Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2025

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Product liability

The Company and its subsidiaries face an inherent business risk of exposure to product liability claims arising from the alleged failure of our products to prevent the types of personal injury or death against which they are designed to protect.

Single incident product liability claims. Single incident product liability claims involve incidents of short duration that are typically known when they occur and involve observable injuries, which provide an objective basis for quantifying damages. Management has established reserves for the single incident product liability claims of the Company's various subsidiaries, including asserted single incident product liability claims and incurred but not reported ("IBNR") single incident claims. To determine the reserves, Management makes reasonable estimates of losses for single incident claims based on the number and characteristics of asserted claims, historical experience, sales volumes, expected settlement costs, and other relevant information.

Cumulative trauma product liability claims. Cumulative trauma product liability claims involve alleged exposures to harmful substances (e.g., silica, asbestos and coal dust) that occurred years ago and may have developed over long periods of time into diseases such as silicosis, asbestosis, mesothelioma, or coal worker’s pneumoconiosis. A former subsidiary of the Company, Mine Safety Appliances Company, LLC ("MSA LLC"), which was divested on January 5, 2023, under a membership interest purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with Sag Main Holdings LLC (the "Purchaser"), as further described in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 6, 2023, has been named as a defendant in various lawsuits related to such claims. These lawsuits mainly involve respiratory protection products allegedly manufactured and sold by MSA LLC or its predecessors.

As MSA LLC was the obligor for the claims to which the Company's legacy cumulative trauma product liability reserves relate and policyholder of the related insurance assets, the rights and obligations related to these items remained with MSA LLC when it transferred to the Purchaser's ownership pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. In addition, pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Purchaser and MSA LLC have agreed to indemnify the Company and its affiliates for legacy cumulative trauma product liabilities and other product liabilities, and a subsidiary of the Company has agreed to indemnify MSA LLC for all other historical liabilities of MSA LLC. This indemnification is not subject to any cap or time limitation. In connection with the sale, the Company and its Board of Directors received a solvency opinion from an independent advisory firm that MSA LLC was solvent and adequately capitalized after giving effect to the transaction.

Other Litigation

Globe, a subsidiary of the Company, is defending claims in which plaintiffs assert that certain products allegedly containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) have caused harm, including injury or health issues. PFAS are a large class of substances that are widely used in everyday products. Specifically, Globe builds firefighter turnout gear from technical fabrics sourced from a small pool of specialty textile manufacturers. These protective fabrics have been tested and certified to meet current National Fire Protection Association safety standards, and some of them as supplied to Globe contain or historically have contained PFAS to achieve performance characteristics such as water, oil, or chemical resistance.

Globe believes it has valid defenses to these claims. These matters are at a very early stage with numerous factual and legal issues to be resolved. Defense costs relating to these lawsuits are recognized in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income as incurred. Globe is also pursuing insurance coverage and indemnification related to the lawsuits. As of April 22, 2025, Globe was named as a defendant in 731 lawsuits comprised of 9,274 claims, predominantly styled as individual personal injury claims and including several putative class actions. Certain of these lawsuits include MSA Safety Inc. or other Globe affiliates as defendants.

MSA LLC is also a defendant in a number of PFAS lawsuits predominantly relating to Aqueous Film-Forming Foam. The purchaser assumed responsibility for these and any similar future claims specific to MSA LLC, including such claims that have been or may be brought against MSA Safety Inc. or its subsidiaries, under the terms of the purchase agreement governing the Company's January 5, 2023, divestiture of MSA LLC. Further information about the transaction and the purchase agreement can be found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 6, 2023.

Product Warranty

The Company provides warranties on certain product sales. Product warranty reserves are established in the same period that revenue from the sale of the related products is recognized, or in the period that a specific issue arises as to the functionality of the Company's product. The determination of such reserves requires the Company to make estimates of product return rates and expected costs to repair or to replace the products under warranty.

The amounts of the reserves are based on established terms and the Company's best estimate of the amounts necessary to settle future and existing claims on products sold as of the balance sheet date. If actual return rates and/or repair and replacement costs differ significantly from estimates, adjustments to recognize additional cost of sales may be required in future periods.

The following table reconciles changes in the Company's accrued warranty reserve:


(In thousands)	Three Months Ended March 31, 2025		Year Ended December 31, 2024
Beginning warranty reserve	$	13,724	$	14,288
Warranty payments	(3,650)		(11,802)
Warranty claims, current	2,790		10,684
Warranty claims, preexisting	319		765
Currency translation and other adjustments	101		(211)
Ending warranty reserve	$	13,284	$	13,724

Warranty expense was $3.2 million and $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and 2024, respectively, and is included in Costs of products sold on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.