ACQUISITIONS AND DECONSOLIDATION (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012	Dec. 28, 2013	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 28, 2013 Locker, Armorflex and Pure Metal acquisitions	Feb. 05, 2013 Locker	Dec. 28, 2013 Locker	Feb. 05, 2013 Locker Maximum	Dec. 28, 2013 Armorflex International Ltd.	Dec. 19, 2012 Pure Metal Galvanizing item	Dec. 31, 2011 Irrigation monitoring services company	Jun. 30, 2011 Donhad	Oct. 31, 2013 Valley Irrigation South Africa Pty. Ltd.
Acquisition
Ownership percentage acquired					100.00%			100.00%		60.00%	40.00%	40.00%
Cash acquired					$ 116
Cash paid for acquisition					53,152			10,000	45,687	1,539	25,253	9,324
Fair value of contingent consideration							7,911		3,884
Period at the end of which contingent consideration is to be paid					2 years				5 years
Present value of the potential additional purchase price					7,178
Fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed
Current assets					25,584
Property, plant and equipment					20,412
Intangible assets					11,205			3,792
Goodwill	330,791	349,632	314,662		14,325			6,864	12,676
Total fair value of assets acquired					71,526
Current liabilities					9,595
Deferred income taxes					483
Other non-current liabilities					677
Non-controlling interests					325
Total fair value of liabilities assumed and non-controlling interests					11,080
Net assets acquired					60,446
Net sales and net earnings included in Consolidated Statements of Earnings
Net sales included in Consolidated Statements of Earnings				98,295		64,709
Net earnings included in Consolidated Statements of Earnings				4,666		2,132
Number of custom galvanizing operations									3
Customer relationships, trade name and other intangible assets									14,066
Pro forma results of operations
Net sales	3,144,054
Net earnings	$ 234,847
Earnings per share-diluted	$ 8.79