Segment Information

The Company’s reportable segments are Performance Materials, Industrial Filtration, Thermal/Acoustical Metals, and Thermal/Acoustical Fibers. Other Products and Services (“OPS”) included Life Sciences Vital Fluids, which was sold on January 30, 2015.

Performance Materials Segment

The Performance Materials segment includes filtration media solutions primarily for air, fluid power, and industrial applications (“Filtration”), thermal insulation solutions for building products, appliances, and energy and industrial markets (“Thermal Insulation”) and air and liquid life science applications (“Life Sciences Filtration”). Filtration products include LydAir® MG (Micro-Glass) Air Filtration Media, LydAir® MB (Melt Blown) Air Filtration Media, LydAir® SC (Synthetic Composite) Air Filtration Media, and Arioso™ Membrane Composite Media. These products constitute the critical media component of clean-air systems for applications in clean-space, commercial, industrial and residential HVAC, power generation, and industrial processes. Lydall has leveraged its extensive technical expertise and applications knowledge into a suite of media products covering the vast liquid filtration landscape across the engine and industrial fields. The LyPore® Liquid Filtration Media series address a variety of application needs in fluid power including hydraulic filters, air-water and air-oil coalescing, industrial fluid processes and diesel fuel filtration.

Thermal Insulation products are high performance non-woven veils, papers, mats and specialty composites for the building products, appliance, and energy and industrial markets. The Manniglas® Thermal Insulation brand is diverse in its product application ranging from high temperature seals and gaskets in ovens and ranges to specialty veils for HVAC and cavity wall insulation. The appLY® Mat Needled Glass Mats have been developed to expand Lydall’s high temperature technology portfolio for broad application into the appliance market and supplements the Lytherm® Insulation Media product brand, traditionally utilized in the industrial market for kilns and furnaces used in metal processing. Lydall’s Cryotherm® Super-Insulating Media, CRS-Wrap® Super-Insulating Media and Cryo-Lite™ Cryogenic Insulation products are industry standards for state-of-the-art cryogenic insulation designs used by manufacturers of cryogenic equipment for liquid gas storage, piping, and transportation.

Life Sciences Filtration products have been developed to meet the requirements of life science applications including biopharmaceutical pre-filtration and clarification, diagnostic and analytical testing, respiratory protection, life protection, medical air filtration, drinking water filtration and high purity process filtration such as that found in food and beverage and medical applications. Lydall also offers Solupor® Membrane specialty microporous membranes that are utilized in various markets and applications including air and liquid filtration and transdermal drug delivery. Solupor® membranes incorporate a unique combination of mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and high porosity in a unique open structure.

Industrial Filtration Segment

The Industrial Filtration segment includes non-woven felt media and filter bags used primarily in industrial air and liquid filtration applications. Non-woven filter media is the most commonly used filter technology to satisfy increasing emission control regulations in a wide range of industries, including power, cement, steel, asphalt, incineration, mining, food, and pharmaceutical. The business also produces non-woven rolled-good media that is used in other commercial applications and media for automotive applications that is supplied to the Company's Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment.

Industrial Filtration segment products include air and liquid filtration media sold under the brand names Fiberlox® high performance filtration felts, Checkstatic™ conductive filtration felts, Microfelt® high efficiency filtration felts, Pleatlox® pleatable filtration felts, Ultratech™ PTFE filtration felts, Powertech® and Powerlox® power generation filtration felts, Microcap® high efficiency liquid filtration felts, Duotech membrane composite filtration felts, along with traditional scrim supported filtration felts. Industrial Filtration also offers extensive finishing and coating capabilities which provide custom engineered properties tailored to meet the most demanding filtration applications. The business leverages a wide range of fiber types and extensive technical capabilities to provide products that meet our customers’ needs across a variety of applications providing both high performance and durability.

Thermal/Acoustical Metals Segment

The Thermal/Acoustical Metals segment offers a full range of innovative engineered products for the transportation sector to assist primarily in the reduction of powertrain and road noise as well as thermally shield sensitive components from high heat. Lydall products are found in the underbody (tunnel, fuel tank, exhaust, rear muffler and spare tire) and under hood (engine compartment, turbo charger, and manifolds) of cars, trucks, SUVs, heavy duty trucks and recreational vehicles.

Thermal/Acoustical Metals segment products are formed on production lines capable of combining multiple layers of metal and thermal or acoustical media to provide an engineered thermal and acoustical shielding solution for an array of application areas in the global automotive and truck markets. The flux® product family in Thermal/Acoustical Metals includes several patented or IP-rich products that address applications which include: Direct Exhaust Mount heat shields, which are mounted to high temperature surfaces like exhaust down-pipes, turbochargers or engine manifolds using aluminized and stainless steel with high performance heat insulating materials; Powertrain heat shields that absorb noise at the source or are acoustically transparent and do not contribute to the engine’s noise budget; and Durable and thermally robust solutions for sensitive plastic components such as fuel tanks that are in proximity to high temperature heat sources.

Thermal/Acoustical Fibers Segment

The Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment offers innovative engineered products to assist primarily in noise vibration and harshness (NVH) abatement within the transportation sector. Lydall products are found in the interior (dash insulators, cabin flooring), underbody (wheel well, aerodynamic belly pan, fuel tank, exhaust) and under hood (engine compartment) of cars, trucks, SUVs, heavy duty trucks and recreational vehicles.

Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment products offer thermal and acoustical insulating solutions comprised of organic and inorganic fiber composites for the automotive and truck markets primarily in North America. Lydall’s dBCore® is a lightweight acoustical composite that emphasizes absorption principles over heavy-mass type systems. Lydall’s dBLyte® is a high-performance acoustical barrier with sound absorption and blocking properties and can be used throughout a vehicle’s interior to minimize intrusive noise from an engine compartment and road. Lydall’s ZeroClearance® is an innovative thermal solution that utilizes an adhesive backing for attachment and is used to protect vehicle components from excessive heat. Lydall’s specially engineered products provide a solution that provides weight reduction, superior noise suppression, and increased durability over conventional designs.

Thermal/Acoustical Metals segment and Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment operating results include allocations of certain costs shared between the segments.

Other Products and Services

The Life Sciences Vital Fluids business offered specialty products for blood filtration devices, blood transfusion single-use containers and the design and manufacture of single-use solutions for cell growth, frozen storage and fluid handling, as well as equipment for bioprocessing applications.

On January 30, 2015, the Company sold all of the outstanding shares of common stock of its Life Sciences Vital Fluids business for a cash purchase price of $30.1 million. The disposition was completed pursuant to a Stock Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated January 30, 2015, by and among the Company, and the Buyer. The Company recognized an after tax gain on the sale of this business of approximately $11.8 million in the first quarter of 2015.

The tables below present net sales and operating income by segment for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, and also a reconciliation of total segment net sales and operating income to total consolidated net sales and operating income.

Consolidated net sales by segment:



	Quarter Ended March 31,
In thousands	2016			2015
Performance Materials Segment:
Filtration	$	17,159		$	15,067
Thermal Insulation	6,275			7,485
Life Sciences Filtration	2,949			2,506
Performance Materials Segment net sales	26,383			25,058

Industrial Filtration Segment:
Industrial Filtration (1)	31,207			34,200
Industrial Filtration net sales	31,207			34,200

Thermal/Acoustical Metals Segment:
Metal parts	36,783			35,022
Tooling	5,214			3,093
Thermal/Acoustical Metals Segment net sales	41,997			38,115

Thermal/Acoustical Fibers Segment:
Fiber parts	35,677			30,411
Tooling	184			706
Thermal/Acoustical Fibers Segment net sales	35,861			31,117

Other Products and Services:
Life Sciences Vital Fluids (2)	—			1,671
Other Products and Services net sales	—			1,671
Eliminations and Other (1)	(5,748		)	(2,855		)
Consolidated Net Sales	$	129,700		$	127,306

Operating income by segment:



	Quarter Ended March 31,
In thousands	2016			2015
Performance Materials	$	2,138		$	1,306
Industrial Filtration	3,926			3,154
Thermal/Acoustical Metals	3,557			3,581
Thermal/Acoustical Fibers	10,324			7,093
Other Products and Services (2)	—			118
Corporate Office Expenses	(6,266		)	(5,174		)
Consolidated Operating Income	$	13,679		$	10,078


(1)	Included in the Industrial Filtration segment and Eliminations and Other is $4.5 million and $2.0 million in intercompany sales to the T/A Fibers segment for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.


(2)	Other Products and Services reports results for the period preceding the date of disposition of January 30, 2015.