Item 2. PROPERTIES

As of December 31, 2017, we owned or leased 109 major manufacturing sites and 14 major technical centers. A manufacturing site may include multiple plants and may be wholly or partially owned or leased. We also have many smaller manufacturing sites, sales offices, warehouses, engineering centers, joint ventures and other investments strategically located throughout the world. We have a presence in 45 countries. The following table shows the regional distribution of our major manufacturing sites by the operating segment that uses such facilities:

In addition to these manufacturing sites, we had 14 major technical centers: eight in North America; two in Europe, Middle East and Africa; and four in Asia Pacific.

Of our 109 major manufacturing sites and 14 major technical centers, which include facilities owned or leased by our consolidated subsidiaries, 53 are primarily owned and 70 are primarily leased.

We frequently review our real estate portfolio and develop footprint strategies to support our customers’ global plans, while at the same time supporting our technical needs and controlling operating expenses. We believe our evolving portfolio will meet current and anticipated future needs.