Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2010

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

12.   Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Lease Commitments

The Company leases certain facilities and equipment under operating leases, many of which contain renewal options. Total rental expense, net of insignificant sublease rental income, for all operating leases was $83,406, $71,392, and $70,438 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Contingent rentals under the operating leases were not significant.

The aggregate future minimum lease payments for operating and capital leases as of December 31, 2011 are as follows:

	Operating		Capital
2012	$	62,948	$	1,606
2013		45,275		1,269
2014		35,664		527
2015		23,593		496
2016		16,252		408
2017 and thereafter		61,345		1,039

Guarantees

The Company has provided typical indemnities in connection with sales of certain businesses and assets, including representations and warranties and related indemnities for environmental, health and safety, tax and employment matters.  The Company does not have any material liabilities recorded for these indemnifications and is not aware of any claims or other information that would give rise to material payments under such indemnities.

Litigation

A few of the Company's subsidiaries are involved in legal proceedings relating to the cleanup of waste disposal sites identified under federal and state statutes which provide for the allocation of such costs among “potentially responsible parties.” In each instance, the extent of the Company's liability appears to be very small in relation to the total projected expenditures and the number of other “potentially responsible parties” involved and is anticipated to be immaterial to the Company. In addition, a few of the Company's subsidiaries are involved in ongoing remedial activities at certain current and former plant sites, in cooperation with regulatory agencies, and appropriate reserves have been established.

The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are also parties to a number of other legal proceedings incidental to their businesses. These proceedings primarily involve claims by private parties alleging injury arising out of use of the Company's products, exposure to hazardous substances, patent infringement, employment matters and commercial disputes. Management and legal counsel, at least quarterly, review the probable outcome of such proceedings, the costs and expenses reasonably expected to be incurred and currently accrued to-date, and the availability and extent of insurance coverage. While it is not possible at this time to predict the outcome of these legal actions, in the opinion of management, based on these reviews, it is unlikely that the disposition of the lawsuits and the other matters mentioned above will have a material adverse effect on the financial position, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company.