Statements of Consolidated Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 85,790us-gaap_SalesRevenueGoodsNet	$ 89,925us-gaap_SalesRevenueGoodsNet
Cost of products sold	61,030us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold	62,477us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold
GROSS PROFIT	24,760us-gaap_GrossProfit	27,448us-gaap_GrossProfit
Costs and expenses
Selling	7,207us-gaap_SellingAndMarketingExpense	8,505us-gaap_SellingAndMarketingExpense
General and administrative	10,186us-gaap_GeneralAndAdministrativeExpense	11,158us-gaap_GeneralAndAdministrativeExpense
Research and engineering	3,721plpc_ResearchAndEngineeringExpense	3,775plpc_ResearchAndEngineeringExpense
Other operating (income) expense - net	3,731us-gaap_OtherOperatingIncomeExpenseNet	(203)us-gaap_OtherOperatingIncomeExpenseNet
Total costs and expenses	24,845us-gaap_CostsAndExpenses	23,235us-gaap_CostsAndExpenses
OPERATING INCOME (LOSS)	(85)us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss	4,213us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss
Other income (expense)
Interest income	102us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInterest	109us-gaap_InvestmentIncomeInterest
Interest expense	(133)us-gaap_InterestExpense	(161)us-gaap_InterestExpense
Other income (expense) - net	57us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense	(24)us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense
Total other income (expense)	26us-gaap_NonoperatingIncomeExpense	(76)us-gaap_NonoperatingIncomeExpense
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES	(59)	4,137
Income taxes	197us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit	1,399us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
NET INCOME (LOSS)	$ (256)us-gaap_ProfitLoss	$ 2,738us-gaap_ProfitLoss
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE
Net income (loss)	$ (0.05)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.51us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
Net income (loss)	$ (0.05)us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.50us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted
Cash dividends declared per share	$ 0.20	$ 0.20
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - basic	5,396	5,392
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding - diluted	5,396	5,431

The total amount of expenses directly related to research and engineering of products.

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Aggregate dividends declared during the period for each share of common stock outstanding.

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Total costs related to goods produced and sold during the reporting period.

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Total costs of sales and operating expenses for the period.

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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The aggregate total of expenses of managing and administering the affairs of an entity, including affiliates of the reporting entity, which are not directly or indirectly associated with the manufacture, sale or creation of a product or product line.

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Aggregate revenue less cost of goods and services sold or operating expenses directly attributable to the revenue generation activity.

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This element represents the income or loss from continuing operations attributable to the economic entity which may also be defined as revenue less expenses from ongoing operations, after income or loss from equity method investments, but before income taxes, extraordinary items, and noncontrolling interest.

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Amount of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.

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Amount of the cost of borrowed funds accounted for as interest expense.

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Amount before accretion (amortization) of purchase discount (premium) of interest income on nonoperating securities.

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The aggregate amount of income or expense from ancillary business-related activities (that is to say, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business).

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The net result for the period of deducting operating expenses from operating revenues.

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The net amount of other income and expense amounts, the components of which are not separately disclosed on the income statement, resulting from ancillary business-related activities (that is, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business) also known as other nonoperating income (expense) recognized for the period. Such amounts may include: (a) dividends, (b) interest on securities, (c) net gains or losses on securities, (d) unusual costs, (e) gains or losses on foreign exchange transactions, and (f) miscellaneous other income and expense items.

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The net amount of other operating income and expenses, the components of which are not separately disclosed on the income statement, from items that are associated with the entity's normal revenue producing operations.

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The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

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Aggregate revenue during the period from the sale of goods in the normal course of business, after deducting returns, allowances and discounts.

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The aggregate total amount of expenses directly related to the marketing or selling of products or services.

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The average number of shares or units issued and outstanding that are used in calculating diluted EPS or earnings per unit (EPU), determined based on the timing of issuance of shares or units in the period.

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Number of [basic] shares or units, after adjustment for contingently issuable shares or units and other shares or units not deemed outstanding, determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that common shares or units have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

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