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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
 
Purchase Obligations

In addition to the debt and lease obligations described elsewhere in the footnotes, the Company has certain purchase obligations in the ordinary course of business. These purchase obligations are primarily related to the acquisition, construction or expansion of facilities and equipment, and minimum purchase quantities of certain raw materials. The Company is not a party to any long-term supply contracts with respect to the purchase of raw materials or finished goods. As of December 31, 2021, these purchase obligations were $125.4 million, of which $85.9 million is payable in 2022 and the remainder over the following three years. Debt interest obligations include annual facility fees on the Company’s primary line-of-credit facility in the amount of $0.9 million at December 31, 2021.
 
Employee Relations
 
As of December 31, 2021, approximately 17% of our employees are represented by labor unions and are covered by collective bargaining agreements in the U.S. The Company has two-facility locations with collective bargaining agreements covering tool and die craftsmen, maintenance workers, and sheet-metal workers. In Stockton, California, two union contracts will expire in September 2023 and June 2023, respectively. Also, the Company has two contracts in San Bernardino County, California that will expire in February 2025 and in June 2022, respectively. Based on current information and subject to future events and circumstances, the Company believes that, even if new agreements are not reached before the existing labor union contracts expire, it is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to provide products to customers or on the Company’s profitability.

Environmental

The Company’s policy with regard to environmental liabilities is to accrue for future environmental assessments and remediation costs when information becomes available that indicates that it is probable that the Company is liable for any
related claims and assessments and the amount of the liability is reasonably estimable. The Company does not believe that any such matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

Litigation and Potential Claims

From time to time, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings and other matters arising in the normal course of business. Corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement, cracking, material hardness, wood pressure-treating chemicals, misinstallations, misuse, design and assembly flaws, manufacturing defects, labeling defects, product formula defects, inaccurate chemical mixes, adulteration, environmental conditions, or other factors can contribute to failure of fasteners, connectors, anchors, adhesives, specialty chemicals, such as fiber reinforced polymers, and tool products. In addition, inaccuracies may occur in product information, descriptions and instructions found in catalogs, packaging, data sheets, and the Company’s website.

The resolution of any claim or litigation is subject to inherent uncertainty and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

Gentry Homes, Ltd. v. Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc., et al., Case No. 17-cv-00566, was filed in a federal district court in Hawaii against Simpson Strong-Tie Company Inc. and the Company on November 20, 2017. The Gentry Case is a product of a previous state court class action, Nishimura v. Gentry Homes, Ltd., et al., Civil No. 11-1-1522-07, which is now closed. The Nishimura case concerned alleged corrosion of the Company’s galvanized “hurricane straps” and mudsill anchor products used in a residential project in the Ewa District of Honolulu, Hawaii by Gentry Homes, Ltd. ("Gentry"). In the Gentry Case, Gentry alleges breach of warranty and negligent misrepresentation by the Company related to its “hurricane strap” and mudsill anchor products. The Gentry Case was resolved pursuant to a written settlement agreement ("Settlement") without adjudication or any admission of liability by the Company. The Settlement may not be used as evidence of liability against the party. The case was dismissed with prejudice on January 4, 2022. The Company incurred no uninsured liability to the plaintiff in connection with the Gentry Case, or the Settlement.