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Commitments and Contingencies
 3 Months Ended
Jul. 30, 2011
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Note 8.  Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation:  We are involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.  In the opinion of management, based upon consultation with legal counsel, the ultimate disposition of these matters, taken as a whole, will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements.

Guarantees:  In connection with the sale of equipment to various financial institutions, we have entered into contractual arrangements whereby we agreed to repurchase equipment at the end of the lease term at a fixed price. Our total obligations under these fixed price arrangements were $1,285 as of July 30, 2011 and April 30, 2011.  We have recognized a guarantee liability in the amount of $200 under the provisions of ASC 460, Guarantees, in connection with these arrangements.

Warranties:  We offer a standard parts coverage warranty for periods varying from one to five years for all of our products.  We also offer additional types of warranties that include on-site labor, routine maintenance and event support.  In addition, the terms of warranties on some installations can vary from one to 10 years.  The specific terms and conditions of these warranties vary primarily depending on the type of the product sold.  We estimate the costs that may be incurred under the warranty and record a liability in the amount of such costs at the time the revenue is recognized.  Factors that affect our warranty liability include historical and anticipated claims costs.  We periodically assess the adequacy of our recorded warranty reserves and adjust the amounts as necessary to reflect our best estimate of expected costs of warranty claims.
 
Changes in our product warranties for the three months ended July 30, 2011 consisted of the following:


 
Amount
 
Beginning accrued warranty costs
$22,980 
      Warranties issued during the period
 2,100 
      Settlements made during the period
 (3,258)
      Changes in accrued warranty costs for pre-existing
            warranties during the period, including expirations
 293 
Ending accrued warranty costs
$22,115 

Performance guarantees:  In connection with certain international transactions and construction-type contracts, we have entered into various performance guarantees.  As of July 30, 2011, we had outstanding $4,309 in standby letters of credit and $52,937 in outstanding surety bonds.  Performance guarantees provided by standby letters of credit and performance bonds are issued to certain customers to guarantee the operation and installation of the equipment and to guarantee our ability to complete a contract.  These performance guarantees have various terms, which are generally less than one year.

Leases:  We lease office space for various sales and service locations throughout the world, manufacturing space in the United States and China, and various equipment, primarily office equipment.  Some of these leases, including the lease for manufacturing facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, include provisions for extensions or purchase.  The lease for the facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota can be extended for an additional three years past its current term, which ends December 31, 2016, and it contains an option to purchase the property subject to the lease from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016 for $8,400.  If the lease is extended, the purchase option increases to $8,600 for the year ending December 31, 2017 and $8,800 for the year ending December 31, 2018.  Rental expense for operating leases was $856 and $855 for the three months ended July 30, 2011 and July 31, 2010, respectively.  Future minimum payments under noncancelable operating leases, excluding executory costs such as management and maintenance fees, with initial or remaining terms of one year or more consisted of the following at July 30, 2011:

Fiscal years ending
 
Amount
 
2012
 $2,447 
2013
  2,465 
2014
  1,890 
2015
  1,549 
2016
  1,554 
Thereafter
  739 
Total
 $10,644 

Purchase commitments:  From time to time, we commit to purchase inventory and advertising rights over periods that extend beyond a year.  As of July 30, 2011, we were obligated under $1,000 in conditional purchase commitments and were obligated to purchase inventory and advertising rights under unconditional commitments through fiscal 2014 as follows:

Fiscal years ending
 
Amount
 
2012
 $1,344 
2013
  1,314 
2014
  803 
2015
  11 
Total
 $3,472