Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

11. Financial Instruments

Derivatives

The Company is exposed to market risk for changes in foreign currency exchange rates due to the global nature of its operations. In order to manage this risk the Company has hedged portions of its forecasted sales and purchases, which occur within the next twelve months and are denominated in non-functional currencies, with currency forward or collar contracts designated as cash flow hedges. At December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company had contracts with U.S. dollar equivalent notional amounts of $33,216 and $9,090, respectively, to exchange foreign currencies, principally the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and Malaysian ringgit. The Company believes it is probable that all forecasted cash flow transactions will occur.

In addition, the Company had outstanding contracts at December 31, 2013 with a total notional amount of $104,688 that are not designated as hedging instruments. These instruments are used to reduce the Company's exposure for operating receivables and payables that are denominated in non-functional currencies.

The Company also has an outstanding floating-to-floating cross currency swap agreement for a total notional amount of $50,000 in exchange for CHF 65,100, which expires on October 15, 2015. This transaction continues to hedge a portion of the Company’s net investment in CHF-denominated operations. The agreement qualifies as a net investment hedge and the effective portion of the change in fair value is reported within the cumulative translation adjustment section of other comprehensive income. The fair values at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 reflected cumulative losses of $23,716 and $22,681, respectively, due to the strengthening of the Swiss franc relative to the U.S. dollar over the term of the arrangement.

The following table sets forth the fair values of derivative instruments held by the Company as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 and the balance sheet lines in which they are recorded:

	Fair Value Asset (Liability)
	December 31, 2013			December 31, 2012			Balance Sheet Caption
Foreign currency forward / collar contracts	$	879		$	85		Prepaid and other current assets
Foreign currency forward / collar contracts	(168		)	(799		)	Other accrued expenses
Net investment hedge - cross currency swap	(23,716		)	(22,681		)	Other liabilities

The amount of gains or losses from hedging activity recorded in earnings is not significant and the amount of unrealized gains and losses from cash flow hedges which are expected to be reclassified to earnings in the next twelve months is not significant; therefore, additional tabular disclosures are not presented. There are no amounts excluded from the assessment of hedge effectiveness and there are no credit risk related contingent features in the Company’s derivative instruments.

The Company is exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by counterparties to the financial instrument contracts held by the Company; however, nonperformance by these counterparties is considered unlikely as the Company’s policy is to contract with highly-rated, diversified counterparties.

Additionally, the Company has designated the €300.0 million of euro-denominated notes issued December 4, 2013 as a hedge of a portion of the its net investment in euro-denominated operations. Due to the high degree of effectiveness between the hedging instruments and the exposure being hedged, fluctuations in the value of the euro-denominated debt due to exchange rate changes are offset by changes in the net investment. Accordingly, changes in the value of the euro-denominated debt are recognized in the cumulative translation adjustment section of other comprehensive income to offset changes in the value of the net investment in euro-denominated operations. The loss recognized from the euro net investment hedge in other comprehensive income totaled $6,099 ($3,964 after tax) for the year ended December 31, 2013.

Fair Value Measurements

Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires the Company to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. ASC 820 establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value.

Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 inputs include inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of assets or liabilities.

Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The following table presents the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012:

	December 31, 2013						December 31, 2012
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Assets:
Foreign currency cash flow hedges	$	—	$	879	$	—	$	—	$	85	$	—
Liabilities:
Foreign currency cash flow hedges	—		168		—		—		799		—
Net investment hedge derivative	—		23,716		—		—		22,681		—

The derivative contracts are measured at fair value using models based on observable market inputs such as foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates; therefore, they are classified within Level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

In addition to fair value disclosure requirements related to financial instruments carried at fair value, accounting standards require disclosures regarding the fair value of all of the Company’s financial instruments. The estimated fair value of long-term debt at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 was $2,872,454 and $2,680,674, respectively, compared to the carrying value of $2,601,979 and $2,192,616, respectively. The estimated fair value of long-term debt is based on quoted market prices for similar instruments and is, therefore, classified as Level 2 within the valuation hierarchy. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, accounts payable, and notes payable are reasonable estimates of their fair values as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 due to the short-term nature of these instruments.