This element represents acquisition-related costs incurred to effect a business combination which costs have been expensed during the period. Such costs include finder's fees; advisory, legal, accounting, valuation, and other professional or consulting fees; general administrative costs, including the costs of maintaining an internal acquisitions department; and may include costs of registering and issuing debt and equity securities.

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Fair value of contingent consideration in a business combination that is classified in shareholders' equity.

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Amount, before tax, of (gain) loss recognized for the (reversal of write-down) write-down to fair value, less cost to sell, of a disposal group. Excludes discontinued operations.

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Amount of increase (decrease) of financial instrument classified in shareholders' equity measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

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Amount of transfers of financial instrument classified in shareholders' equity out of level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

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Amount after valuation and LIFO reserves of inventory expected to be sold, or consumed within one year or operating cycle, if longer.

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Amount of other expense (income) that is infrequent in occurrence or unusual in nature.

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Amount of expenses associated with exit or disposal activities pursuant to an authorized plan. Excludes expenses related to a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

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Special Charges Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2017	Oct. 02, 2016	Oct. 01, 2017	Oct. 02, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Apr. 03, 2016
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Inventories	$ 180,285		$ 180,285		$ 149,584
Restructuring Charges	341	$ 2,252	5,366	$ 6,674
Special and restructuring (recoveries) charges, net	1,978	379	(5,809)	2,491
Energy [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	138	1,093	3,107	1,340
Special and restructuring (recoveries) charges, net	192	379	(11,581)	2,489
Business Combination, Contingent Consideration Arrangements, Change in Amount of Contingent Consideration, Liability			12,200
Advanced Flow Solutions [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	203	1,159	2,259	5,334
Special and restructuring (recoveries) charges, net	0	0	3,748	0
Corporate Segment [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Special and restructuring (recoveries) charges, net	1,786	0	2,024	2
Inventory Related Charges [Member] \| Advanced Flow Solutions [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Inventories	400		400			$ 100
Inventory Related Charges [Member] \| Brazil Closure [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges		1,900	100
Employee Severance [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	(51)	1,462	2,648	2,905
Employee Severance [Member] \| Energy [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	(89)	757	886	1,493
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Loss (Gain) on Write-down		400		2,700
Employee Severance [Member] \| Aerospace [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges		705		1,412
Employee Severance [Member] \| Advanced Flow Solutions [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	38		1,762
Divestiture [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges			3,849
Divestiture [Member] \| Aerospace & Defense [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges			3,748
Divestiture [Member] \| Corporate Segment [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges			101
Acquisitions [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	1,786		1,923	2,652
Acquisitions [Member] \| Energy [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges				2,650
Acquisitions [Member] \| Aerospace [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges				0
Acquisitions [Member] \| Corporate Segment [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges	1,786		1,923	2
Facility Closing [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Loss (Gain) on Write-down	192	379	619	(161)
Facility Closing [Member] \| Energy [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges		336		(153)
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Loss (Gain) on Write-down	192	379	619	(161)
Facility Closing [Member] \| Aerospace [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Restructuring Charges		$ 454		3,922
Facility Closing [Member] \| Corporate Segment [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Loss (Gain) on Write-down				0
Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Loss (Gain) on Write-down			3,800
Critical Flow Solutions [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs	100
Colfax [Member] [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs	1,800
Schroedahl [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs				$ 200
Downstream [Member]
Effects on Future Earnings and Cash Flows Resulting from Exit Plan [Line Items]
Fair Value, Measurement with Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation, Recurring Basis, Instruments Classified in Shareholders' Equity, Period Increase (Decrease)			12,200
Contingent Consideration Classified as Equity, Fair Value Disclosure	$ 0		$ 0		$ 12,200