COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Financial Commitments

The Company provides indemnifications and other guarantees in the ordinary course of business, the terms of which range in duration and often are not explicitly defined. Specifically, the Company is occasionally required to provide letters of credit and bid and performance bonds to various customers, principally to act as security for retention levels related to casualty insurance policies and to guarantee the performance of subsidiaries that engage in export and domestic transactions. At December 31, 2017, the Company had outstanding performance and financial standby letters of credit, as well as outstanding bid and performance bonds, aggregating $21.3 million. If any such letters of credit or bonds are called, the Company would be obligated to reimburse the issuer of the letter of credit or bond. The Company believes the likelihood of any currently outstanding letter of credit or bond being called is remote.

Following the June 3, 2016 acquisition of JJE, the Company has transactions involving the sale of equipment to certain of its customers which include (i) guarantees to repurchase the equipment for a fixed price at a future date and (ii) guarantees to repurchase the equipment from the third-party lender in the event of default by the customer. As of December 31, 2017, the single year and maximum potential cash payments the Company could be required to make to repurchase equipment under these agreements were each $4.5 million. The Company’s risk under these repurchase arrangements would be partially mitigated by the value of the products repurchased as part of the transaction. In addition, the former owners of JJE have agreed to reimburse the Company for certain losses incurred resulting from the requirement to repurchase any such equipment. Any such reimbursement could be withheld from the C$8.0 million deferred payment to be made on the third anniversary of the acquisition date. The Company has recorded the residual liability for potential losses related to the repurchase exposures, which represents the expected losses that could result from obligations to repurchase products, after giving effect to proceeds anticipated to be received from the resale of those products to alternative customers, as well as to the reimbursement of any losses incurred. The Company has recorded its estimated net liability associated with losses from these guarantee and repurchase obligations on its Consolidated Balance Sheet based on historical experience and current facts and circumstances, and the amounts recognized during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, were not material to the Company’s financial position or results of operations. Historical cash requirements and losses associated with these obligations have not been significant, but could increase if customer defaults exceed current expectations.

Product Warranties

The Company issues product performance warranties to customers with the sale of its products. The specific terms and conditions of these warranties vary depending upon the product sold and country in which the Company does business, with warranty periods generally ranging from one to five years. The Company estimates the costs that may be incurred under its basic limited warranty and records a liability in the amount of such costs at the time the sale of the related product is recognized. Factors that affect the Company’s warranty liability include (i) the number of units under warranty from time to time, (ii) historical and anticipated rates of warranty claims and (iii) costs per claim. The Company periodically assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liabilities and adjusts the amounts as necessary.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized an estimated liability within the Environmental Solutions Group in connection with a specific warranty matter. It is reasonably possible that the Company’s estimate may change in the near term as more information becomes available; however, the ultimate resolution of this matter is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or liquidity.

The following table summarizes the changes in the Company’s warranty liabilities:



(in millions)	2017			2016
Balance at January 1	$	6.4		$	7.4
Provisions to expense	6.6			5.5
Acquisitions	1.7			—
Payments	(6.3		)	(6.5		)
Balance at December 31	$	8.4		$	6.4

Environmental Liabilities

In May 2012, the Company sold a facility in Pearland, Texas. The facility was previously used by the Company’s discontinued Pauluhn business, which manufactured marine, offshore and industrial lighting products. The site is in the process of remediation, and it is probable that the site will incur future costs. As such, as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, environmental remediation reserves of $0.5 million and $0.6 million, respectively, have been included in liabilities of discontinued operations on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The recorded reserves are based on an undiscounted estimate of the range of costs to remediate the site, depending upon the remediation approach and other factors. The Company’s estimate may change in the near-term as more information becomes available; however, the costs are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flow.