Note B - Other Financial Statement Information

Inventories – net

	December 31
	2017			2016
Raw materials	$	42,712		$	37,535
Work-in-process		9,609			9,057
Finished products		33,780			35,629
		86,101			82,221
Excess of current cost over LIFO cost		(2,991	)		(2,784	)
Noncurrent portion of inventory		(5,224	)		(4,953	)
	$	77,886		$	74,484

Costs for inventories of certain material are determined using the LIFO method and totaled approximately $25.1 million and $28.6 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Property and equipment – net

Major classes of property, plant and equipment are as follows:

	December 31
	2017			2016
Land and improvements	$	13,141		$	12,584
Buildings and improvements		75,941			72,662
Machinery, equipment and aircraft		166,999			158,078
Construction in progress		5,124			3,877
		261,205			247,201
Less accumulated depreciation		(152,607	)		(142,097	)
	$	108,598		$	105,104

Depreciation of property and equipment was $11.8 million in 2017, $10.8 million in 2016 and $10.3 million in 2015. Machinery, equipment and aircraft includes $.2 million of capital leases at both years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Legal proceedings

The Company and its subsidiaries Helix Uniformed Ltd. (“Helix”) and Preformed Line Products (Canada) Limited (“PLPC Canada”), were each named, jointly and severally, with each of SNC-Lavalin ATP, Inc. (“SNC ATP”), HD Supply Canada Inc., by its trade names HD Supply Power Solutions and HD Supply Utilities (“HD Supply”), and Anixter Power Solutions Canada Inc. (the corporate successor to HD Supply, “Anixter” and, together with the Company, PLPC Canada, Helix, SNC ATP and HD Supply, the “Defendants”) in a complaint filed by Altalink, L.P. (the “Plaintiff”) in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Alberta, Canada in November 2016 (the “Complaint”).

The Complaint states that Plaintiff engaged SNC ATP to design, engineer, procure and construct numerous power distribution and transmission facilities in Alberta (the “Projects”) and that through SNC ATP and HD Supply (now Anixter), spacer dampers manufactured by Helix were procured and installed in the Projects. The Complaint alleges that the spacer dampers have and may continue to become loose, open and detach from the conductors, resulting in damage and potential injury and a failure to perform the intended function of providing spacing and damping to the Project. The Plaintiffs are seeking an estimated $56 million in damages jointly and severally from the Defendants, representing the costs of monitoring and replacing the spacer dampers and remediating property damage, due to alleged defects in the design and construction of, and supply of materials for, the Projects by SNC ATP and HD Supply/Anixter and in the design of the spacer dampers by Helix.

The Company believes the claims against it are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against such claims. However, the Company is unable to predict the outcome of this case and, if determined adversely to the Company, it could have a material effect on the Company’s financial results.

From time to time, the Company may be subject to litigation incidental to its business. The Company is not a party to any other pending legal proceedings that the Company believes would, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.