Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

Note 9:    Property, Plant and Equipment

The carrying values of property, plant and equipment were as follows:

	December 31,
	2011			2010
	(In thousands)
Land and land improvements	$	34,005		$	34,794
Buildings and leasehold improvements		137,639			150,133
Machinery and equipment		426,082			375,784
Computer equipment and software		66,498			61,988
Construction in process		21,566			25,702
Gross property, plant and equipment		685,790			648,401
Accumulated depreciation		(398,857	)		(369,535	)
Net property, plant and equipment	$	286,933		$	278,866

Disposals

During 2011, we sold certain real estate of the Americas segment for $1.1 million. There was no gain or loss recognized on the sale.

During 2010, we sold our wireless networking business that comprised the entirety of our former Wireless segment. See Note 4. We also sold certain real estate of the EMEA segment for $1.8 million. There was no gain or loss recognized on the sale.

During 2009, we sold a 95% ownership interest in a German cable business that sells primarily to the automotive industry. The sales price was $0.4 million, and we recognized a loss of $17.2 million on the transaction. In addition to retaining a 5% interest in the business, we retained the associated land and building, which we are leasing to the buyer. The lease term is 15 years with a lessee option to renew up to an additional 10 years. During 2010, we sold the remaining 5% interest in the business for less than $0.1 million. There was no gain or loss recognized on the sale.

Impairment

In 2011, we recognized an impairment loss of $2.5 million in connection with our decision to alter our approach with respect to certain enterprise resource planning technology system assets and to abandon the use of these assets. The impairment loss was recognized in our corporate expenses, which are allocated to our segments as discussed in Note 5.

During 2010, we recognized an impairment loss on property, plant and equipment of $1.0 million in the operating results of our Americas segment due to the decision to close one of our manufacturing facilities in Leominster, Massachusetts. We also determined that certain long-lived assets were impaired and recognized impairment losses on property, plant and equipment of $0.3 million and $5.8 million in the Americas and EMEA segments, respectively. The impairment loss recognized in the EMEA segment was with respect to real estate retained from the German cable business sold in 2009 and leased to the purchasers. We estimated the fair values of these assets based upon quoted prices in active markets or quoted prices for similar assets.

We also recognized during 2010 impairment losses of $0.2 million and $8.7 million in the Americas segment and as a corporate expense, respectively, in connection with our decision to alter our approach with respect to customer relationship management tools and our overall enterprise technology systems and to abandon the use of these assets.

Prior to the sale of a German cable business in 2009, we determined that certain long-lived assets of that business were impaired. We estimated the fair market value of these assets based upon the terms of the sales agreement and recognized an impairment loss in 2009 of $20.4 million in the operating results of the EMEA segment. Of this total impairment loss, $14.1 million related to machinery and equipment and $2.7 million, $2.3 million, and $1.3 million related to trademarks, developed technology, and customer relationship intangible assets, respectively. We also recognized impairment losses on property, plant and equipment of $3.7 million, $2.7 million, and $1.0 million in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific segments, respectively, primarily related to our decisions to consolidate capacity and dispose of excess machinery and equipment. We estimated the fair values of these assets based upon quoted prices for identical assets.

Depreciation Expense

We recognized depreciation expense in income from continuing operations of $36.4 million, $37.6 million, and $38.9 million, in 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively.