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Commitments and Contingencies
 9 Months Ended
Jan. 28, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Note 7.  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, individually or 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 January 28, 2012 and April 30, 2011.  We have recognized a guarantee liability in accrued expenses for the amount of $200, inaccordance with 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 obligations and record a liability in the amount of such estimated costs at the time the revenue is recognized.  Factors that affect our estimate of the cost of our warranty obligations include historical experience and expectations of future conditions.  We periodically assess the adequacy of our recorded warranty reserves and, to the extent that we experience any changes in warranty claim activity or costs associated with servicing those claims, our warranty obligation is adjusted accordingly.
 
Changes in our warranty liability for the nine months ended January 28, 2012 consisted of the following:
 
   
Amount
 
Beginning accrued warranty costs
 $22,982 
      Warranties issued during the period
  6,705 
      Settlements made during the period
  (9,858)
      Changes in accrued warranty costs for pre-existing
            warranties during the period, including expirations
  3,264 
Ending accrued warranty costs
 $23,093 
 
Performance guarantees:  We have entered into standby letter of credit agreements, bank guarantees and surety bonds with financial institutions relating to the guarantee of future performance on contracts, primarily construction type contracts.  As of January 28, 2012, we had outstanding letters of credit agreements and surety bonds in the amount of $2,949 and $38,939, respectively.  Performance guarantees are issued to certain customers to guarantee the operation and installation of the equipment and 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, including 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 $2,452 and $2,632 for the nine months ended January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011, 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 January 28, 2012:
 
Fiscal years ending
 
Amount
 
2012
 $866 
2013
  2,876 
2014
  2,100 
2015
  1,649 
2016
  1,589 
Thereafter
  877 
Total
 $9,957 

Purchase commitments:  From time to time, we commit to purchase inventory, advertising and various other products and services over periods that extend beyond a year.  As of January 28, 2012, we were obligated under the following conditional and unconditional purchase commitments, which included $1,000 in conditional purchase commitments.


Fiscal years ending
 
Amount
 
2012
 $178 
2013
  1,314 
2014
  1,003 
2015
  211 
2016
  200 
Thereafter
  400 
Total
 $3,306