Property, Plant and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Property, Plant and Equipment

Note 9: Property, Plant and Equipment

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

	December 31,
	2012			2011
	(In thousands)
Land and land improvements	$	35,010		$	33,427
Buildings and leasehold improvements		136,751			136,464
Machinery and equipment		438,928			412,809
Computer equipment and software		92,946			66,059
Construction in process		27,135			21,288
Gross property, plant and equipment		730,770			670,047
Accumulated depreciation		(423,722	)		(389,934	)
Net property, plant and equipment	$	307,048		$	280,113

Disposals

During 2012, we sold certain net assets of our Chinese cable operations within the Asia Pacific segment for $40.0 million that primarily conduct business in the consumer electronics end market (the Disposal Group). We had previously evaluated a number of strategic alternatives related to the Disposal Group, and we determined that the characteristics of the end market in which they conduct business were not in line with our strategic plan. The cash flows related to the Disposal Group were not separately identifiable and independent of the other cash flows of our Chinese cable operations, and therefore, we have not reported the operating results of the Disposal Group as discontinued operations. We recognized an asset impairment and loss on sale of the consumer electronics assets in 2012 of $29.7 million, which includes $12.0 million of impairments pertaining to the intangible assets of the Disposal Group.

During 2012, we also sold certain real estate of the Americas and EMEA segments for $0.9 million and $8.6 million, respectively. There was no gain or loss recognized on the sales.

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 2010, we sold the remaining 5% interest in a German cable business that sells primarily to the automotive industry for less than $0.1 million. There was no gain or loss recognized on the sale.

Impairment

In 2012, we recognized an impairment loss on property, plant and equipment of $4.0 million in the operating results of our EMEA segment. Of the total impairment loss, approximately $1.5 million related to real estate retained by us from a German cable business we sold in 2009 and leased to the purchasers, $1.4 million related to manufacturing equipment, and $1.1 million related to other property, plant, and equipment. We estimated the fair value of these assets based upon bids received from third parties to potentially buy the assets, quoted prices in active markets or quoted prices for similar assets.

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.

Depreciation Expense

We recognized depreciation expense in income from continuing operations of $35.1 million, $35.0 million, and $36.3 million, in 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively.