INVENTORIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

INVENTORIES

INVENTORIES

NOTE 2 - INVENTORIES

At December 31, 2014, approximately 19% of the total inventories were accounted for by the LIFO method.  Inventories, by component, consisted of:

	September 30,		December 31,
	2015		2014
Raw materials	$	93,679	$	108,618
Work in process	96,316		94,414
Finished goods	120,849		115,809
Total	310,844		318,841
Less LIFO reserve	--		(7,769		)
Total	$	310,844	$	311,072

As discussed in Note 1 above, the Company changed its inventory valuation method for certain operating entities in its North American business to the first-in first-out (FIFO) method from the last-in first-out (LIFO) method during the second quarter of 2015. Had this change not been implemented, the Company would have reported a LIFO reserve for the current quarter ended September 30, 2015 of $6,105 as compared to $7,769 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.