Warranty Guarantees

6 Months Ended

May 01, 2015

The company’s products are warranted to ensure customer confidence in design, workmanship, and overall quality. Warranty coverage is for specified periods of time and on select products’ hours of usage, and generally covers parts, labor, and other expenses for non-maintenance repairs. Warranty coverage generally does not cover operator abuse or improper use. An authorized company distributor or dealer must perform warranty work. Distributors and dealers submit claims for warranty reimbursement and are credited for the cost of repairs, labor, and other expenses as long as the repairs meet prescribed standards. Warranty expense is accrued at the time of sale based on the estimated number of products under warranty, historical average costs incurred to service warranty claims, the trend in the historical ratio of claims to sales, the historical length of time between the sale and resulting warranty claim, and other minor factors. Special warranty reserves are also accrued for major rework campaigns. The company sells extended warranty coverage on select products for a prescribed period after the factory warranty period expires.

Warranty provisions, claims, and changes in estimates for the first six months of fiscal 2015 and 2014 were as follows:

	Six Months Ended
	May 1,			May 2,
(Dollars in thousands)	2015			2014
Beginning balance	$	71,080		$	72,177
Warranty provisions	23,763			23,422
Warranty claims	(14,992		)	(13,861		)
Changes in estimates	549			1,278
Ending balance	$	80,400		$	83,016