GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Amortized Intangible Assets

The components of amortized intangible assets at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were as follows:



	September 30, 2017
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	200,269	$	126,845	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database	3,687		3,111		8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology	6,633		3,859		11 years
Other	4,807		4,032		3 years
	$	215,396	$	137,847



	December 31, 2016
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	191,316	$	111,342	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database	3,616		3,056		8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology	6,434		3,420		11 years
Other	3,713		3,668		3 years
	$	205,079	$	121,486

Amortization expense for intangible assets for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 30, 2017 and September 24, 2016, respectively was as follows:



Thirteen Weeks Ended		Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
2017	2016	2017	2016
4,025	3,964	11,792	12,037

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



	Estimated Amortization Expense
2017	$	15,823
2018	14,492
2019	13,718
2020	12,608
2021	10,474

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.

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

Non-amortized intangible assets

Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not amortized. The carrying values of trade names at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were as follows:



	September 30, 2017		December 31, 2016		Year Acquired
Webforge	$	9,362	$	8,624	2010
Valmont SM	9,839		8,765		2014
Newmark	11,111		11,111		2004
Ingal EPS/Ingal Civil Products	7,633		7,032		2010
Donhad	5,758		5,305		2010
Shakespeare	4,000		4,000		2014
Industrial Galvanizers	2,390		2,201		2010
Other	14,448		13,747
	$	64,541	$	60,785

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 2017. 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.

Goodwill

The carrying amount of goodwill by segment as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was as follows:



	Engineered Support Structures Segment		Energy & Mining Segment		Utility Support Structures Segment		Coatings Segment		Irrigation Segment		Total
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	94,314	$	72,212	$	75,404	$	59,569	$	19,611	$	321,110
Foreign currency translation	4,568		6,704		—		951		94		12,317
Acquisitions	3,327		—		—		—		—		3,327
Balance at September 30, 2017	$	102,209	$	78,916	$	75,404	$	60,520	$	19,705	$	336,754

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

The Company’s annual impairment test of goodwill was performed during the third quarter of 2017, 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 $14,645 of goodwill, is the reporting unit with the smallest cushion between its estimated fair value and its carrying value. Sales and profitability amounts for the first nine months of 2017 approximated the amounts in the 2016 annual impairment model. The 2017 model assumes continued expansion into other highly engineered steel product offerings, such as utility support structures, where the reporting unit completed profitable projects in the past. The Company will continue to monitor the outlook for wind energy in Europe and oil and natural gas prices, which will affect the sales demand assumptions in the five year model for this reporting unit. If demand for off and onshore structures for wind energy changes significantly, the Company will perform an interim impairment test for goodwill. The Company also tracks changes in the global economy that could impact future operating results of any of its reporting units.

- 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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