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ACQUISITIONS AND DECONSOLIDATION (Details 2) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 27, 2014	Aug. 25, 2014
Valmont SM
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	$ 30,340vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_DSSMASMember
Shakespeare
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	13,500vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_ShakespeareCompositeStructuresMember
AgSense LLC
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount		16,083vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_AgsenseLlcMember
Backlog | Valmont SM
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	3,145vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_DSSMASMember / us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis = us-gaap_OrderOrProductionBacklogMember
Customer Relationships | Valmont SM
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	15,725vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_DSSMASMember / us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis = us-gaap_CustomerRelationshipsMember
Weighted Average Amortization Period	1 year 6 months
Customer Relationships | Shakespeare
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	9,500vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_ShakespeareCompositeStructuresMember / us-gaap_FiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis = us-gaap_CustomerRelationshipsMember
Weighted Average Amortization Period	15 years
Customer Relationships | AgSense LLC
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Weighted Average Amortization Period	10 years
Patents | AgSense LLC
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Weighted Average Amortization Period	7 years
Software and Technology | Valmont SM
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Weighted Average Amortization Period	12 years
Trade names | Valmont SM
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	11,470vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_DSSMASMember / us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis = us-gaap_TradeNamesMember
Trade names | Shakespeare
Major classes of acquired intangible assets and weighted-average amortization periods
Amount	$ 4,000vmi_AcquiredFiniteAndIndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsAmount / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = vmi_ShakespeareCompositeStructuresMember / us-gaap_IndefiniteLivedIntangibleAssetsByMajorClassAxis = us-gaap_TradeNamesMember

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- Definition

Weighted average amortization period of finite-lived intangible assets acquired either individually or as part of a group of assets, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 350

-SubTopic 30

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (a)(3)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16265-109275

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+ References

No definition available.

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