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Business Segments and Major Customer Information
 12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2019
Segment Reporting [Abstract]  
Business Segments and Major Customer Information
NOTE 15
BUSINESS SEGMENTS AND MAJOR CUSTOMER INFORMATION

The Company's operating segments, which are also its reportable segments, are defined by their product lines which have been generally grouped based on technology, manufacturing processes, and end-use application. The Company's reportable segments are Applied Technology Division, Engineered Films Division, and Aerostar Division. Separate financial information is available for each reportable segment and regularly evaluated by the Company's chief operating decision-maker, the President and Chief Executive Officer, in making resource allocation decisions for the Company's reportable segments. Segment information is reported consistent with the Company's management reporting structure.

Applied Technology designs, manufactures, sells, and services innovative precision agriculture products and information management tools, which are collectively referred to as precision agriculture equipment, that help farmers reduce costs, more precisely control inputs, and improve farm yields for the global agriculture market. The Applied Technology product families include application controls, GPS-guidance steering systems, field computers, automatic boom controls, information management tools, and injection systems. Applied Technology's services include high-speed in-field Internet connectivity and cloud-based data management. The Company's investment in the continued build-out of the Slingshot® platform has also positioned Applied Technology as an information platform that improves decision-making and achieves business efficiencies for its agriculture retail partners. Applied Technology acquired the assets of AgSync, Inc. (AgSync), an agriculture logistics software company, in January 2019. This acquisition enhances the division's Slingshot® platform by delivering a logistics solution for ag retailers, custom applicators and enterprise farms.

Engineered Films produces high-performance plastic films and sheeting for geomembrane, agricultural, construction, and industrial applications and also offers design-build and installation services of these plastic films and sheeting. Plastic film and sheeting can be purchased separately or together with installation services. Engineered Films sells both direct to end-customers and through independent third-party distributors. The majority of product sold into the construction and agriculture markets is through distributors, while sales into the geomembrane and industrial markets are more direct in nature. The Company extrudes a significant portion of the film converted for its commercial products and believes it is one of the largest sheeting converters in the United States in the markets it serves. Engineered Films' ability to extrude and convert films, along with offering installation services for its geomembrane products, allows it to provide a more customized solution to customers. A number of film manufacturers compete with the Company on both price and product availability.
 
Aerostar serves the aerospace/defense and commercial lighter-than-air markets. Aerostar's core products include high-altitude stratospheric balloons and radar systems. These products can be integrated with additional third-party sensors to provide research, communications, and situational awareness capabilities to governmental and commercial customers. Aerostar’s growth strategy emphasizes the design and manufacture of proprietary products in these markets. Aerostar also pursues product and support services contracts with agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government as well as sales of advanced radar systems in international markets.
The Company measures the performance of its segments based on their operating income excluding administrative and general expenses. The accounting policies of the operating segments are the same as those described in Note 1 "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies". Other income, interest expense, and income taxes are not allocated to individual operating segments, and assets not identifiable to an individual segment are included as corporate assets.
Business segment financial performance and other information is as follows:
 
 
 
 
 
 
For the years ended January 31,
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
APPLIED TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales
 
$
129,749

 
$
124,688

 
$
105,217

Operating income(a)
 
39,044

 
31,257

 
26,643

Assets(b)
 
79,742

 
66,555

 
67,911

Capital expenditures
 
2,050

 
1,489

 
1,017

Depreciation and amortization
 
3,433

 
3,365

 
3,828

ENGINEERED FILMS DIVISION
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales(c)
 
$
226,574

 
$
213,298

 
$
138,855

Operating income(a)
 
39,714

 
47,324

 
22,966

Assets(b)
 
159,592

 
168,797

 
133,309

Capital expenditures
 
9,544

 
8,128

 
2,768

Depreciation and amortization
 
9,149

 
8,761

 
8,580

AEROSTAR DIVISION
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales (d)
 
$
50,867

 
$
39,915

 
$
34,113

Operating income (loss)(a)(f)
 
8,179

 
4,122

 
(1,560
)
Assets(b)
 
21,515

 
22,127

 
23,515

Capital expenditures
 
168

 
343

 
547

Depreciation and amortization
 
891

 
1,386

 
1,720

INTERSEGMENT ELIMINATIONS
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales
 
 
 
 
 
 
Applied Technology Division
 
$
(10
)
 
$
—

 
$
(1
)
Engineered Films Division
 
(512
)
 
(584
)
 
$
(789
)
Operating income(a)
 
(35
)
 
20

 
(12
)
Assets(b)
 
(104
)
 
(3,380
)
 
(69
)
REPORTABLE SEGMENTS TOTAL
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales(c)(d)
 
$
406,668

 
$
377,317

 
$
277,395

Operating income(a)(f)
 
86,902

 
82,723

 
48,037

Assets(b)
 
260,745

 
254,099

 
224,666

Capital expenditures
 
11,762

 
9,960

 
4,332

Depreciation and amortization
 
13,473

 
13,512

 
14,128

CORPORATE & OTHER
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating (loss) from administrative expenses(a)(e)
 
$
(31,769
)
 
$
(23,553
)
 
$
(19,624
)
Assets(b)(g)
 
99,500

 
72,704

 
76,843

Capital expenditures
 
2,365

 
2,051

 
464

Depreciation and amortization
 
1,650

 
1,290

 
1,308

TOTAL COMPANY
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sales(c)(d)
 
$
406,668

 
$
377,317

 
$
277,395

Operating income(e)(f)
 
55,133

 
59,170

 
28,413

Assets
 
360,245

 
326,803

 
301,509

Capital expenditures
 
14,127

 
12,011

 
4,796

Depreciation and amortization
 
15,123

 
14,802

 
15,436


(a) At the segment level, operating income does not include an allocation of general and administrative expenses and, as a result, general and administrative expenses are reported as "Operating (loss) from administrative expenses" in Corporate & Other.
(b) Certain facilities owned by the Company are shared by more than one reporting segment. All facilities are reported as an asset based on the segment that acquired the asset as the Company believes this most appropriately reflects the total assets of each business segment. Expenses and costs related to these facilities, including depreciation expense, are allocated and reported in each reporting segment's operating income for each fiscal year presented.
(c) In September of fiscal year 2018, the Company acquired CLI. For the first seven months of fiscal 2019 CLI contributed a total of $21,568 in sales and for the first seven months of fiscal 2018 the division generated $4,109 in sales to CLI as a customer. Additionally, sales of hurricane recovery film in fiscal years 2019 and 2018 were $14,494 and $24,225, respectively.
(d) Aerostar divested its client private business in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Net sales from the client private business were $283, $5,592, and $5,886 in fiscal
years 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Operating profits for the client private business were not material for these periods.
(e) Fiscal 2019 administrative expenses included a $4,503 expense related to the previously announced gift to SDSU and approximately $4,000 of expenses related to Project Atlas. Project Atlas related expenses in fiscal 2018 were approximately $900.
(f) Fiscal year 2017 included inventory write-downs of $2,278 for Aerostar as a result of discontinuing sales activities for a specific radar product line within its business.
(g) Assets are principally cash, investments, deferred taxes, and other receivables.

No customers accounted for 10% or more of consolidated net sales in fiscal 2019, 2018 or 2017.

Substantially all of the Company's long-lived assets are located in the United States. Foreign sales are attributed to countries based on location of the customer. Net sales to customers outside the United States were as follows:
 
 
For the years ended January 31,
 
 
2019
 
2018
 
2017
Canada
 
$
12,492

 
$
12,940

 
$
13,969

Europe
 
15,786

 
13,864

 
13,924

Latin America
 
5,950

 
4,439

 
3,402

Asia
 
7,240

 
4,074

 
1,535

Other foreign sales
 
6,861

 
6,239

 
2,698

Total foreign sales
 
48,329

 
41,556

 
35,528

United States
 
358,339

 
335,761

 
241,867

 
 
$
406,668

 
$
377,317

 
$
277,395