Debt Term Loans (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2012
Loans Payable	$ 10,608,000	$ 4,797,000
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Jan. 18, 2008
Line of Credit Facility, Interest Rate at Period End	3.25%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	6.26%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	23,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Final Maturity Date	Jan. 31, 2018
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Nov. 30, 2013
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, End	May 31, 2014
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	0
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, Start	Oct. 31, 2013
Debt Instrument, Name [Domain]
Debt Instrument, Increase, Additional Borrowings	2,500,000
Short-term Debt	600,000
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Aug. 28, 2007
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	4.2425%	3.34%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	0.375%
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate	0.75%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	107,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Nov. 30, 2013
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	3,000,000
1.360 Euro loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Dec. 10, 2012
Face value of debt in local currency	1,360,000 Euros
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	3.69%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	108,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	1,800,000
423K Dirhams loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Nov. 25, 2012
Face value of debt in local currency	423 thousand Dirhams
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	3.39%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	5,000
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	115,000
Saudi term loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Apr. 10, 2012
Face value of debt in local currency	22.2 million Dirhams
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	5.50%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	408,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Apr. 30, 2017
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	5,900,000
loan on cash surrender value [Member]
Loans Payable	1,800,000
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Apr. 27, 2010
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	4.25%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	2,000,000
700K Euro loan [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Apr. 08, 2003
Face value of debt in local currency	700,000 Euros
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	6.10%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	9,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	Apr. 30, 2014
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	800,000
Perma Pipe US [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	May 14, 2010
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	5.84%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	24,000
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date	May 31, 2014
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	1,000,000
Mortgage Loans between $750,000 and $999,999 [Member]
Debt Instrument, Issuance Date	Jul. 10, 2010
Face value of debt in local currency	4,649,000 DKK
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End	3.29%
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment	$ 16,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Final Maturity Date	Jul. 30, 2030