Business segment (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2016

Business segment reporting [Abstract]

Business segment reporting [Table Text Block]

	Three Months Ended April 30,
	2016			2015
Net sales
Piping Systems		$23,069			$20,277
Gross profit
Piping Systems		$1,992			$2,355
Loss from operations
Piping Systems		($1,701	)		($1,426	)
Corporate		($2,804	)		($2,144	)
Total loss from operations		($4,505	)		($3,570	)