Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

4. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The changes in the carrying value of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, were as follows:

(In thousands)	Surfactants Segment						Polymer Segment						Specialty Products Segment				Total
	2015			2014			2015			2014			2015		2014		2015			2014
Balance as of January 1
Goodwill	$	9,025		$	9,107		$	5,461		$	5,603		$	483	$	483	$	14,969		$	15,193
Accumulated impairment loss		(3,467	)		(3,467	)		—			—			—		—		(3,467	)		(3,467	)
Goodwill, net		5,558			5,640			5,461			5,603			483		483		11,502			11,726
Goodwill acquired		—			—			—			—			—		—		—			—
Foreign currency translation		(156	)		(82	)		(81	)		(142	)		—		—		(237	)		(224	)
Balance as of December 31
Goodwill		8,869			9,025			5,380			5,461			483		483		14,732			14,969
Accumulated impairment loss		(3,467	)		(3,467	)		—			—			—		—		(3,467	)		(3,467	)
Goodwill, net	$	5,402		$	5,558		$	5,380		$	5,461		$	483	$	483	$	11,265		$	11,502

The Company tests its goodwill balances for impairment in the second quarter of each calendar year. The 2015 and 2014 tests indicated no impairment.

The following table presents the components of other intangible assets, all of which have finite lives, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014. The year-over-year changes in gross carrying values resulted from the effects of foreign currency translation.

(In thousands)	Gross Carrying Value				Accumulated Amortization
	December 31				December 31
	2015		2014		2015		2014
Other Intangible Assets:
Patents	$	6,947	$	6,947	$	2,696	$	2,096
Trademarks		4,087		4,087		1,150		748
Customer lists		8,026		8,082		2,621		1,871
Know-how ^(a)		8,245		8,273		2,881		1,871
Total	$	27,305	$	27,389	$	9,348	$	6,586

(a)

Know-how includes intellectual property rights covering proprietary information, written formulae, trade secrets or secret processes, inventions and developmental products (whether patentable or not), discoveries, improvements, compositions, manufacturing processes, manuals, specifications and technical data.

Aggregate amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, was $2,816,000, $2,841,000 and $2,832,000, respectively. Estimated amortization expense for identifiable intangibles assets for each of the five succeeding fiscal years is as follows:

(In thousands)
For year ended 12/31/16	$	2,676
For year ended 12/31/17		2,559
For year ended 12/31/18		2,559
For year ended 12/31/19		2,559
For year ended 12/31/20		2,510

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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