Acquisitions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Acquisitions [Abstract]
Acquisitions	Note 14 – Acquisitions On December 28, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets of Tube Forming, L.P. (TFI). TFI primarily serves the HVAC market in North America. The acquired assets include inventories, production equipment as well as factory leaseholds. TFI has operations in Carrollton, Texas, and Guadalupe, Mexico, where it produces precision copper return bends and crossovers, and custom-made tube components and brazed assemblies, including manifolds and headers. TFI's estimated net sales for 2010 were approximately $35 million. Mueller paid approximately $6.9 million for the assets subject to certain adjustments, which was funded with existing cash on hand. The acquisition of TFI extends the Company's product offering within the OEM segment. On August 6, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets of Linesets, Inc., a manufacturer of assembled line sets with operations in Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia. This acquisition expands the Company's current line sets business, a part of the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment. The purchase price of approximately $2.1 million was allocated primarily to inventory and heavy machinery and equipment.

Acquisitions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Note 14 – Acquisitions

On December 28, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets of Tube Forming, L.P. (TFI). TFI primarily serves the HVAC market in North America. The acquired assets include inventories, production equipment as well as factory leaseholds. TFI has operations in Carrollton, Texas, and Guadalupe, Mexico, where it produces precision copper return bends and crossovers, and custom-made tube components and brazed assemblies, including manifolds and headers. TFI's estimated net sales for 2010 were approximately $35 million. Mueller paid approximately $6.9 million for the assets subject to certain adjustments, which was funded with existing cash on hand. The acquisition of TFI extends the Company's product offering within the OEM segment.

On August 6, 2010, the Company purchased certain assets of Linesets, Inc., a manufacturer of assembled line sets with operations in Phoenix, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia. This acquisition expands the Company's current line sets business, a part of the Plumbing & Refrigeration segment. The purchase price of approximately $2.1 million was allocated primarily to inventory and heavy machinery and equipment.