12. Employee Retirement Plans

Pension benefits

The Company provides noncontributory defined benefit pension plans for most employees. Plans covering salaried employees generally provide pension benefits that are based on the employee's average earnings and credited service. Plans covering hourly employees generally provide benefits of stated amounts for each year of service. The Company's funding policy for the plans is to contribute amounts sufficient to meet the minimum funding requirement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, plus any additional amounts that the Company may determine to be appropriate.

The reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the fair value of plan assets, funded status of plans, and amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consisted of the following:

	December 31

	2012			2011
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	32,800		$	28,557
Service cost		268			961
Interest cost		1,482			1,539
Actuarial loss		2,944			4,126
Benefits paid		(1,285	)		(975	)
Effect of curtailment		—			(1,408	)

Benefit obligation at end of year		36,209			32,800
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year		18,637			17,804
Actual return on plan assets		2,442			(109	)
Employer contributions through December 31		2,014			1,917
Benefits paid		(1,285	)		(975	)

Fair value of plan assets at end of year		21,808			18,637

Funded Status: accrued pension liability	$	(14,401	)	$	(14,163	)

In May 2010, in connection with the closure of the Company's manufacturing facility in Johnson City, TN substantially all the employees at this facility were terminated. This resulted in a cessation of all future benefit accruals for these employees under the Company's pension plans. A liability gain of $326 from the curtailment was recognized as a reduction to the net actuarial loss, as the liability gain was less than the unrecognized net actuarial loss prior to the curtailment for the pension plan in the year ended December 31, 2010. Therefore, this did not impact the consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2010.

In November 2011, the Company took the following actions with respect to its pension plans effective as of December 31, 2011: It froze benefits as of January 1, 2012 for all employees under the Company's Pension Plan for Hourly Employees, froze benefits as of January 1, 2012 for all employees under the Company's Salaried Pension Plan for employees with less than five years of service and grandfathered employees (other than certain highly compensated employees) under the Company's Salaried Pension Plan with five or more years of service, but reduced the benefit accrual from 1.67% of pay to 1.00% of pay. In order to offset the loss of these benefit to employees, the Company has enhanced its defined contribution plan. The Company also established a nonqualified deferred compensation plan effective as of January 1, 2012, for certain highly compensated employees whose participation in the qualified plan is restricted. A liability gain of $1,408 from this curtailment was recognized as a reduction to the net actuarial loss, as the liability gain was less than the unrecognized net actuarial loss prior to the curtailment for the pension plan in the year ended December 31, 2011. Therefore, this did not impact the consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2011.

The components of net periodic pension cost consisted of the following for the years ended December 31,

	2012			2011			2010

Component of net periodic pension cost:
Service cost	$	268		$	961		$	800
Interest cost		1,482			1,539			1,432
Expected return on plan assets		(1,274	)		(1,357	)		(1,162	)
Amortization of net loss		770			454			324

Net periodic pension cost	$	1,246			1,597		$	1,394

The accumulated benefit obligation for all pension plans as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, was $34,949 and $31,322, respectively.

In accordance with its adoption of ASC 715-20, the Company uses December 31, as its measurement date for all periods presented. Assumptions used in determining net periodic pension cost for the plans consisted of the following:

	Year ended December 31

	2012			2011			2010
Discount rates		4.6	%		5.5	%		6.0	%
Rates of increase in compensation levels:
Salaried		3.5			3.5			3.5
Hourly		N/A			N/A			N/A
Expected long-term rate of return on assets		7.25			8.0			8.0

The discount rate used to determine the benefit obligation at December 31, 2012 and 2011 is 4.1% and 4.6%, respectively.

For 2013, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is 7.25%. To determine the long-term rate of return assumption for plan assets, the Company studies historical markets and preserves the long-term historical relationships between equities and fixed-income securities consistent with the widely accepted capital market principle that assets with higher volatility generate a greater return over the long run. The Company evaluates current market factors such as inflation and interest rates before it determines long-term capital market assumptions and reviews peer data and historical returns to check for reasonableness and appropriateness.

The expected benefit payments under the pension plans are as follows:


2013	$	1,330
2014		1,340
2015		1,360
2016		1,380
2017		1,410
2018 - 2022		8,010

The Company made required minimum pension funding contributions of $2,014 to the pension plans in 2012 and currently expects to make $831 of required minimum pension funding contributions in 2013.

The Company maintains target allocation percentages among various asset classes based on an investment policy established for the pension plans, which is designed to achieve long-term objectives of return, while mitigating downside risk and considering expected cash flows. The current weighted-average target asset allocations are reflective of actual investments at December 31, 2012 and 2011. The investment policy is reviewed periodically in order to achieve overall objectives in light of current circumstances.

The Company's weighted-average asset allocation and actual allocation for the qualified pension plans by asset category at December 31 is as follows:

			2012				2011

Large Cap Equity	37	%	$	6,766	31	%	$	5,901	32	%
Mid Cap Equity	4	%		859	4	%		750	4	%
Small Cap Equity	3	%		876	4	%		783	4	%
International Equity	12	%		2,448	11	%		2,041	11	%
Emerging markets Equity	2	%		598	3	%		353	2	%
Fixed Income and Cash Equivalents	34	%		8,019	37	%		6,966	37	%
Real Estate	8	%		2,242	10	%		1,843	10	%

Total	100	%	$	21,808	100	%	$	18,637	100	%

The investment strategy is to build an efficient, well-diversified portfolio based on a long-term, strategic outlook of the investment markets. The investment market outlook utilizes both historical-based and forward-looking return forecasts to establish future return expectations for various asset classes. These return expectations are used to develop a core asset allocation based on the needs of the plan. The core asset allocation utilizes investment portfolios of various asset classes and multiple investment managers in order to help maximize the plan's return while providing multiple layers of diversification to help minimize risk.

The following table presents the fair values of the plan assets related to the Company's pension plans within the fair value hierarchy as defined in Note 2.

The fair values of the Company's pension plan assets as of December 31, 2012 are as follows:

	Balance as of December 31, 2012		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

Assets:
Equity holdings	$	12,672	$	—	$	12,672	$	—
Fixed-income holdings		8,019		—		8,019		—
Alternative investments		1,117		—		—		1,117

Total pension plan assets	$	21,808	$	—	$	20,691	$	1,117

The fair values of the Company's pension plan assets as of December 31, 2011 are as follows:

	Balance as of December 31, 2011		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

Assets:
Equity holdings	$	10,575	$	—	$	10,575	$	—
Fixed-income holdings		6,966		—		6,966		—
Alternative investments		1,096		—		—		1,096

Total pension plan assets	$	18,637	$	—	$	17,541	$	1,096

Level 2 investments are based on quoted prices for similar assets in markets that are not active while Level 3 investments are comprised of a real estate fund for which the fair value is determined by taking the appraised values of the properties on hand plus other assets and subtracting mortgage loans and other liabilities.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3):

	December 31,

	2012			2011
Balance, beginning of year	$	1,096		$	718
Deposits		187			408
Actual return on plan assets held at reporting date		125			129
Withdrawals		(291	)		(159	)

Balance, end of year	$	1,117		$	1,096

Postretirement benefits

The Company provides postretirement healthcare benefits for certain employee groups. The postretirement healthcare plans are contributory and contain certain other cost-sharing features such as deductibles and coinsurance. The plans are unfunded. Employees do not vest until they retire from active employment with the Company and have at least twelve years of service. These benefits can be amended or terminated at anytime and are subject to the same ongoing changes as the Company's healthcare benefits for employees with respect to deductible, co-insurance and participant contributions.

Effective January 1, 2004, the postretirement healthcare benefits were extended to all active employees of the Company as of December 31, 2003. The period of coverage was reduced and the retiree contribution percentage was increased in order to keep the cost of the plan equivalent to the previous plan design.

Maximum coverage under the plan is limited to ten years. All benefits terminate upon the death of the retiree. Employees who began working for the Company after December 31, 2003, are not eligible for postretirement healthcare benefits.

The reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the projected benefit obligation for the Company consisted of the following:

	December 31

	2012			2011
Change in projected benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	8,402		$	7,576
Service cost		281			263
Interest cost		360			407
Participant contributions		103			95
Changes in actuarial assumptions		(1,590	)		426
Benefits paid		(744	)		(365	)

Projected benefit obligation at end of year	$	6,812		$	8,402

Amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets consisted of:
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	$	271		$	349
Retiree health benefit obligation		6,541			8,053

	$	6,812		$	8,402

In May 2010, in connection with the closure of the Company's manufacturing facility in Johnson City, TN substantially all the employees at this facility were terminated. This resulted in a cessation of all future benefit accruals for these employees under the Company's other post employment benefit ("OPEB") plan. The liability gain for the OPEB plan exceeded the unrecognized net actuarial loss prior to the curtailment and resulted in a gain of $1,031 of which $667 was recorded in selling, general and administrative expense in the consolidated statement of income for the year ended December 31, 2010 and $364 (before taxes) was recognized as a reduction to the net actuarial loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss at December 31, 2010.

The components of postretirement healthcare benefit cost consisted of the following for the years ended December 31,

	2012			2011			2010

Component of net postretirement health benefit cost:
Service cost	$	281		$	263		$	308
Interest cost		360			407			455
Amortization of net gain		(17	)		(61	)		(6	)
Curtailment gain		—			—			(667	)

Net postretirement healthcare benefit cost	$	624		$	609		$	90

The assumed discount and healthcare cost trend rates are summarized as follows:

	Year Ended December 31

	2012			2011			2010
Discount rate		4.4	%		5.5	%		6	%
Immediate healthcare cost trend rate		8.0			9.0			9.0
Ultimate healthcare cost trend rate		4.5			5.0			5.0
Assumed annual reduction in trend rate		**			*			0.5
Participation		80			80			80

*: Health Care Cost Trend rate is assumed to be 9.0% beginning in 2011 gradually reducing to an ultimate rate of 5.0% in 2017.
**: Health Care Cost Trend rate is assumed to be 8.0% beginning in 2012 gradually reducing to an ultimate rate of 4.5% in 2019.

The discount rate used to determine the benefit obligation at December 31, 2012 and 2011 is 3.7% and 4.4%, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2010 the combination of pension and postretirement benefit cash flows were used to develop a single equivalent discount rate as the results were materially the same. For 2012 and 2011, a separate discount rate was determined for pension and postretirement benefits. For December 31, 2012, the health care cost trend rate is assumed to be 8.0% for participants under 65 and 6.0% for those over 65 beginning in 2013 gradually reducing to an ultimate rate of 4.5% in 2021 for both participants under 65 and over 65. For December 31, 2011, the health care cost trend rate is assumed to be 8.0% beginning in 2012 gradually reducing to an ultimate rate of 4.5% in 2019. Despite lower discount rates, the Company recognized a gain in other comprehensive income as a result of increased Medicare coverage included in the actuarial valuation.

A one percentage point change in the healthcare cost trend rate would have the following effect at December 31, 2012:

	1% Increase		1% Decrease

Effect on total service and interest cost	$	71	$	(61	)
Effect on postretirement benefit obligation		808		(696	)

Amounts included in other comprehensive loss, net of tax, at December 31, 2012, which have not yet been recognized in net periodic pension or OPEB cost, were net actuarial gain (loss) of ($7,803) and $1,063 for the pension plans and postretirement healthcare benefits, respectively. The estimated actuarial gain (loss) for the defined benefit plans that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic pension or OPEB cost during 2013 are ($1,204) and $172 for the pension plans and postretirement healthcare benefits, respectively.

Defined contribution plan

The Company has a defined contribution plan, which qualifies under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code and provides substantially all employees an opportunity to accumulate personal funds for their retirement. Contributions are made on a before-tax basis to the plan and are invested, at the employees' direction, among a variety of investment alternatives including, commencing January 1, 2013, a Company common stock fund designated as an employee stock ownership plan.

As determined by the provisions of the plan, the Company matches a portion of the employees' basic voluntary contributions. The Company matching contributions to the plan were approximately $198, $140 and $123 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Beginning January 1, 2012, the Company amended its defined contribution plan to permit non-discretionary employer contributions. The Company made non-discretionary employer contributions of $871 in the year ended December 31, 2012.

Non-qualified plan

The Company also maintains a supplemental non-qualified plan for certain officers and other key employees. Expense for this plan was $471 for the year ended December 31, 2012, and the amount accrued was $497 as of December 31, 2012. Amounts were determined based on the fair value of the liability at December 31, 2012.