Property, Plant and Equipment, net

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2013

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net [Abstract]

Property, plant and equipment, net consisted of the following as of August 31 (in thousands):



	2013			2012
Machinery and equipment	$	696,776		$	671,615
Land and improvements	251,793			231,925
Buildings and leasehold improvements	114,313			91,411
Office equipment	47,995			43,240
ERP systems	15,246			15,246
Construction in progress	36,292			46,476
Property, plant and equipment, gross	1,162,415			1,099,913
Less: accumulated depreciation	(597,989		)	(535,728		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	564,426		$	564,185

Depreciation expense for property, plant and equipment, which includes amortization of assets under capital leases, was $78 million, $77 million and $68 million for the years ended August 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Includes, but is not limited to, accounting policies and methodology, roll forwards, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, including composite depreciation, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, useful lives and method used, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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