Property, Plant and Equipment, net

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net [Abstract]

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



	2014			2013
Machinery and equipment	$	714,636		$	696,776
Land and improvements	261,447			251,793
Buildings and leasehold improvements	123,869			114,313
Office equipment	50,148			47,995
ERP systems	15,056			15,246
Construction in progress	18,149			36,292
Property, plant and equipment, gross	1,183,305			1,162,415
Less: accumulated depreciation	(659,872		)	(597,989		)
Property, plant and equipment, net	$	523,433		$	564,426

Depreciation expense for property, plant and equipment, which includes amortization expense for assets under capital leases, was $75 million, $78 million and $77 million for the years ended August 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, 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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