Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Deferred Profit

The components of deferred profit are as follows:

	September 30,
	2012		2011		2010
	(dollars in thousands)
Deferred revenues	$	11,200	$	29,666	$	12,577
Deferred costs	964		2,058		1,138
Deferred profit	$	10,236	$	27,608	$	11,439

Allowance For Doubtful Accounts

The following is a summary of the activity in the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts:

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012		2011			2010
	(dollars in thousands)
Balance at beginning of year	$	246	$	181		$	465
Provision / (adjustment)	271		115			(56		)
Write offs	—		(50		)	(228		)
Balance at end of year	$	517	$	246		$	181

Schedule of Inventory, Current

The components of inventories are as follows:

	September 30, 2012		September 30, 2011
	(dollars in thousands)
Purchased parts and raw materials	$	19,644	$	24,925
Work-in-process	2,328		8,257
Finished goods	3,698		3,980
	$	25,670	$	37,162

Property, Plant and Equipment

The following is a summary of property, plant and equipment:

	September 30, 2012			September 30, 2011
	(dollars in thousands)
Land, building and leasehold improvements	$	10,476		$	10,636
Equipment and machinery	7,272			6,003
Furniture and fixtures	5,458			5,434
	23,206			22,073
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(10,819		)	(9,393		)
	$	12,387		$	12,680

Schedule of Goodwill

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012			2011
	(dollars in thousands)
Balance at beginning of year	$	13,313		$	4,839
Goodwill recognized due to acquisition	—			8,479
Impairment of goodwill	(4,735		)	—
Net exchange differences	(223		)	(5		)
Balance at end of year	$	8,355		$	13,313

Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets

The following is a summary of intangibles:

	Useful Life	September 30, 2012			September 30, 2011
		(dollars in thousands)
Non-compete agreements	4-8 years	$	1,057		$	1,066
Customer lists	10 years	828			876
Technology	5-10 years	2,341			2,436
Licenses	10 years	—			500
In-process research and development	(1)	1,600			1,600
Other	2-10 years	325			97
		6,151			6,575
Accumulated amortization		(2,055		)	(1,554		)
		$	4,096		$	5,021

Schedule of Product Warranty Liability

The following is a summary of activity in accrued warranty expense:

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2010
	(dollars in thousands)
Beginning balance	$	2,265		$	1,843		$	1,429
Warranty expenditures	(1,831		)	(1,199		)	(622		)
Reserve provision	2,253			1,621			1,036
Ending balance	$	2,687		$	2,265		$	1,843

Research and Development Expense

The table below shows gross research and development expenses and grants earned:

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2010
	(dollars in thousands)
Research and development	$	14,723		$	7,362		$	2,986
Grants earned	(1,029		)	(1,578		)	(868		)
Net research and development	$	13,694		$	5,784		$	2,118

Schedule of Compensation Cost for Share-based Payment Arrangements, Allocation of Share-based Compensation Costs by Plan [Table Text Block]

Stock-based compensation expense for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010 reduced the Company’s results of operations as follows:

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2010
	(dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Effect on income before income taxes (1)	$	(1,763	)	$	(1,470	)	$	(987	)
Effect on income taxes	$	255		$	495		$	429
Effect on net income	$	(1,508	)	$	(975	)	$	(558	)

Stock-based compensation plans are summarized in the table below:

Name of Plan	Shares Authorized	Shares Available	Options Outstanding	Plan Expiration
2007 Employee Stock Incentive Plan	1,400,000	352,878	688,668	Apr. 2017
1998 Employee Stock Option Plan	500,000	—	79,772	Jan. 2008
Non-Employee Directors Stock Option Plan	350,000	90,600	122,853	Jul. 2015
		443,478	891,293

Schedule of the fair value of stock option awards

The Company estimates the fair value of stock option awards on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following assumptions:

	Years Ended September 30,
	2012	2011	2010
Risk free interest rate	1.12%	2%	2%
Expected life	6 years	6 years	6 years
Dividend rate	0%	0%	0%
Volatility	70%	70%	69%

Schedule of Multiemployer Plans [Table Text Block]

Below is a table of contributions made by the Company to multiemployer pension plans.

	Contributions
	Years Ended September 30,
	2012		2011		2010
	(dollars in thousands)
Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek (PMT)	$	1,021	$	913	$	548
Other plans	181		192		149
Total	$	1,202	$	1,105	$	697