based on observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3 — Valuations based on unobservable inputs reflecting our own assumptions, consistent with reasonably available assumptions made by other market participants. These valuations require significant judgment.

Derivative Instruments

Derivative Instruments: The Company utilizes certain derivative financial instruments to enhance its ability to manage foreign currency risk that exists as part of ongoing business operations. Derivative instruments are entered into for periods consistent with related underlying exposures and do not constitute positions independent of those exposures. The Company does not enter into contracts for speculative purposes, nor is it a party to any leveraged derivative instrument.

The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange risk as a result of transactions in currencies other than the functional currency of certain subsidiaries. The Company utilizes foreign currency forward purchase and sale contracts to manage the volatility associated with foreign currency purchases and certain intercompany transactions in the normal course of business. Contracts typically have maturities of less than one year. Principal currencies include the euro, British pound and Czech koruna. The Company’s foreign currency forward contracts do not qualify as hedges as defined by accounting guidance. Changes in their fair value are recorded as foreign currency (gains) losses in the consolidated statement of operations and in the operating activities section of the statement of cash flows. The changes in fair value generated a net gain of $1,233 for 2011, a net loss of $630 for 2010, and a net gain of $1,492 for 2009.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company held forward currency contracts to buy 17,500 Czech koruna against the euro and to sell (i) 11,500 euros against the U.S. dollar, (ii) 4,700 Czech koruna against the U.S. Dollar, (iii) 130,000 Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar, (iv) 3,340 euros against the Czech koruna, (v) 3,000 Norwegian kroner against the euro, and (vi) 250 British pounds against the U.S. dollar. At December 31, 2011, the fair value of the Company’s derivative assets and liabilities representing foreign currency forward contracts was $489 and $107, respectively. These were recorded on the balance sheet as other current assets and liabilities. As of December 31, 2010, the Company held forward currency contracts to sell (i) 16,900 euros against the Czech koruna, (ii) 386,853 Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar, (iii) 5,000 U.S. dollars against the euro, (iv) 500 Australian dollars against the U.S dollar, and (v) 75 British pounds against the euro. At December 31, 2010, the fair value of the Company’s derivative liabilities representing foreign currency forward contracts was $807. These were recorded on the balance sheet as other current liabilities. The Company’s foreign currency forward contracts are not exchange traded instruments and, accordingly, are classified as being valued utilizing level 2 inputs which are based on observable inputs such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets.

Product Warranties

Product Warranties: The Company provides product warranties with varying terms and durations for the majority of its products. The Company records warranty expense in cost of sales.

Shareholders' Equity

Shareholders’ Equity: The Company reports comprehensive income in its consolidated statement of shareholders’ equity.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition: For the majority of the Company’s products, revenue is recognized when products are shipped, title has transferred and collection is reasonably assured. For these products, there is also persuasive evidence of an arrangement and the selling price to the buyer is fixed or determinable. For brazed aluminum heat exchangers, cold boxes, liquefied natural gas fueling stations and engineered tanks, the Company uses the percentage of completion method of accounting. Earned revenue is based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion after giving effect to the most current estimates. Earned revenue on contracts in process at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, totaled $219,315, $240,239 and $295,530, respectively. Timing of amounts billed on contracts varies from contract to contract and could cause significant variation in working capital needs. Amounts billed on percentage of completion contracts in process at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 totaled $265,686, $239,600 and $298,131, respectively. The cumulative impact of revisions in total cost estimates during the progress of work is reflected in the period in which these changes become known. Earned revenue reflects the original contract price adjusted for agreed upon claims and change orders, if any. Losses expected to be incurred on contracts in process, after consideration of estimated minimum recoveries from claims and change orders, are charged to operations as soon as such losses are known. Pre-contract costs relate primarily to salaries and benefits incurred to support the selling effort and, accordingly, are expensed as incurred. Change orders resulting in additional revenue and profit are recognized upon approval by the customer based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion. Change orders resulting in additional revenue and profit are recognized upon approval by the customer based on the percentage that incurred costs to date bear to total estimated costs at completion. Certain contracts include incentive-fee arrangements. The incentive fees in such contracts can be based on a variety of factors but the most common are the achievement of target completion dates, target costs, and/or other performance criteria. Incentive fee revenue is not recognized until it is earned. Timing of amounts billed on contracts varies from contract to contract and could cause a significant variation in working capital requirements.

Shipping and Handling Costs

Shipping and Handling Costs: Amounts billed to customers for shipping are classified as sales, and the related costs are classified as cost of sales.

Advertising Costs

Advertising Costs: The Company incurred advertising costs of $4,548, $3,268 and $3,355 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Such costs are expensed as incurred and included in SG&A.

Research and Development Costs

Research and Development Costs: The Company incurred research and development costs of $4,375, $3,858 and $3,256 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Such costs are expensed as incurred and included in SG&A.

Foreign Currency Translation

Foreign Currency Translation: The functional currency for the majority of the Company’s foreign operations is the applicable local currency. The translation from the applicable foreign currencies to U.S. dollars is performed for balance sheet accounts using exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and for revenue and expense accounts using a weighted average exchange rate during the period. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of shareholders’ equity. Gains or losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are charged to operations as incurred.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes: The Company and its U.S. subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. Deferred income taxes are provided for temporary differences between financial reporting and the consolidated tax return in accordance with the liability method. A valuation allowance is provided against net deferred tax assets when conditions indicate that it is more likely than not that the benefit related to such assets will not be realized.

The Company utilizes a two-step approach for the recognition and measurement of uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position and determine whether it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more likely than not of being realized upon settlement.

Interest and penalties related to income taxes are accounted for as income tax expense.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation: The Company records stock-based compensation according to current accounting guidance which requires all share-based payments to employees and directors, including grants of employee stock options, to be measured at fair value on the date of grant.

Compensation for share-based awards is recognized on a ratable basis over the vesting period. The total cost of a share-based payment award is reduced by estimated forfeitures expected to occur over the vesting period which generally is equivalent to the required service period of the award. See Note H for further discussions regarding stock options and other share-based awards.

Earnings per share

Earnings per share: The following table presents calculations of income per share of common stock:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	$	44,076	$	20,160	$	61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — basic	$	1.51	$	0.71	$	2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share — diluted	$	1.47	$	0.69	$	2.11
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding — basic	29,165		28,534		28,457
Incremental shares issuable upon assumed conversion and exercise of stock options	748		721		524
Total shares — diluted	29,913		29,255		28,981

Shares issuable under Convertible Notes were excluded from diluted earnings per share since the conversion price was greater than the average market price of the Company's common stock during the period. Certain options to purchase common stock of the Company were not included in net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share-diluted as they were anti-dilutive and consisted of 107, 362 and 170 shares for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

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Acquisitions (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

GOFA [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Purchase Price Allocation

The purchase price allocation related to the GOFA acquisition is presented below:

Net assets acquired:
Cash	$	1,974
Accounts receivable	4,645
Inventory	8,382
Property and equipment	15,555
Other assets	118
Intangible assets	7,258
Goodwill	11,438
Liabilities assumed	(9,560		)
Total purchase price	$	39,810

SeQual Technologies, Inc. [Member]

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Purchase Price Allocation

The purchase price allocation related to the SeQual acquisition is presented below:

Net assets acquired:
Cash	$	218
Accounts receivable	6,169
Inventory	4,959
Property and equipment	711
Other assets	184
Intangible assets	31,760
Goodwill	7,210
Liabilities assumed	(7,799		)
Total purchase price	$	43,412

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Quarterly Data (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010		Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Sales	$ 219,635	$ 211,311	$ 200,698	$ 162,941	$ 158,838	$ 139,205	$ 139,144		$ 118,268	$ 794,585	$ 555,455	$ 597,458
Gross profit	63,999	66,631	62,330	52,486	50,647	42,801	37,575		34,276	245,446	165,299	201,881
Operating income	25,155	29,043	21,489	14,307	18,099	13,239	8,563		7,603	89,994	47,504	94,334
Net income	8,316	17,505	11,020	7,403	9,963	6,665	2,458		1,419	44,244	20,505	61,156
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc.	8,415	17,540	10,591	7,530	9,802	6,575	2,399	[1]	1,384	44,076	20,160	61,011
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - basic	$ 0.29	$ 0.60	$ 0.36	$ 0.26	$ 0.34	$ 0.23	$ 0.08		$ 0.05	$ 1.51	$ 0.71	$ 2.14
Net income attributable to Chart Industries, Inc. per common share - diluted	$ 0.28	$ 0.59	$ 0.35	$ 0.25	$ 0.33	$ 0.23	$ 0.08		$ 0.05	$ 1.47	$ 0.69	$ 2.11
Gain on acquisition of business							$ (1,124)			$ 0	$ (1,124)	$ (6,954)

[1] Includes $1,124 gain from acquisition of business.

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Acquisitions (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended								1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	15 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 GOFA [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 GOFA [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2011 Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 SeQual Technologies, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Cryotech International, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Cryotech International, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 Covidien Japn Inc. - Liquid Oxygen Therapy Business [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Covidien Japn Inc. - Liquid Oxygen Therapy Business [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 BioMedical [Member] Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 BioMedical [Member] SeQual Technologies, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 BioMedical [Member] Cryotech International, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Selling, General and Administrative Expense [Member] Clever Fellows Innovation Consortium [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Selling, General and Administrative Expense [Member] SeQual Technologies, Inc. [Member] USD ($)
Net assets acquired:
Cash												$ 1,974				$ 218
Accounts receivable												4,645				6,169
Inventory												8,382				4,959
Property and equipment												15,555				711
Other assets												118				184
Intangible assets												7,258				31,760
Goodwill												11,438		2,938		7,210		4,227
Liabilities assumed												(9,560)				(7,799)
Total purchase price												39,810				43,412
Business combination equity interest percentage												100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired									37,680	47,865	18,086		26,261
Working capital adjustment													947
Potential purchase price in cash														5,000		60,000		6,653
Cash paid for acquisition														2,000		38,312		4,053		1,008
Sales	219,635	211,311	200,698	162,941	158,838	139,205	139,144	118,268	794,585	555,455	597,458										840	35,081	11,928
Duration of payments for contingent consideration														3 years		2 years		2 years
Contingent consideration at acquisition														1,857	1,650	4,369		841
Increase (decrease) in fair value of the contingent consideration																		341						207	731
Fair value of net assets acquired												28,372		732				1,626		2,132
Contingent consideration payment																	1,300
Gain on acquisition of business							1,124		0	1,124	6,954								1,124
Net income	$ 8,316	$ 17,505	$ 11,020	$ 7,403	$ 9,963	$ 6,665	$ 2,458	$ 1,419	$ 44,244	$ 20,505	$ 61,156	$ 572											$ 842

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Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity (Parenthetical) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Tax arising from change in pension liability	$ (2,633)	$ (470)	$ (1,777)

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Debt And Credit Arrangements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Debt And Credit Arrangements

Debt and Credit Arrangements

The following table shows the components of the Company’s borrowings at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

	December 31,
	2011			2010
Senior term loan, due May 2015, average interest rate of 2.73% at December 31, 2011	$	55,250		$	61,750
Convertible notes, due 2018, interest accrued at 7.9%	174,474			—
Subordinated notes, due 2015, interest accrued at 9.125%	—			163,175
Foreign facilities	4,758			—
Total debt	234,482			224,925
Less: current maturities	(11,258		)	(6,500		)
Long-term debt	$	223,224		$	218,425

In August 2011, the Company issued 2.00% Convertible Notes due 2018 in the aggregate principal amount of $250,000 in an offering registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $242,700 after deducting the underwriters’ discount and offering expenses. The Convertible Notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.00% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on February 1 and August 1 of each year beginning February 1, 2012. The Convertible Notes will mature on August 1, 2018.

The Convertible Notes are senior subordinated unsecured obligations of the Company and are not guaranteed by any of the Company’s subsidiaries. The Convertible Notes are subordinated in right of payment to the Company’s existing and future senior indebtedness, including indebtedness under the Company’s existing credit agreement, and rank equally in right of payment with any future senior subordinated debt. The Convertible Notes rank senior in right of payment to the Company’s future subordinated debt.

Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding May 1, 2018, the Convertible Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders thereof only under the following circumstances: (1) during any fiscal quarter commencing after September 30, 2011 (and only during such fiscal quarter), if the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during the period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter is greater than or equal to130% of the applicable conversion price for the Convertible Notes on each applicable trading day; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period (the “Measurement Period”) in which, as determined following a request by a holder of Convertible Notes as provided in the bond indenture (the “Indenture”), the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes for each trading day of such Measurement Period was less than 97% of the product of the last reported sale price of the Company’s common stock and the applicable conversion rate for the Convertible Notes on each such trading day; or (3) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events pursuant to the terms of the Indenture. On or after May 1, 2018, until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date of the Convertible Notes, holders of the Convertible Notes may convert their Convertible Notes at any time, regardless of the foregoing circumstances. Upon conversion, the Company will pay cash up to the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be converted and pay or deliver, as the case may be, cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the Company’s election, in respect of the remainder, if any, of the Company’s conversion obligation in excess of the aggregate principal amount of the Convertible Notes being converted. It is the Company’s intention to settle any excess conversion value in shares of the Company’s common stock.

The conversion rate will initially equal 14.4865 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes, which represents a conversion price of approximately $69.03 per share. The conversion rate will be subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events, but will not be adjusted for any accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, following the occurrence of a make-whole fundamental change, the Company will, in certain circumstances, increase the conversion rate for a holder that converts its Convertible Notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. The Company may not redeem the Convertible Notes prior to maturity. No sinking fund will be provided for the Convertible Notes. If the Company undergoes a fundamental change, subject to certain conditions, holders may require the Company to purchase

the Convertible Notes in whole or in part for cash at a fundamental change purchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Convertible Notes to be purchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the fundamental change purchase date. In certain Events of Default, as defined in the Indenture, the Trustee by notice to the Company, or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of then outstanding Convertible Notes by notice to the Company and to the Trustee, may declare 100% of the principal of, and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on, all then outstanding Convertible Notes to be due and payable. Upon such a declaration, such principal and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, will be due and payable immediately.

As of December 31, 2011, the Convertible Notes were not convertible.

In connection with the issuance of the Convertible Notes, the Company entered into privately-negotiated convertible note hedge and capped call transactions with affiliates of certain of the underwriters (the “Option Counterparties”). The convertible note hedge and capped call transactions relate to, collectively, 3,622 shares, which represents the number of shares of the Company’s common stock underlying the Convertible Notes, subject to anti-dilution adjustments substantially similar to those applicable to the Convertible Notes. These convertible note hedge and capped call transactions are expected to reduce the potential dilution with respect to the Company’s common stock upon conversion of the Convertible Notes and/or reduce the Company’s exposure to potential cash or stock payments that may be required upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, except, in the case of the capped call transactions, to the extent that the market price per share of the Company’s common stock exceeds the cap price of the capped call transactions. The convertible note hedge and capped call transactions, which cost the Company $66,486, were recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in-capital.

The Company also entered into separate warrant transactions with the Option Counterparties initially relating to the number of shares of the Company’s common stock underlying the convertible note hedge transactions, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments. The warrant transactions will have a dilutive effect with respect to the Company’s common stock to the extent that the price per share of the Company common stock exceeds the strike price of the warrants unless the Company elects, subject to certain conditions, to settle the warrants in cash. These warrants were exercisable as of the issuance date of the Convertible Notes. The cap price of the capped call transactions and the strike price of the warrant transactions was initially $84.96 per share. Proceeds received from the issuance of the warrants totaled approximately $48,848 and were recorded as an addition to additional paid-in-capital. The net cost of the convertible note hedge and capped call transactions, taking into account the proceeds from the issuance of the warrants, was approximately $17,638. In accordance with ASC 815, contracts are initially classified as equity if (1) the contract requires physical settlement or net-share settlement, or (2) the contract gives the entity a choice of net-cash settlement in its own shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement). The Company concluded that the settlement terms of the convertible note hedge, capped call and warrant transactions permit net-share settlement. As such, the convertible note hedge, capped call and warrant transactions were recorded in equity.

At the issuance of the Convertible Notes, the Company bifurcated the $250,000 principal balance of the Convertible Notes into a liability component of $170,885 which was recorded as long-term debt and an equity component of $79,115 which was recorded as additional paid-in-capital. The liability component was recognized at the present value of its associated cash flows using a 7.9% straight-debt rate which represents the Company’s interest rate for similar debt instruments without a conversion feature and is being accreted to interest expense over the term of the Convertible Notes. For purposes of fair value measurement, the Company determined that valuation of the Convertible Notes falls under Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. For the year ended December 31, 2011, interest expense for the Convertible Notes was $5,672 which included $2,083 of contractual 2.00% coupon interest and $3,589 of non-cash interest accretion expense related to the carrying value of the Convertible Notes.

In accordance with ASC 470-20 which requires issuers to separately account for the liability and equity components of convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash upon conversion, the Company allocated debt issuance costs to the liability and equity components in proportion to their allocated value. As of December 31, 2011, the total carrying amount of deferred financing fees was $7,277 with $2,303 recorded as a reduction in additional paid-in-capital. The balance of $4,974 is being amortized over the term of the Convertible Notes.

The following table represents the principal balance, the unamortized discount and the net carrying amount of the liability component and the carrying amount of the equity component of the Convertible Notes:

	December 31, 2011
Principal balance of liability component	$	250,000
Unamortized discount	(75,526		)
Carrying value of liability component	$	174,474
Equity component	$	79,115

The fair value of the Convertible Notes approximated its carrying amount at December 31, 2011.

On May 18, 2010, the Company refinanced its prior senior secured credit facility with a five-year $200,000 senior credit facility (the “Senior Credit Facility”). As a result of the refinancing, the Company wrote off $1,706 of deferred financing fees related to the prior senior credit facility. The new Senior Credit Facility consisted of a $65,000 term loan (the “Term Loan”), of which $55,250 remains outstanding and a $135,000 revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) with a scheduled maturity date of May 18, 2015 (the “Maturity Date”). The Revolver includes a $25,000 sub-limit for the issuance of swingline loans and a $50,000 sub-limit to be used for letters of credit. There is a foreign currency limit of $40,000 under the Revolver which can be used for foreign currency denominated letters of credit and borrowings in a foreign currency, in each case in currencies agreed upon with the lenders. In addition, the facility permits borrowings up to $40,000 under the Revolver made by the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Chart Industries Luxembourg S.à r.l.

On September 30, 2010, the Company began repaying the principal balance of the Term Loan with its first quarterly installment of $1,625 and will continue to make quarterly installments through the Maturity Date. The Company may select a Eurocurrency Borrowing or an ABR Borrowing rate. If the Company elects the Eurocurrency Borrowing, the base rate for the elected period equals the applicable Adjusted LIBOR rate plus the applicable margin (as defined in the Senior Credit Facility). If the Company elects an ABR Borrowing, the base rate for any day equals an applicable interest margin (as defined in the Senior Credit Facility) plus the greatest of the Prime Rate in effect on such day, the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus 0.5%, and the Adjusted LIBOR Rate for a one month interest period on such day plus 1.0%. The applicable interest margin on the Senior Credit Facility could change based upon the leverage ratio calculated at each fiscal quarter end. In addition, the Company is required to pay a commitment fee of between 0.3% and 0.5% of the unused Revolver balance and a letter of credit participation fee equal to the daily aggregate letter of credit exposure at the rate per annum equal to the Applicable Margin for Eurocurrency Revolving Facility Borrowings (ranging from 2% to 3.5%, depending on the leverage ratio calculated at each fiscal quarter end). A fronting fee must be paid on each letter of credit that is issued equal to 0.125% per annum of the stated dollar amount of the letter of credit. The obligations under the Senior Credit Facility are guaranteed by the Company and substantially all of its U.S. subsidiaries and secured by substantially all of the assets of the Company’s U.S. subsidiaries and 65% of the capital stock of the Company’s Material non-U.S. subsidiaries (as defined by the Senior Credit Facility) that are owned by U.S. subsidiaries.

On October 17, 2011, the Company redeemed the $163,175 million outstanding principal amount of its 9-1/8% Subordinated Notes due in 2015. The redemption price was 103.042% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the redemption date, which totaled approximately $175,600. In conjunction with the redemption of the Subordinated Notes, the Company recorded a $4,964 call premium and additional amortization of $2,969 for the write-off of the remaining deferred financing fees related to the Subordinated Notes. The Subordinated Notes were general unsecured obligations of the Company and were subordinated in right of payment to all existing and future senior debt of the Company, including the Senior Credit Facility, pari passu in right of payment with all future senior subordinated indebtedness of the Company, and senior in right of payment with any future indebtedness of the Company that expressly provides for its subordination to the Subordinated Notes. The Subordinated Notes were unconditionally guaranteed jointly and severally by substantially all of the Company’s U.S. subsidiaries.

The Senior Credit Facility agreement contains a number of customary covenants, including but not limited to restrictions on the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens or other encumbrances, sell assets, enter into sale and lease-back transactions, make certain payments, investments, loans, advances or guarantees, make acquisitions and engage in mergers or consolidations, pay dividends or distributions, and make capital expenditures. The Senior Credit Facility includes financial covenants relating to net leverage and interest coverage ratios. The Company is in compliance with all covenants. As of December 31, 2011, there was $55,250 outstanding under the Term Loan and $35,875 in letters of credit issued but no borrowings outstanding under the Revolver.

In October 2011, Chart Cryogenic Engineering Systems (Changzhou) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into three separate banking facilities (the "Foreign Facilities") which include a bonding/guarantee facility, a revolving line of credit, and an overdraft facility with 30,000, 60,000, and 10,000 Chinese yuan in borrowing capacity, respectively. The Foreign Facilities are guaranteed by the Company. The revolving line of credit has a time to maturity of up to twelve months and was recorded as short-term debt at the date of issuance. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 4,758 of borrowings outstanding under the revolving line of credit. As of December 31, 2011, there were no amounts outstanding under the overdraft facility or the bonding/guarantee facility.

Chart Ferox, a.s. (“Ferox”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, maintains secured credit facilities with capacity of up to 175,000 Czech koruna (“CZK”). Ferox maintains two separate facilities. Both of the facilities allow Ferox to request issuance of bank guarantees and letters of credit. None of the facilities allow revolving credit borrowings, including overdraft protection. Ferox is required to pay a commitment fee to the lender under its first facility in respect to the unutilized commitments thereunder. Under this first facility Ferox must pay letter of credit and guarantee fees equal to: (i) 0.70% p.a. on the face amount of each guarantee or letter of credit for maturities of up to 1 year, (ii) 0.80% p.a. for maturities between 1 and 3 years, and (iii) 1.20% p.a. for maturities between 3 and 5 years. Under the second facility Ferox must pay letter of credit and guarantee fees equal to 0.70% p.a. on the face amount of each guarantee or letter of credit. Ferox is not required to pay a commitment fee to the lender under the second facility. Ferox’s land, buildings and accounts receivable secure the credit facilities. As of December 31, 2011 there were bank guarantees of $2,248 supported by the Ferox credit facilities.

Flow Instruments & Engineering GmbH (“Flow”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ferox, maintains two revolving lines of credit with 320 euros in borrowing capacity. As of December 31, 2011, there were no borrowings outstanding under either line of credit.

The scheduled annual maturities of long-term debt at December 31, 2011, are as follows:

Year	Amount
2012	$	11,258
2013	6,500
2014	6,500
2015	35,750
2016	—
Thereafter	250,000
	$	310,008
Less: unamortized discount	(75,526		)
	$	234,482

The Company paid interest of $16,608, $16,774 and $16,820 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The fair value of the term loan portion of the Senior Credit Facility is estimated based on the present value of the underlying cash flows discounted at the Company’s estimated borrowing rate. Under such method the fair value of the Company’s Term Loan was $45,426 at December 31, 2011

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Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign

Income before income taxes and minority interest consists of the following:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
United States	$	42,429	$	18,415	$	70,695
Foreign	20,545		10,083		13,847
	$	62,974	$	28,498	$	84,542

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Significant components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Current:
Federal	$	14,369		$	12,673		$	21,779
State	876			900			462
Foreign	5,976			3,765			2,896
	21,221			17,338			25,137
Deferred:
Federal	(962		)	(8,603		)	(1,718		)
State	(66		)	77			(142		)
Foreign	(1,463		)	(819		)	109
	(2,491		)	(9,345		)	(1,751		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

The reconciliation of income taxes computed at the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to income tax expense is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2011			2010			2009
Income tax expense at U.S. statutory rate	$	22,041		$	9,974		$	29,589
State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit	810			976			319
Foreign income (loss), net of credit on foreign taxes	137			176			(31		)
Effective tax rate differential of earnings outside of U.S.	(1,901		)	(1,221		)	(1,455		)
Foreign investment tax credit	(777		)	(305		)	(385		)
Non-taxable gain on acquisition of business	—			(394		)	(2,434		)
Non-deductible (taxable) items	74			(144		)	(735		)
(Income) provision for tax contingencies	(28		)	2			(69		)
Domestic production activities deduction	(1,626		)	(1,071		)	(1,413		)
	$	18,730		$	7,993		$	23,386

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	December 31, 2011			December 31, 2010
Deferred tax assets:
Accruals and reserves	$	14,036		$	13,699
Pensions	5,562			4,245
Inventory	1,630			1,363
Stock options	4,539			5,412
Tax credit carryforwards	1,070			594
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards	1,405			861
Federal net operating loss carryforward	—			10,189
State net operating loss carryforward	1,442			947
Other — net	1,138			1,279
Total deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	$	30,822		$	38,589
Valuation allowance	(1,869		)	(758		)
Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	$	28,953		$	37,831
Deferred tax liabilities:
Property, plant and equipment	$	16,392		$	11,973
Intangibles	38,888			52,312
Convertible notes	3,613			—
Total deferred tax liabilities	$	58,893		$	64,285
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	29,940		$	26,454

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Balance Sheet Components (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Other current assets:
Deposits	$ 338	$ 407
Assets held for sale	2,824	2,824
Deferred income taxes	14,004	12,686
Income taxes receivable	3,063	0
Other receivables	6,478	5,310
Other current assets	26,707	21,227
Other assets, net:
Deferred financing costs	6,631	6,039
Cash value life insurance	1,426	1,513
Other	2,165	4,281
Other assets, net	10,222	11,833
Other current liabilities:
Accrued interest	2,099	3,206
Accrued other taxes	2,005	2,497
Accrued income taxes	0	1,066
Accrued rebates	7,969	4,090
Accrued employee separation and plant closure costs	1,113	2,578
Accrued other	11,467	12,376
Other current liabilities	24,653	25,813
Other long-term liabilities:
Accrued environmental	4,745	6,355
Accrued contingent consideration	6,150	5,845
Accrued contingencies and other	1,462	1,034
Other long-term liabilities	$ 12,357	$ 13,234

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Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Valuation and Qualifying Accounts [Abstract]

Schedule of Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure

CHART INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

(Dollars in thousands)

			Additions
	Balance at beginning of period		Charged to costs and expenses		Charged to other accounts			Deductions				Translations			Balance at end of period
Year Ended December 31, 2011:
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	3,008	$	4,205	$	52	(1)	$	(4,919	)	(2)	$	14		$	2,360
Allowance for obsolete and excess inventory	$	3,181	$	3,331	$	—		$	(3,398	)	(3)	$	77		$	3,191
Year Ended December 31, 2010:
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	1,727	$	3,326	$	489	(1)	$	(2,552	)	(2)	$	18		$	3,008
Allowance for obsolete and excess inventory	$	4,184	$	1,800	$	201	(1)	$	(2,965	)	(3)	$	(39	)	$	3,181
Year Ended December 31, 2009:
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$	2,312	$	2,386	$	—		$	(3,007	)	(2)	$	36		$	1,727
Allowance for obsolete and excess inventory	$	1,912	$	4,450	$	910	(1)	$	(3,148	)	(3)	$	60		$	4,184

_______________

(1) Reserves at date of acquisition of subsidiary or subsidiaries.

(2) Reversal of amounts previously recorded as bad debt and uncollectible accounts written off.

(3) Inventory items written off against the allowance.