Acquisitions (Details)	3 Months Ended				0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 EUR (€)	Mar. 31, 2013 3.75% senior notes due 2022	Dec. 17, 2012 Thermax and Raydex/CDT Limited USD ($)	Dec. 17, 2012 Thermax and Raydex/CDT Limited 3.75% senior notes due 2022	Mar. 09, 2012 Hertalan Holding B.V. USD ($)	Mar. 09, 2012 Hertalan Holding B.V. EUR (€)	Dec. 02, 2011 Tri-Star Electronics International, Inc. USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 PDT Phoenix GmbH USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 PDT Phoenix GmbH EUR (€)	Aug. 02, 2011 PDT Phoenix GmbH USD ($)	Aug. 02, 2011 PDT Phoenix GmbH EUR (€)
Business acquisition
Percentage of ownership interest acquired							100.00%	100.00%	100.00%			100.00%	100.00%
Consideration
Total fair value of consideration transferred												$ 118,600,000	€ 82,300,000
Cash purchase price of acquisition												113,400,000	78,700,000
Aggregate cash purchase price, net of cash acquired		49,600,000			265,500,000		48,900,000	37,300,000	284,800,000	111,000,000	77,000,000
Cash acquired in business combination					100,000		100,000	100,000	4,500,000	7,600,000	5,300,000
Interest rate (as a percent)				3.75%		3.75%
Maximum borrowing capacity							600,000,000
Contingent consideration	(10,000,000)		(7,800,000)									5,200,000	3,600,000
Earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") loss	$ 70,100,000	$ 96,200,000