Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2011

Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Matters [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company maintains pension plans covering its employees. The Company also provides an unfunded postretirement health care benefit plan for approximately 32 retirees and their dependents. The measurement date for the Company's employee benefit plans coincides with its fiscal year end, October 31.

Obligations and Funded Status

At October 31

	Pension Benefits						Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation at beginning of year	$	(70,912	)	$	(68,234	)	$	(590	)	$	(677	)
Service cost	(140		)	(175		)	(7		)	(6		)
Interest cost	(3,821		)	(3,802		)	(30		)	(36		)
Amendments and settlements	—			—			98			—
Actuarial gain (loss)	(3,913		)	(2,392		)	(445		)	36
Benefits paid	3,494			3,691			39			93
Benefit obligation at end of year	(75,292		)	(70,912		)	(935		)	(590		)
Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year	42,488			39,300			—			—
Actual return on plan assets	2,769			5,288			—			—
Employer contributions	4,455			1,591			39			93
Benefits paid	(3,494		)	(3,691		)	(39		)	(93		)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	46,218			42,488			—			—
Funded status, benefit obligations in excess of plan assets	$	(29,074	)	$	(28,424	)	$	(935	)	$	(590	)

The above amounts are recorded in the liabilities section of the consolidated balance sheets as follows:

	Pension Benefits						Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Other accrued expenses	$	(5,910	)	$	(4,459	)	$	(82	)	$	(70	)
Long-term benefit liabilities	(23,164		)	(23,965		)	(853		)	(520		)
Total	$	(29,074	)	$	(28,424	)	$	(935	)	$	(590	)

Components of Net Periodic Benefit Cost
	Pension Benefits						Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011			2010			2011		2010
Service cost	$	140		$	175		$	7	$	6
Interest cost	3,821			3,802			30		36
Expected return on plan assets	(2,821		)	(2,582		)	—		—
Recognized net actuarial loss	—			—			—		—
Amortization of prior service cost	—			55			—		—
Amortization of transition loss	—			—			—		—
Plan curtailments	—			309			—		—
Amortization of net actuarial loss	1,245			1,262			61		62
Net periodic benefit cost	$	2,385		$	3,021		$	98	$	104

Expense includes the curtailment of the retirement plans of the Mansfield Blanking employees in fiscal 2010 . See Note 2 for a discussion of the closure of the plant.

The Company expects to recognize in the consolidated statement of operations the following amounts that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income in fiscal 2012.

	Pension Benefits	Other Post Retirement Benefits
Amortization of net actuarial loss	$1,040	$54

The Company has recognized the following pre-tax actuarial losses, prior service costs and transition obligations in accumulated other comprehensive income:

	Pension Benefits				Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011		2010		2011		2010
Net actuarial loss	$	38,619	$	35,898	$	844	$	559
Prior service cost	—		—		—		—
Accumulated other comprehensive income	$	38,619	$	35,898	$	844	$	559

Additional Information

	Pension Benefits					Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011			2010		2011			2010
Increase (decrease) in minimum liability included in other comprehensive income	$	(2,721	)	$	1,939	$	(286	)	$	98

Assumptions

Weighted-average assumptions used to determine benefit obligations at October 31	Pension Benefits				Other Post Retirement Benefits
	2011		2010		2011		2010
Discount rate	5.00	%	5.50	%	5.00	%	5.50	%
Rate of compensation increase	—		—		—		—

	Pension Benefits				Other Post Retirement Benefits
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs for years ended October 31
	2011		2010		2011		2010
Discount rate	5.50	%	5.75	%	5.50	%	5.75	%
Expected long-term return on plan assets	7.50	%	7.50	%	—		—
Rate of compensation increase	—		—		—		—

These assumptions are used to develop the projected obligation at fiscal year end and to develop net periodic benefit cost for the subsequent fiscal year. Therefore, for fiscal 2011, the assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit costs were established at October 31, 2010, while the assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations were established at October 31, 2011. Beginning in 2010, the Principal Pension Discount Yield Curve ("Principal Curve") has replaced the Citigroup Pension Discount Curve ("Citigroup Curve") as the basis for determining the discount rate for reporting pension and retiree medical liabilities. The Principal Curve has several advantages to the Citigroup Curve including: transparency of construction, lower statistical errors, and continuous forward rates for all years. At October 31, 2011 the resulting discount rate from the use of the Principal Curve was 5.00%, a decrease of .50% from a year ago that resulted in an increase of the benefit obligation of approximately $4,297.

The Company determines the annual rate of return on pension assets by first analyzing the composition of its asset portfolio. Historical rates of return are applied to the portfolio. The Company's outside investment advisors and actuaries review the computed rate of return. Industry comparables and other outside guidance are also considered in the annual selection of the expected rates of return on pension assets. The long-term expected rate of return on plan assets takes into account years with exceptional gains and years with exceptional losses.

Assumed health care trend rates at October 31	2011	2010
Health care cost trend rate assumed for next year	8.0%	9.0%
Rate to which the cost trend rate is assumed to decline (the ultimate trend rate)	7.5%	8.0%
Year that the rate reaches the ultimate trend rate	2013	2012

Assumed healthcare cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts reported for the healthcare plan. The Company's trend rate was based on reduced health care claims experienced by a small and declining retiree population. A one-percentage point change in assumed healthcare cost trend rates would have the following effects at October 31, 2011:

	One-Percentage Point Increase	One-Percentage Point Decrease
Effect on total of service and interest cost components	$6	$(6)
Effect on post retirement obligation	$55	$(45)

Plan Assets

The Company has established a targeted asset allocation percentage by asset category and rebalances the assets of each plan when pension contributions are funded. The Company's pension plan weighted-average asset allocations at October 31, 2011 and 2010, by asset category and comparison to the target allocation percentage are as follows:

	Target Allocation Percentage	Plan Assets at October 31,
		2011	2010
Asset Category
Equity securities	0-70%	68%	66%
Debt securities	0-70%	27%	29%
Real estate	0-10%	5%	5%
Total		100%	100%

The Company's investment policy for assets of the plans is to obtain a reasonable long-term return consistent with the level of risk assumed. The Company also seeks to control the cost of funding the plans within prudent levels of risk through the investment of plan assets and the Company seeks to provide diversification of assets in an effort to avoid the risk of large losses and to maximize the return to the plans consistent with market and economic risk.

Fair Value

The plans' investments are reported at fair value. Purchases and sales of securities are recorded on a trade‑date basis. Dividends are recorded on the ex‑dividend date.

Fair value is the price that would be received by the plans for an asset or paid by the plans to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date in the plans' principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability. Fair value measurements are determined by maximizing the use of observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The hierarchy places the highest priority on unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and gives the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements). The three levels of inputs within the fair value hierarchy are defined as follows:

Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the plans have the ability to access as of the measurement date.

Level 2: Significant other observable inputs other than level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3: Significant unobservable inputs that reflect the plans' own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

In some cases, a valuation technique used to measure fair value may include inputs from multiple levels of the fair value hierarchy. The lowest level of significant input determines the placement of the entire fair value measurement in the hierarchy.

The following descriptions of the valuation methods and assumptions used by the plans to estimate the fair values of investments apply to investments held directly by the plans.

Mutual funds: The fair values of mutual fund investments are determined by obtaining quoted prices on nationally recognized securities exchanges (level 1 inputs).

Pooled separate accounts: The fair values of participation units held in pooled separate accounts are based on their net asset values, as reported by the managers of the pooled separate accounts as supported by the unit prices of actual purchase and sale transactions occurring as of or close to the financial statement date (level 2 inputs). With the exception of the Principal U.S. Property Separate Account, a fund sponsored by Principal Financial Group, investment and actuarial advisors of the Company, each of the pooled separate accounts invests in multiple securities. With the exception of the Principal U.S. Property Separate Account, each pooled separate account provides for daily redemptions by the plans with no advance notice requirements, and has redemption prices that are determined by the fund's net asset value per unit. Due to illiquidity of the underlying assets of the Principal U.S. Property Separate Account, which is an open-end, commingled real estate account and a separate account of Principal Life Insurance Company (Principal), Principal has imposed a withdrawal limitation which delays the payment of withdrawal requests and provides for payment of such requests on a pro rata basis as cash becomes available for distribution, as determined by Principal. While the fair value of the plans' interest in the Principal U.S. Property Separate Account has been determined based upon the net asset value of the Principal U.S. Property Separate Account, this fair value measurement is reported as including level 3 inputs because of the nature of the redemption restrictions.

The methods described above may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while the Company believes its valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use ofdifferent methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date.

Investments totaling $46,218 at October 31, 2011 and $42,488 at October 31, 2010 measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below:

			Fair Value Measurements						Fair Value Measurements
			at October 31, 2011 Using						at October 31, 2010 Using
			Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)				Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)			Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)
							Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)							Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Investments
	Equity
		Large U.S. Equity	$	8,237	$	10,495	$	—	$	15,201		$	1,721	$	—
		Small/Mid U.S. Equity	2,510		4,446		—		1,069			4,752		—
		International Equity	5,677		—		—		2,173			3,019		—
	Fixed Income
		Government	—		285		—		—			246		—
		Corporate	6,376		5,669		—		5,891			6,387		—
	Real Estate (Primarily Commercial)		—		—		2,523		—		—	—		2,029
Total Investments			$	22,800	$	20,895	$	2,523	$	24,334		$	16,125	$	2,029

The table below presents a reconciliation of all investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (level 3) for the years ended October 31, 2011 and 2010, including the reporting classifications for the applicable gains and losses.

	Fair Value Measurements Using Significant Unobservable Inputs
	(Level 3)
	Pooled Separate Account-Real Estate
Balance, November 1, 2009		$2,469
Total unrealized gains or losses included in change in net assets available for benefits of
the plans:
Net unrealized depreciation relating to assets held at end of year		(440	)
Balance, October 31, 2010		2,029
Total unrealized gains or losses included in change in net assets available for benefits of
the plans:
Net unrealized appreciation relating to assets held at end of year		494
Balance, October 31, 2011		$2,523

Cash Flows

Contributions

The Company expects to contribute $5,910 to its pension plans in fiscal 2012, compared to $4,459 funded in fiscal 2011.

Estimated Future Benefit Payments

The following benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid by the plans:

	Pension Benefits			Other Benefits
2012		$	3,280		$	82
2013		3,320			82
2014		3,610			79
2015		3,840			74
2016		3,930			74
2017-2021		22,090			307

Defined Contribution Plans

In addition to the defined benefit plans described above, the Company maintains a number of defined contribution plans. Under the terms of the plans, eligible employees may contribute a selected percentage of their base pay. The Company matches a percentage of the employees' contributions up to a stated percentage, subject to statutory limitations. During fiscal 2007, the Company began automatically enrolling new employees in the defined contribution plan as well as automatically increasing employee contributions by 1% annually, unless the employee opts out of the enrollment or contribution increases. Additionally, the Company increased the match of employee contributions to 100% of the first 3% of employee deferrals, and to contribute an additional 50% of deferrals of 4-5% of employee contributions. For fiscal 2010, the Company temporarily suspended the match of employee contributions in recognition of the economic conditions that were affecting the automotive industry and the Company at that time. Therefore, the Company recorded no expense during fiscal year 2010 for its defined contribution plans. Effective November 1, 2010, the Company reinstated the matching program and recorded an expense of $1,278 during fiscal 2011.