Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Jul. 30, 2011

Basis of Presentation [Abstract]

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Spartech Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries (“Spartech” or the “Company”). These financial statements have been prepared on a condensed basis, and accordingly, certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. In the opinion of management, these consolidated condensed financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) and disclosures necessary to make the information presented herein not misleading. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes thereto included in the Company's October 30, 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In 2009, the Company sold its wheels and profiles businesses and closed and liquidated three businesses, including a manufacturer of boat components sold to the marine market and one compounding and one sheet business that previously serviced single customers. These businesses are classified as discontinued operations based on the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) topic, Discontinued Operations. Accordingly, for all periods presented herein, the consolidated statements of operations conform to this presentation. The wheels, profiles and marine businesses were previously reported in the Engineered Products group and due to these dispositions, the Company no longer has this reporting group. See Notes 2 and 10 for further discussion of the Company's discontinued operations and segments, respectively.

Spartech is organized into three reportable segments based on its operating structure and the products manufactured. The three reportable segments are Custom Sheet and Rollstock, Packaging Technologies and Color and Specialty Compounds. During the second quarter of 2010, the Company moved organizational reporting and management responsibilities of two businesses previously included in the Color and Specialty Compounds segment to the Custom Sheet and Rollstock segment. Also in the second quarter, the Company reorganized the internal reporting and management responsibilities of certain product lines between the Custom Sheet and Rollstock and Packaging Technologies segments to better align management of these product lines with end markets. These management and reporting changes resulted in a reorganization of the Company's three reportable segments beginning in the second quarter. Accordingly, historical segment results have been reclassified to conform to these changes. See Note 10 for further discussion of the Company's segments.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts and related disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Operating results for any quarter are historically seasonal in nature and are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full year. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial statements and notes to conform to the current period presentation. Dollars presented are in thousands except per share data, unless otherwise indicated.

The Company's fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to October 31st. Fiscal years presented in this report contain 52 weeks and periods presented are fiscal unless noted otherwise.