PRODUCT WARRANTY COSTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

PRODUCT WARRANTY COSTS

PRODUCT WARRANTY COSTS

NOTE 13 — PRODUCT WARRANTY COSTS

The Company accrues for product warranty claims based on historical experience and the expected material and labor costs to provide warranty service.  Warranty services are generally provided for periods up to three years from the date of sale.  The accrual for product warranty claims is included in “Other current liabilities.”

The changes in the carrying amount of product warranty accruals for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:

	Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011			2010
Balance at beginning of period	$	16,879		$	16,768
Charged to expense	7,243			7,809
Deductions	(7,909		)	(8,375		)
Foreign currency translation	(184		)	(205		)
Balance at end of period	$	16,029		$	15,997

Warranty expense was 0.4% and 0.5% of sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.