Note 4 - Property and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

4. Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost and is depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets and consists of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2012			2011
Equipment (useful life 3 - 15 years)	$	5,963		$	5,831
Tooling (useful life 2 - 5 years)		2,600			2,440
Furniture and fixtures (useful life 5 years)		132			129
Computer software (useful life 3 years)		462			431
Leasehold improvements (the shorter of useful life or lease life)		633			630
Construction in progress		50			27
Property and equipment at cost		9,840			9,488
Less: accumulated depreciation		(8,040	)		(7,383	)
Property and equipment, net	$	1,800		$	2,105

Depreciation expense was $637 thousand, $589 thousand and $790 thousand for the years ending December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

As a result of the Company’s efforts to reduce overhead costs and in conjunction with the renegotiation efforts related to the lease at its Solon, Ohio office, which expired April 30, 2011, the decision was made to relocate Solon, Ohio commercial products manufacturing operations to its facilities in Mexico and California. This decision would enable the Company to reduce the square footage of the premises leased and strategically align the products segment of the Company which is located in California. As a result of these strategic changes, the Company performed an evaluation of its property, plant and equipment at the Solon office as of December 31, 2010, as this strategic change created a “triggering event” necessitating such a review. In performing this review, the Company obtained quoted market prices for similar assets while also considering market demand for these assets. As a result of this review, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $156 thousand, which represented the difference between the fair value of the asset group and its carrying value and is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations under the caption “Loss on Impairment.”

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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