Property, plant and equipment

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Property, plant and equipment [Abstract]

Note 10: Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment, including depreciable lives, consisted of the following:

March 31	2012			2011

Land	$	11,818		$	12,654
Buildings and improvements (10-40 years)		249,659			261,047
Machinery and equipment (3-12 years)		682,624			656,851
Office equipment (3-10 years)		95,954			110,501
Transportation equipment (3-9 years)		3,501			3,615
Construction in progress		49,147			58,016
		1,092,703			1,102,684
Less accumulated depreciation		(680,644	)		(672,389	)
Net property, plant and equipment	$	412,059		$	430,295

Depreciation expense totaled $57,081, $55,827 and $63,936 for the years ended March 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Impairment charges of $330 were recorded during fiscal 2012 in the Original Equipment - Europe segment within SG&A expenses.

Impairment charges of $3,548 were recorded during fiscal 2011. The impairment charges included $2,215 related to assets in the Original Equipment - Europe segment related to a program cancellation and assets no longer in use. Impairment charges also included $975 within the Original Equipment - North America segment for facilities held for sale to reduce their carrying value to the estimated fair value less costs to sell. Also included in the impairment charges was $358 within the Original Equipment - Asia segment related to a program cancellation.

The Company conducted an assessment for the impairment of certain property, plant and equipment within each of the segments in fiscal 2010 based on certain triggering events during the year. During this assessment, certain long-lived assets were deemed to be impaired and a write-down to fair value was considered necessary. As a result, impairment charges of $6,548 were recorded during fiscal 2010. The impairment charges included $5,343 related to assets in the Original Equipment - North America segment for a facility with projected cash flows unable to support its asset base, for assets related to a held-for-sale facility with projected cash flows unable to support its asset base and other impairment charges for specific assets that became idle during fiscal 2010 and were no longer being utilized by the Company. Impairment charges also included $1,027 related to assets in the Original Equipment - Europe segment for assets specific to a program that were not expected to generate future cash flows and other impairment charges for specific assets that became idle during fiscal 2010 and were no longer being utilized by the Company.

Gains and losses related to the disposal of property, plant and equipment are recorded in SG&A expenses. Total (losses) gains related to the disposal of property, plant and equipment were $(2,791), $3,448 and $656 for the years ended March 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Assets held for sale of $2,450, classified within other noncurrent assets, at March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011 consists of certain facilities that the Company has closed within the Original Equipment - North America segment. During fiscal 2011, the Company sold three held for sale facilities in the Original Equipment - North America and Original Equipment - Europe segments for net proceeds of $8,841 and recognized a gain on these sales of $3,258. The Company is currently marketing two remaining facilities for sale in the Original Equipment - North America segment.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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