Segment Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Segment Information [Abstract]

SEGMENT INFORMATION

12. SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Company has four operating segments as defined under ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting.” Business units are organized under each segment because they share certain characteristics, such as technology, marketing, distribution and product application, which create long-term synergies. The principal activities of the Company’s operating segments are as follows:

Federal Signal Technologies—Our Federal Signal Technologies Group is a provider of technologies and solutions to the intelligent transportation systems and public safety markets and other applications. These products and solutions provide end users with the tools needed to automate data collection and analysis, transaction processing and asset tracking. Federal Signal Technologies provides technology platforms and services to customers in the areas of radio frequency identification systems (“RFID”), transaction processing vehicle classification, electronic toll collection, automated license plate recognition (“ALPR”), electronic vehicle registration, parking and access control, cashless payment solutions, congestion charging, traffic management, site security solutions and supply chain systems. Products are sold under the PIPS^tm, Idris ^®, Sirit ^® and VESystems^tm brand names. Federal Signal Technologies operates manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe.

Safety and Security Systems—Our Safety and Security Systems Group is a leading manufacturer and supplier of comprehensive systems and products that law enforcement, fire rescue, emergency medical services, campuses, military facilities and industrial sites use to protect people and property. Offerings include systems for campus and community alerting, emergency vehicles, first responder interoperable communications, industrial communications and command and municipal networked security. Specific products include lightbars and sirens, public warning sirens and public safety software. Products are sold under the Federal Signal ^TM, Federal Signal VAMA ^TM, Target Tech ^® and Victor^® brand names. The Group operates manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, and South Africa.

Environmental Solutions—Our Environmental Solutions Group is a leading manufacturer and supplier of a full range of street sweeper and vacuum trucks and high-performance waterblasting equipment for municipal and industrial customers. We also manufacture products for the newer markets of hydro-excavation, glycol recovery and surface cleaning for utility and industrial customers. Products are sold under the Elgin ^®, Vactor^®, Guzzler ^® and Jetstream ^® brand names. The Group primarily manufactures its vehicles and equipment in the United States.

Fire Rescue—Our Fire Rescue Group is a leading manufacturer and supplier of sophisticated, vehicle-mounted, aerial platforms for fire fighting, rescue, electric utility and industrial uses. End customers include fire departments, industrial fire services, electric utilities, maintenance rental companies for applications such as fire fighting and rescue, transmission line maintenance, and installation and maintenance of wind turbines. The Group’s telescopic/articulated aerial platforms are designed in accordance with various regulatory codes and standards, such as European Norms, National Fire Protection Association and American National Standards Institute. In addition to equipment sales, the Group sells parts, service and training as part of a complete offering to its customer base. The Group manufactures in Finland and sells globally under the Bronto Skylift^® brand name.

Corporate contains those items that are not included in our other operating segments.

The Company evaluates performance based on operating income of the respective segment. Operating income includes all revenues, costs and expenses directly related to the segment involved, and excludes acquisition and integration related costs, corporate expenses and interest expenses. Those costs are contained at Corporate. Operating segment depreciation expense, identifiable assets and capital expenditures relate to those assets that are utilized by the respective operating segment. Corporate assets consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, notes and other receivables and fixed assets. The accounting policies of each operating segment are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010.

We have reclassified certain prior period amounts to conform to the current period presentation. Included with reclassifications are restatements for both discontinued operations and the reorganization of certain operating segments. Information regarding the Company’s discontinued operations is included in Note 15—Discontinued Operations. The segment information included herein has been reclassified to reflect such discontinued operations.

The following table summarizes the Company’s net sales, operating income (loss), and total assets by segment. The results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year.

($ in millions)	Safety And Security Systems		Fire Rescue		Environmental Solutions		Federal  Signal Technologies			Corporate And Eliminations			Total
Three months ended September 30, 2011
Net sales	$	52.0	$	22.2	$	93.6	$	26.4		$	—		$	194.2
Operating income (loss)		4.4		0.2		7.7		(1.0	)		(4.0	)		7.3
Three months ended September 30, 2010
Net sales		50.7		19.9		83.4		25.6			—			179.6
Operating income (loss)		6.0		1.4		4.9		(2.3	)		(5.2	)		4.8
($ in millions)	Safety And Security Systems		Fire Rescue		Environmental Solutions		Federal Signal Technologies			Corporate And Eliminations			Total
Nine months ended September 30, 2011
Net sales	$	161.0	$	68.1	$	264.6	$	78.6		$	—		$	572.3
Operating income (loss)		15.9		1.7		17.8		(6.0	)		(14.4	)		15.0
Nine months ended September 30, 2010
Net sales		159.6		74.3		237.9		68.0			—			539.8
Operating income (loss)		16.5		5.0		16.1		(8.3	)		(23.5	)		5.8
($ in millions)	Safety And Security Systems		Fire Rescue		Environmental Solutions		Federal Signal Technologies			Corporate And Eliminations			Total
As of September 30, 2011
Total assets	$	249.0	$	108.8	$	233.3	$	103.0		$	22.7		$	716.8
As of December 31, 2010
Total assets	$	247.2	$	123.2	$	241.8	$	104.9		$	47.4		$	764.5