<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000903423-18-000021.txt : 20180227
<SEC-HEADER>0000903423-18-000021.hdr.sgml : 20180227
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20180116135025
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000903423-18-000021
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20180116

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			ALBANY INTERNATIONAL CORP /DE/
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000819793
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	BROADWOVEN FABRIC MILS, MAN MADE FIBER & SILK [2221]
		IRS NUMBER:				140462060
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		216 AIRPORT DRIVE
		CITY:			ROCHESTER
		STATE:			NH
		ZIP:			03867
		BUSINESS PHONE:		5184452200

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		216 AIRPORT DRIVE
		CITY:			ROCHESTER
		STATE:			NH
		ZIP:			03867

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	ALBINT INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19870924
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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-align: right">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0">January 16, 2018</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Ms. Jennifer Thompson</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Accounting Branch Chief, Office of Consumer Products</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Securities and Exchange Commission</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Washington, D.C. 20549</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.5in">Re:</TD><TD>Albany International Corp.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 0.5in">Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2016,
filed March 1, 2017</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 0.5in">File No. 1-10026</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">Dear Ms. Thompson:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">We are pleased to respond to your letter dated December
18, 2017. For ease of review, we have set forth below the comments from your letter and our responses thereto.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt"><U>Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data</U></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt"><U>17. Commitments and Contingencies</U></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt"><U>Asbestos Litigation, page 94</U></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">1.</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Please address the following comments related to your asbestos litigation:</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 0 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&#183;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Please tell us when you accrue a loss for asbestos claims, both asserted
and unasserted, and how your accounting complies with ASC 450. In doing so, tell us if you accrue for claims in advance or only
upon or when nearing settlement. Also tell us the total amount accrued at fiscal year-end 2016 for asbestos claims and provide
a breakdown of the accrual between asserted and unasserted claims.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 1in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif"><B>Response</B>:
We accrue a loss for any asbestos claims, whether asserted or unasserted, when the amount is probable and estimable, as required
by ASC 450-20-25-2. With respect to the vast majority of claims disclosed in Footnote 17, we have concluded that such claims do
not represent a liability that is both probable of occurrence and reasonably estimable. Given the limited number of locations where
asbestos-containing dryer felts were used, and the limited period of time during which they were sold, the number of claimants
able to give evidence of exposure to the Company&rsquo;s products has historically been only a small fraction of the total number
of claims reported. We work with outside counsel and our insurance carriers to continuously evaluate claims, and if a claim has
progressed to the point where it is determined that liability is both probable and estimable, we accrue for the anticipated payment
at that time. For all pending claims, it is, in our experience, not possible to meaningfully assess whether liability for any individual
claim is probable, let alone estimable, until credible and meaningful evidence of actual or even potential exposure to the Company&rsquo;s
asbestos-containing dryer felts has been provided</FONT>. <FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">In our experience,
this typically has not happened until the discovery process is concluded.</FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">As of December 31, 2016, we had an
accrual of $240,500 for asserted claims, and there was no accrual for unasserted claims. The Company does not believe that an accrual
for unasserted claims is required. At any given reporting date, it is probable that there are unasserted claims that will be filed
against the Company in the future. However, we believe that, due to our varied and inconsistent history of asbestos claims and
the changing nature of asbestos litigation (as discussed below), there is not sufficient and reasonable information to estimate
an accrual for unasserted asbestos claims.</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&#183;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Explain to us your accounting policy for recording insurance recoveries
associated with asbestos claims.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in"><B>Response</B>: Whenever we record
an accrual for asbestos claims, we consider whether the claim is covered by our policies, the insurance carrier has the means to
pay the claim directly or reimburse our settlement payment, and recovery under our insurance policies is probable. If we conclude
that recovery is probable, a receivable from the insurance carrier is recorded. As of December 31, 2016, the amount of this receivable
in our books was $240,500 &ndash; equal to the accrual referred to above. This entry results in an offset of the charge in the
income statement, and the claims accrual is recorded as a liability, while the related insurance receivable is recorded as an asset.</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&#183;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Tell us your accounting policy for legal costs expected to be incurred
in connection with your asbestos claims.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in"><B>Response</B>: We do not incur material
legal fees related to defending ourselves against asbestos claims. For any claim for which insurance coverage exists, our insurers
are obligated to both indemnify and defend us, at no expense to us and without charging any such defense costs to coverage limits
(i.e., such legal fees and expenses are 100% borne by the carriers, and not deducted from available limits). Since 2005, we have
encountered only a handful of claims (involving former employees) giving rise to uncovered defense costs, and in no period have
such costs been material. If such uncovered legal costs were expected to be incurred in any future period, we would expect to accrue
such costs as incurred, in accordance with our current policy and practice. Since professional fees related to loss contingencies
have not been material in our experience, we have not included discussion of this policy election under ASC 450-20-S99 in our Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies footnote.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 49.5pt"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 22.5pt"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&#183;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">We note your disclosure that you &ldquo;do not believe a meaningful
estimate can be made regarding the range of possible loss with respect to pending or future claims.&rdquo; Clarify if this disclosure
means that you are unable to estimate an amount to accrue under ASC 450-20-25-2 or if it means you are unable to estimate a range
of reasonably possible loss in excess of amounts accrued under ASC 450-20-50-3 and -4. In either case, considering your extensive
history dealing with asbestos claims, tell us why you are unable to determine a meaningful loss estimate and why, per page 95,
you &ldquo;are unable to predict the number and timing of such future claims.&rdquo; Please note that under the 420-20-50-3 and
-4 disclosure requirements an estimate does not necessarily require confidence or precision since an estimate is, by definition,
imprecise.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in"><B>Response</B>: With regard to our
disclosure that we &ldquo;do not believe a meaningful estimate can be made regarding the range of possible loss with respect to
pending or future claims&rdquo;, we mean that we are unable to estimate a range of reasonably possible loss in excess of amounts
already accrued for pending or future claims under ASC 420-20-50-3. We will clarify this statement in our future filings.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">Asbestos litigation has continued
to evolve in many ways since the Company received its first claim, all of which have contributed to the unpredictable and changing
nature of the Company&rsquo;s experience with respect to asbestos litigation: the passage of tort reform in many jurisdictions;
the emergence of &ldquo;inactive dockets&rdquo; for non-malignant cases in others; the pursuit of secondary exposure claims, with
varying success, in different jurisdictions; continued &ldquo;forum-shopping&rdquo; by the plaintiff&rsquo;s bar causing migration
of claims to newer, less-experienced venues; developments in asbestos legal jurisprudence; involvement of new plaintiffs with different
claim-filing practices, etc.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">As described above, the information
needed to support an accrual is the same information needed to come up with a meaningful estimate of a range of reasonably possible
loss in excess of such accruals for pending or future claims. Given the unpredictable and changing nature of the Company&rsquo;s
asbestos litigation experience, we do not currently believe that it is possible to extrapolate from our historical loss experience
any meaningful estimate of a range of possible loss. Our current footnote disclosure states that we expect to continue to get sued,
and to incur future losses, and that we don&rsquo;t anticipate that such losses will ever materially exceed available insurance
coverage. In addition, in order to provide investors with as much meaningful information as possible, we also include in our disclosure
detailed, annual data regarding new claims, settlement claims, and annual settlement costs.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">Given our experience, any attempt
to provide an estimate would imply an understanding of the changing nature of asbestos litigation that &ndash; in spite of what
may appear to be an extensive history dealing with such claims &ndash; we simply do not have, and would thus be potentially misleading
to investors.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.75in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Symbol">&#183;</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Based on the rollforwards of your claims activity on pages 94 and 95,
it appears that there are several long outstanding unresolved claims against you. To the extent categorizable, explain to us the
nature of the remaining unresolved claims, including whether or not these claims are materially different than the claims you have
already settled. For example, clarify if your long outstanding claims generally involve more serious claims, such as ones that
are seeking materially higher damages.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in"><B>Response</B>: As you noted, there
are some asbestos claims which have been outstanding for a long time. Of the 11,451 pending cases as of December 31, 2016, approximately
90% had been pending for more than 10 years, with little or no activity during that time.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">There are probably a number of reasons
for this, into most of which we have no unique insight, but based upon our current understanding:</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">-</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">The plaintiff&rsquo;s counsel may no longer consider the case to have
merit, and not worthy of any further action.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">-</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">The plaintiff&rsquo;s counsel may be waiting to see if non-malignant
cases become malignant cases.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Calibri, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in"><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">-</FONT></TD><TD><FONT STYLE="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif">Plaintiffs&rsquo; counsel, in a rush to secure clients, may have filed
cases prior to determining the validity of the claim, or the counsel felt that their leverage to obtain a settlement might be increased
with the number of claimants.</FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">In addition, we understand that a
number of courts with heavy asbestos case backlogs determined not to dedicate valuable and limited trial capacity to asbestos cases
not involving malignancies, and created (whether formally or informally) administrative dockets, where non-malignant cases are
&ldquo;parked&rdquo; until such time (if ever) as they turn into malignant cases. We are not always aware of when a claim has been
moved to such an inactive docket, and do not track which claims currently reside on such a docket. Nevertheless, we know that a
significant number of our pending claims are in jurisdictions which have inactive dockets.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt; text-indent: 0.5in">For these reasons, we do not believe
such long-pending cases are more serious or seeking materially higher damages; in all likelihood, the longer a case has been pending,
the less likely it is to ever result in a material loss.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt">&nbsp;</P>

<TABLE CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="100%" STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 8pt"><TR STYLE="vertical-align: top">
<TD STYLE="width: 0"></TD><TD STYLE="width: 0.25in">Sincerely,</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE>

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<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in"><U>/s/ John B. Cozzolino</U></P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in">John B. Cozzolino</P>

<P STYLE="font: 11pt/107% Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; margin: 0 0 8pt 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in">Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer</P>

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