Reportable Segments (Results of Reportable Segments) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2011		Jun. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2011
Net Sales
Net sales	$ 436,467,000		$ 329,522,000		$ 902,646,000		$ 660,867,000
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	(22,163,000)		28,017,000		12,273,000		65,777,000
Interest expense	(11,828,000)		(1,393,000)		(24,040,000)		(2,815,000)
Interest income	186,000		467,000		338,000		687,000
Foreign exchange gain (loss)	5,861,000		(636,000)		840,000		(161,000)
Other expense, net	(357,000)		(324,000)		(648,000)		(329,000)
Non operating income (expense), total	(6,138,000)		(1,886,000)		(23,510,000)		(2,618,000)
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense	(28,301,000)		26,131,000		(11,237,000)		63,159,000
Expenditures for property, plant & equipment
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment	18,309,000		9,117,000		29,127,000		12,445,000
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	22,103,000	[1]	13,592,000	[1]	44,252,000	[1]	26,901,000	[1]
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Property					2,900,000
VAC [Member]
Depreciation and amortization
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs	4,000,000				4,000,000
Magnetic Technologies [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales			0	[2]			0	[2]
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	(30,146,000)	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]	(16,243,000)	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]
Expenditures for property, plant & equipment
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment	6,499,000	[2]	0	[2]	9,995,000	[2]	0	[2]
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	10,010,000	[1],[2]	0	[1],[2]	20,222,000	[1],[2]	0	[1],[2]
Charges related to inventory purchase accounting	53,891,000		0		69,620,000		0
Magnetic Technologies [Member] | VAC [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales	168,024,000	[2]			358,515,000	[2]
Advanced Materials [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales	124,261,000		165,206,000		257,234,000		345,286,000
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	923,000		16,864,000		12,034,000		48,981,000
Expenditures for property, plant & equipment
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment	8,560,000		4,146,000		13,697,000		5,165,000
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	4,271,000	[1]	5,151,000	[1]	8,495,000	[1]	10,223,000	[1]
Specialty Chemicals [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales	109,214,000		128,749,000		215,127,000		249,332,000
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	10,696,000	[4]	17,858,000	[4]	24,217,000	[4]	31,592,000	[4]
Expenditures for property, plant & equipment
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment	2,248,000		3,600,000		3,212,000		5,002,000
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	5,166,000	[1]	5,790,000	[1]	10,262,000	[1]	11,420,000	[1]
Battery Technologies [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales	35,205,000		35,843,000		72,237,000		66,819,000
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	6,063,000		6,703,000		11,718,000		8,825,000
Expenditures for property, plant & equipment
Expenditures for property, plant and equipment	1,002,000		1,371,000		2,223,000		2,278,000
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	2,509,000	[1]	2,503,000	[1]	5,011,000	[1]	4,988,000	[1]
Corporate [Member]
Operating profit (loss)
Operating profit (Loss)	(9,699,000)	[5]	(13,408,000)	[5]	(19,453,000)	[5]	(23,621,000)	[5]
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization	147,000	[1]	148,000	[1]	262,000	[1]	270,000	[1]
Intersegment items [Member]
Net Sales
Net sales	$ (237,000)		$ (276,000)		$ (467,000)		$ (570,000)

[1] Excludes amortization of deferred financing fees.

[2] VAC was acquired on August 2, 2011. Because we acquired VAC in the third quarter of 2011, the table above does not include comparable results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011.

[3] Includes $53.9 million and $69.6 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, of charges related to the VAC inventory purchase accounting step-up and LCM charges. See further discussion of the charges related to inventory below.

[4] The six months ended June 30, 2012 includes a $2.9 million property sale gain.

[5] Includes $4.0 million of acquisition-related fees related to VAC in the three and six months ended June 30, 2011.