Long-Term Debt (Narrative) (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 Danfoss A/S [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Danfoss A/S [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Danfoss A/S [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Danfoss A/S [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2010 Danfoss A/S [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 USD (US Dollar) [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD (US Dollar) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 EUR Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 EUR (euro) [Member] EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2009 EUR (euro) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Ames, Iowa Economic Development Commission [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Deutsche Bank AG [Member] INR	Dec. 31, 2012 Iowa Department of Economic Development [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation [Member] INR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term Debt	$ 178,000			$ 200,000	$ 200,000	€ 92,000		$ 140,000		$ 140,000	€ 29,000	€ 45,000										$ 50		$ 482
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	0		75,000	500,000	690,000		20,000													100,000
Loss on early retirement of debt	1,254		1,176	2,421
Payments of Debt Extinguishment Costs	803		0	1,674
Write off of Deferred Debt Issuance Cost	451		1,176	747
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage	1.17%	1.17%			4.00%	4.00%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage													8.00%		11.40%	8.25%		11.80%	3.90%		10.00%	4.13%	11.75%
Repayments of Long-term Debt	20,000	16,000
Debt Issuance Cost				4,200										2,750			1,125
Facility Fee Percentage								0.30%
Interest Expense, Debt								15,908	17,979	42,620
Line of Credit Facility, Commitment Fee Amount								897	2,303	6,060
Facility Fee Expense								192	618	2,152
Debt Instrument, Face Amount																						150	150,000	750	150,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage Rate Range, Minimum																									8.20%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage Rate Range, Maximum																									9.36%
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Rolling Twelve Months	479
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two	53
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three	$ 178,325