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Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Contingencies Contingencies
Indemnifications
In conjunction with certain acquisition and divestiture transactions, the Company may agree to make payments to compensate or indemnify other parties for possible future unfavorable financial consequences resulting from specified events (e.g., breaches of contract obligations or retention of previously existing environmental, tax or employee liabilities) whose terms range in duration and often are not explicitly defined. Where appropriate, the obligation for such indemnifications is recorded as a liability. Because the amount of these types of indemnifications generally is not specifically stated, the overall maximum amount of the obligation under such indemnifications cannot be reasonably estimated. Further, the Company indemnifies its directors and officers for claims against them in connection with their positions with the Company. Historically, any such costs incurred to settle claims related to these indemnifications have been minimal for the Company. The Company believes that future payments, if any, under all existing indemnification agreements would not have a material impact on its consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Asbestos Litigation
The Company (including its subsidiaries) has been named as a defendant in a number of asbestos-related lawsuits. Certain of these lawsuits relate to a business which was acquired by the Company and do not involve products which were manufactured or sold by the Company. In connection with these lawsuits, the seller of such business has agreed to indemnify the Company against these claims (the “Indemnified Claims”). The Indemnified Claims have been tendered to, and are being defended by, such seller. The seller has met its obligations, in all respects, and the Company does not have any reason to believe such party would fail to fulfill its obligations in the future. To date, no judgments have been rendered against the Company as a result of any asbestos-related lawsuit. The Company believes that it has good and valid defenses to each of these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.
Environmental Matters
Certain historic processes in the manufacture of products have resulted in environmentally hazardous waste by-products as defined by federal and state laws and regulations. At December 31, 2023, the Company is named a Potentially Responsible Party (“PRP”) at 12 non-AMETEK-owned former waste disposal or treatment sites (the “non-owned”sites). The Company is identified as a “de minimis” party in a majority of these sites based on the low volume of waste attributed to the Company relative to the amounts attributed to other named PRPs. The Company is participating in the investigation and/or related required remediation as part of a PRP Group and reserves have been established sufficient to satisfy the Company’s expected obligations. The Company historically has resolved these issues within established reserve levels and reasonably expects this result will continue. In
addition to these non-owned sites, the Company has an ongoing practice of providing reserves for probable remediation activities at certain of its current or previously owned manufacturing locations (the “owned” sites). For claims and proceedings against the Company with respect to other environmental matters, reserves are established once the Company has determined that a loss is probable and estimable. This estimate is refined as the Company moves through the various stages of investigation, risk assessment, feasibility study and corrective action processes. In certain instances, the Company has developed a range of estimates for such costs and has recorded a liability based on the best estimate. It is reasonably possible that the actual cost of remediation of the individual sites could vary from the current estimates and the amounts accrued in the consolidated financial statements; however, the amounts of such variances are not expected to result in a material change to the consolidated financial statements. In estimating the Company’s liability for remediation, the Company also considers the likely proportionate share of the anticipated remediation expense and the ability of the other PRPs to fulfill their obligations.
Total environmental reserves at December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $37.1 million and $41.0 million, respectively, for both non-owned and owned sites. In 2023, the Company recorded $6.0 million in reserves. Additionally, in 2023 the Company spent $9.9 million on environmental matters. The total environmental expense is included in Other income and expense in the consolidated statement of income.
The Company has agreements with other former owners of certain of its acquired businesses, as well as new owners of previously owned businesses. Under certain of the agreements, the former or new owners retained, or assumed and agreed to indemnify the Company against, certain environmental and other liabilities under certain circumstances. The Company and some of these other parties also carry insurance coverage for some environmental matters.
The Company believes it has established reserves for the environmental matters described above, which are sufficient to perform all known responsibilities under existing claims and consent orders. In the opinion of management, based on presently available information and the Company’s historical experience related to such matters, an adequate provision for probable costs has been made and the ultimate cost resulting from these actions is not expected to materially affect the consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows of the Company.