Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

12. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

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 that 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. At March 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016, the Company has reserves totaling $30,018 and $29,959, respectively, for environmental and other matters, including private party claims for exposure to hazardous substances that are probable and estimable.

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, 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. The Company has reserves for legal matters that are probable and estimable and not otherwise covered by insurance, and at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, these reserves were not significant. While it is not possible at this time to predict the outcome of these legal actions, in the opinion of management, based on the aforementioned reviews, the Company is not currently involved in any legal proceedings which, individually or in the aggregate, could have a material effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Warranty Accruals

Estimated warranty program claims are provided for at the time of sale. Amounts provided for are based on historical costs and adjusted for new claims. The changes in the carrying amount of product warranties through March 31, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:

	2017			2016
Beginning Balance, December 31 of the Prior Year	$	84,997		$	44,466
Provision for warranties	18,202			14,031
Settlements made	(17,633		)	(12,462		)
Other adjustments, including acquisitions and currency translation	805			4,666
Ending Balance, March 31	$	86,371		$	50,701

During the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company determined that there was a quality issue with a product component part in the Fluids segment and voluntarily reported this issue to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). During the first quarter of 2017, the Company announced a voluntary recall of the product in collaboration with the CPSC. Based on the currently available information, at December 31, 2016, the Company recorded a warranty accrual of $23,150 in Other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheet to cover the estimated costs of the recall. At March 31, 2017, the warranty accrual was reduced to $21,750 reflecting payments made against the accrual and was also reclassed from a non-current liability to a current liability.