GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 24, 2016

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Amortized Intangible Assets

The components of amortized intangible assets at September 24, 2016 and December 26, 2015 were as follows:



	September 24, 2016
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	195,371	$	109,595	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database	3,658		3,056		8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology	6,998		3,831		11 years
Other	3,886		3,829		3 years
	$	209,913	$	120,311



	December 26, 2015
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	201,801	$	101,614	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database	3,571		2,966		8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology	6,815		3,421		11 years
Other	3,752		3,671		3 years
	$	215,939	$	111,672

Amortization expense for intangible assets for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 24, 2016 and September 26, 2015, respectively was as follows:



Thirteen Weeks Ended				Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
2016		2015		2016		2015
$	3,964	$	4,507	$	12,037	$	14,157

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

Estimated annual amortization expense related to finite‑lived intangible assets is as follows:



	Estimated Amortization Expense
2016	$	15,895
2017	15,390
2018	13,764
2019	12,994
2020	11,945

The useful lives assigned to finite‑lived intangible assets included consideration of factors such as the Company’s past and expected experience related to customer retention rates, the remaining legal or contractual life of the underlying arrangement that resulted in the recognition of the intangible asset and the Company’s expected use of the intangible asset.

Non-amortized intangible assets

Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized. The carrying values of trade names at September 24, 2016 and December 26, 2015 were as follows:



	September 24, 2016		December 26, 2015		Year Acquired
Webforge	$	9,061	$	10,430	2010
Valmont SM	9,333		8,919		2014
Newmark	11,111		11,111		2004
Ingal EPS/Ingal Civil Products	7,387		8,504		2010
Donhad	5,573		6,415		2010
Shakespeare	4,000		4,000		2014
Industrial Galvanizers	2,313		2,662		2010
Other	14,089		13,889
	$	62,867	$	65,930

In its determination of these intangible assets as indefinite‑lived, the Company considered such factors as its expected future use of the intangible asset, legal, regulatory, technological and competitive factors that may impact the useful life or value of the intangible asset and the expected costs to maintain the value of the intangible asset. The Company expects that these intangible assets will maintain their value indefinitely. Accordingly, these assets are not amortized.

The Company’s trade names were tested for impairment in the third quarter of 2016. The values of each trade name was determined using the relief-from-royalty method. Based on this evaluation, no trade names were determined to be impaired as of the third quarter of 2016. In the third quarter of 2015, the Company recorded a $5,000 impairment of the Webforge trade name (in Energy & Mining segment) and a $1,100 impairment of the Industrial Galvanizing trade name (in Coatings segment). The Company also recognized an additional $830 impairment of the Webforge trade name in the fourth quarter of 2015.

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

Goodwill

The carrying amount of goodwill by segment as of September 24, 2016 and December 26, 2015 was as follows:



	Engineered Support Structures Segment			Energy & Mining Segment			Utility Support Structures Segment		Coatings Segment			Irrigation Segment		Total
Gross goodwill at December 26, 2015	$	101,275		$	99,829		$	75,404	$	75,941		$	19,359	$	371,808
Accumulated impairment losses	—			(18,670		)	—		(16,222		)	—		(34,892		)
Balance at December 26, 2015	$	101,275		$	81,159		$	75,404	$	59,719		$	19,359	$	336,916
Foreign currency translation	(4,559		)	(4,968		)	—		163			311		(9,053		)
Balance at September 24, 2016	$	96,716		$	76,191		$	75,404	$	59,882		$	19,670	$	327,863

The Company’s annual impairment test of goodwill was performed during the third quarter of 2016, using the discounted cash flow method. As a result of that testing, the Company determined that its goodwill was not impaired, as the valuation of the reporting units exceeded their respective carrying values. The Company's offshore and other complex steel structures reporting unit with $13,872 of goodwill, is the reporting unit with the least amount of cushion between its estimated fair value and its carrying value. In the impairment model, the Company is forecasting steady growth in sales between 2018 to 2020 of the other complex steel structures to offset the significant decline in sales from offshore oil and gas structures realized in fiscal 2016. If this reporting unit is not able to build out a backlog of other product lines projects during 2017 to construct and deliver in fiscal 2018, an interim impairment test may be required before the next annual impairment test. The Company continues to monitor changes in the global economy that could impact future operating results of its reporting units. If such conditions arise, the Company will test a given reporting unit for impairment prior to the annual test.

In the third quarter of 2015, the APAC Coatings reporting unit failed step one in that the estimated fair value was lower than the carrying value. As a result, the Company recorded a $9,100 impairment of goodwill on the APAC Coatings reporting unit. The Company finalized step two of the impairment analysis during the fourth quarter of 2015 and recorded an additional impairment of $7,122, which was the remaining goodwill of this reporting unit. The Company also recorded an $18,670 impairment of access system's goodwill in the fourth quarter of 2015.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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