COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitments

The Company leases certain property and equipment, including manufacturing facilities and office equipment under operating leases.  Some of these leases provide the Company with the option after the initial lease term either to purchase the property at the then fair market value or renew the lease at the then fair rental value.  Generally, management expects that leases will be renewed or replaced by other leases in the normal course of business.

Future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases for the next five fiscal years and thereafter are estimated to be as follows (in thousands):

Year ending October 31,
2016		$10,526
2017	8,202
2018	4,479
2019	2,509
2020	2,063
Thereafter	8,943
Total minimum lease commitments		$36,722

Total rent expense charged to operations for operating leases in fiscal 2015, 2014 and 2013 amounted to $11.9 million, $11.2 million and $9.8 million, respectively.

Guarantees

As of October 31, 2015, the Company has arranged for standby letters of credit aggregating $2.7 million, which are supported by its revolving credit facility. One letter of credit in the amount of $1.5 million is to satisfy the security requirement of the insurance company used by the Company for potential workers' compensation claims and the remainder pertain to performance guarantees related to customer contracts entered into by certain of the Company's subsidiaries.

Product Warranty

Changes in the Company’s product warranty liability in fiscal 2015 and 2014 are as follows (in thousands):

	Year ended October 31,
	2015			2014
Balances as of beginning of year		$4,079			$3,233
Accruals for warranties	1,215			3,005
Acquired warranty liabilities	35			—
Warranty claims settled	(2,126		)	(2,159		)
Balances as of end of year		$3,203			$4,079

Litigation

The Company is involved in various legal actions arising in the normal course of business.  Based upon the Company’s and its legal counsel’s evaluations of any claims or assessments, management is of the opinion that the outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.