Contingencies (Details) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2014 USD ($) Contract Load Claim	Sep. 28, 2014 Administrative Consent Order For Contamination Associated with Historic Use of PCBs [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2014 Administrative Consent Order For Installation of Groundwater Contamination System [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2014 AMCOL International Corporation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 AMCOL International Corporation [Member]	Sep. 28, 2014 Silica Cases [Member] Cases	Sep. 28, 2014 Silica Cases [Member] AMCOL International Corporation [Member] Cases	Sep. 28, 2014 Asbestos Cases [Member] Cases	Sep. 28, 2014 Asbestos Cases [Member] AMCOL International Corporation [Member] Cases	Sep. 28, 2014 Breach of Joint Venture Agreement [Member] BRL
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Ownership percentage (in hundredths)				19.00%	20.00%
Number of contracts entered	2
Number of ship loads	60
Default arbitration award	$ 70
Damages sought										34
Number of pending cases						102	30	13	1
Number of cases dismissed to date						1,394		37
Number of new cases filed during the quarter						0		0
Claims for products sold prior to initial public offering	12
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Location of plant		Canaan, Connecticut	Adams, Massachusetts plant
Estimated accrued remediation cost		0.4	0.4
Estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades, lower range			6
Estimated cost of wastewater treatment upgrades, upper range			$ 8