GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 26, 2015

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Amortized Intangible Assets

The components of amortized intangible assets at September 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014 were as follows:



	September 26, 2015
	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Weighted Average Life
Customer Relationships	$	202,199	$	98,523	13 years
Proprietary Software & Database	3,534		2,929		8 years
Patents & Proprietary Technology	12,659		9,211		8 years
Other	3,833		3,764		3 years
	$	222,225	$	114,427



	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
Other	4,355		2,998		3 years
	$	228,027	$	103,050

Amortization expense for intangible assets for the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended September 26, 2015 and September 27, 2014, respectively was as follows:



Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
2015		2014
$	14,157	$	13,439

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



	Estimated Amortization Expense
2015	$	18,154
2016	15,944
2017	15,898
2018	14,261
2019	13,434

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

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 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014 were as follows:



	September 26, 2015		December 27, 2014		Year Acquired
Webforge	$	11,477	$	16,801	2010
Valmont SM	9,284		10,818		2014
Newmark	11,111		11,111		2004
Ingal EPS/Ingal Civil Products	8,668		8,867		2010
Donhad	6,539		6,689		2010
Shakespeare	4,000		4,000		2014
Industrial Galvanizers	2,713		3,889		2010
Other	13,567		14,852
	$	67,359	$	77,027

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 2015. The values of the trade names were determined using the relief-from-royalty method. Based on this evaluation, the Company recorded a $5,000 impairment of the Webforge trade name (in EIP segment) and a $1,100 impairment of the Industrial Galvanizing trade name (in Coatings segment) during 2015. No other trade names were determined to be impaired. The Webforge product line's net sales decreased in 2015 as investment in oil and gas exploration within Australia and Southeast Asia declined.

Goodwill

The carrying amount of goodwill by segment as of September 26, 2015 and December 27, 2014 was as follows:



	Engineered Infrastructure Products Segment			Utility Support Structures Segment		Coatings Segment			Irrigation Segment			Other			Total
Balance at December 27, 2014	$	197,074		$	75,404	$	74,862		$	19,536		$	18,235		$	385,111
Impairment	—			—		(9,100		)	—			—			(9,100		)
Foreign currency translation	(8,840		)	—		(2,145		)	(196		)	(410		)	(11,591		)
Divestiture of business	(1,737		)	—		—			—			—			(1,737		)
Balance at September 26, 2015	$	186,497		$	75,404	$	63,617		$	19,340		$	17,825		$	362,683

(4) GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

During the second quarter of 2015, the Company divested of a small business in its EIP segment. The goodwill allocated to that business was $1,737 and was required to be written off based on the selling price of the divested business.

The Company’s annual impairment test of goodwill was performed during the third quarter of 2015, using the discounted cash flow method. 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 preliminary $9,100 impairment of goodwill on the APAC Coatings reporting unit. The Company will complete step two of the impairment analysis during the fourth quarter as it finalizes the estimated fair values of the property, plant, and equipment for this reporting unit. The goodwill impairment was a result of difficulties in the Australian market over the last couple of years, including a general slowdown in manufacturing.

The Company determined that its goodwill for all other reporting units was not impaired, as the valuation of the reporting units exceeded their respective carrying values. The Company's Access Systems reporting unit, which has approximately $70 million in goodwill, is the reporting unit with the smallest cushion between estimated fair value over carrying value. A number of restructuring activities undertaken in 2015 are expected to improve the profitability of this reporting unit. If the net sales for this reporting unit further declines in 2016 and its profitability does not improve in 2016, the Company will have to perform an impairment test as of an interim date. 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.

- 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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Thirteen Weeks Ended