GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2014

(6) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The Company's annual impairment testing of goodwill and trade names was performed during the third quarter of 2014. 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 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.

Amortized Intangible Assets

The components of amortized intangible assets at December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 were as follows:

	As of December 27, 2014
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	207,509	$	88,538	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database		3,769		2,977	8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology		12,394		8,537	8 years
Non-compete Agreements		4,355		2,998	3 years

	$	228,027	$	103,050

	As of December 28, 2013
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	177,495	$	76,024	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database		3,896		2,896	6 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology		11,334		7,239	8 years
Non-compete Agreements		1,620		1,438	6 years

	$	194,345	$	87,597

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $18,414, $15,233, and $14,332 for the fiscal years ended December 27, 2014, December 28, 2013 and December 29, 2012, respectively.

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

	Estimated Amortization Expense
2015	$	18,176
2016		16,406
2017		16,364
2018		14,703
2019		13,871

The useful lives assigned to finite-lived intangible assets include 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 December 27, 2014 and December 28, 2013 were as follows:

	December 27, 2014		December 28, 2013		Year Acquired
Webforge	$	16,801	$	17,787	2010
Valmont SM		10,818		—	2014
Newmark		11,111		11,111	2004
Ingal EPS/Ingal Civil Products		8,867		9,387	2010
Donhad		6,689		7,082	2010
Shakespeare		4,000		—	2014
Industrial Galvanizers		3,889		4,117	2010
Other		14,852		14,685

	$	77,027	$	64,169

The Company's trade names were tested for impairment separately from goodwill in the third quarter of 2014. The values of the trade names were determined using the relief-from-royalty method. The Company determined that the value of its trade names were not impaired.

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.

Goodwill

The carrying amount of goodwill by segment as of December 27, 2014 was as follows:

	Engineered Infrastructure Products Segment			Utility Support Structures Segment		Coatings Segment			Irrigation Segment			Other			Total
Balance at December 28, 2013	$	175,442		$	75,404	$	77,062		$	2,420		$	19,304		$	349,632
Acquisition		32,219			—		—			17,193			—			49,562
Foreign currency translation		(10,587	)		—		(2,200	)		(77	)		(1,069	)		(14,083	)

Balance at December 27, 2014	$	197,074		$	75,404	$	74,862		$	19,536		$	18,235		$	385,111

The Company examined the goodwill assigned to its reporting units in the third quarter of 2014 and determined that the goodwill on its consolidated balance sheet at December 27, 2014 was not impaired. The acquisition amount arose from the acquisitions of Valmont SM, Shakespeare, and AgSense.

The carrying amount of goodwill by segment as of December 28, 2013 was as follows:

	Engineered Infrastructure Products Segment			Utility Support Structures Segment			Coatings Segment		Irrigation Segment			Other		Total
Balance at December 29, 2012	$	155,185		$	77,141		$	77,053	$	2,517		$	18,895	$	330,791
Acquisition		21,189			—			—		—			—		21,189
Foreign currency translation		(2,669	)		—			9		(97	)		409		(2,348	)
Other		1,737			(1,737	)		—		—			—		—

Balance at December 28, 2013	$	175,442		$	75,404		$	77,062	$	2,420		$	19,304	$	349,632

The acquisition amount arose from the acquisitions of Locker and Armorflex. The other category relates to a minor component that was transferred from the Utility Support Structures segment to the Engineered Infrastructure Products segment.

- 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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