SEGMENT INFORMATION (Financial Information of Reportable Segments) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	$ 4,191,636	$ 3,761,211	$ 3,234,180
Adjusted EBIT	731,374	636,951	491,268
Special items charge (gain)	137	14,624	144,056
EBIT	731,237	622,327	347,212
Interest income	6,762	1,607	1,567
Interest expense	(51,133)	(31,107)	(23,781)
Income before income taxes	686,866	592,827	324,998
Total assets	3,377,297	3,180,546	2,592,307
Capital expenditures	90,987	71,883	62,531
Depreciation and amortization	86,670	78,059	81,146
Rationalization and asset impairment charges (Note 7)	(11,314)	11,788	9,827
Pension settlement net charges	0	0	126,502
Rationalization and asset impairment net gains	(4,779)	(8,100)	1,054
Inter-segment
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	(169,675)	(164,562)	(175,077)
Corporate/Eliminations
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	(169,675)	(164,562)	(175,077)
Adjusted EBIT	(17,536)	(10,033)	(12,403)
Special items charge (gain)	0	6,003	1,923
EBIT	(17,536)	(16,036)	(14,326)
Total assets	(375,272)	(299,077)	(197,515)
Capital expenditures	117	0	0
Depreciation and amortization	(785)		(157)
Acquisition Transaction and Integration Costs		6,003	1,923
Americas Welding
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	2,655,546	2,288,934	1,824,481
Capital expenditures	61,752	43,003	37,717
Rationalization and asset impairment charges (Note 7)	468	(431)
Pension settlement net charges		(3,735)	123,091
Business combination, inventory step up	9,390	1,106
Americas Welding | Operating Segments
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	2,783,082	2,410,953	1,965,131
Adjusted EBIT	538,269	462,819	329,016
Special items charge (gain)	9,858	(3,060)	123,114
EBIT	528,411	465,879	205,902
Total assets	2,365,737	2,122,729	1,521,083
Depreciation and amortization	55,821	47,291	49,510
Americas Welding | Inter-segment
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	127,536	122,019	140,650
International Welding
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	1,040,006	954,281	948,125
Capital expenditures	20,568	17,955	16,916
Rationalization and asset impairment charges (Note 7)	(11,782)	11,681	9,804
Pension settlement net charges	845		446
Business combination, inventory step up	2,862		4,984
Gain (loss) on disposition of assets	1,646
International Welding | Operating Segments
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	1,071,504	985,784	974,456
Adjusted EBIT	136,497	120,157	106,208
Special items charge (gain)	(9,721)	11,681	15,234
EBIT	146,218	108,476	90,974
Total assets	1,046,369	994,905	938,061
Depreciation and amortization	22,023	20,949	24,998
International Welding | Inter-segment
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	31,498	31,503	26,331
The Harris Products Group
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	496,084	517,996	461,574
Pension settlement net charges			2,965
Business combination, inventory step up			820
The Harris Products Group | Operating Segments
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	506,725	529,036	469,670
Adjusted EBIT	74,144	64,008	68,447
Special items charge (gain)	0	0	3,785
EBIT	74,144	64,008	64,662
Total assets	340,463	361,989	330,678
Capital expenditures	8,550	10,925	7,898
Depreciation and amortization	9,611	9,819	6,795
The Harris Products Group | Inter-segment
Financial information for the reportable segments
Net sales (Note 2)	$ 10,641	$ 11,040	$ 8,096