Consolidated Balance Sheet - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 160,672	$ 152,195
Trade receivables, less allowance for credit loss of $5,344 and $4,860	252,283	255,082
Inventories (Note 3)	197,819	185,027
Investments, short-term (Note 18)	74,982	49,892
Prepaid income taxes	26,185	13,072
Notes receivable, insurance companies (Note 19)	3,796	3,676
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	38,541	34,419
Total current assets	754,278	693,363
Property, plant and equipment, net (Note 4)	189,620	167,038
Operating lease assets, net (Note 16)	53,451	51,675
Prepaid pension cost (Note 14)	97,545	75,066
Deferred tax assets (Note 9)	35,665	32,596
Goodwill (Note 12)	443,272	436,679
Intangible assets, net (Note 12)	161,051	171,326
Notes receivable, insurance companies, noncurrent (Note 19)	48,540	52,336
Insurance receivable (Note 19) and other noncurrent assets	89,062	59,614
Total assets	1,872,484	1,739,693
Current Liabilities
Notes payable and current portion of long-term debt (Note 11)	20,000	20,000
Accounts payable	86,854	89,120
Employees’ compensation	40,277	41,882
Insurance and product liability (Note 19)	43,706	25,870
Income taxes payable (Note 9)	3,580	6,739
Accrued restructuring (Note 2) and other current liabilities	116,128	93,898
Total current liabilities	310,545	277,509
Long-term debt, net (Note 11)	287,157	328,394
Pensions and other employee benefits (Note 14)	208,068	186,697
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities (Note 16)	44,639	42,632
Deferred tax liabilities (Note 9)	10,916	9,787
Product liability (Note 19) and other noncurrent liabilities	201,268	162,101
Total liabilities	1,062,593	1,007,120
Commitments and contingencies (Note 19)
Mine Safety Appliances Company shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, 4.5% cumulative, $50 par value (Note 6)	3,569	3,569
Common stock, no par value (180,000,000 shares authorized; 62,081,391 shares issued; 39,067,902 and 38,841,194 shares outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively)	242,693	229,127
Treasury shares, at cost (Note 6)	(327,756)	(305,159)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (Note 5)	(182,397)	(214,003)
Retained earnings	1,065,789	1,012,266
Total MSA Safety Incorporated shareholders’ equity	801,898	725,800
Noncontrolling interests	7,993	6,773
Total shareholders’ equity	809,891	732,573
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$ 1,872,484	$ 1,739,693