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Cover and table of contents
10-K 1 iex-20171231x10k.htm 10-K
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
| þ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
| For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2017 |
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
| For the Transition Period From to |
Commission file number 1-10235
IDEX CORPORATION
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
| Delaware | 36-3555336 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 1925 West Field Court, Lake Forest, Illinois | 60045 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number:
(847) 498-7070
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered | |
| Common Stock, par value $.01 per share | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer þ | Accelerated filer ¨ | Non-accelerated filer ¨ | Smaller reporting company ¨ | |||
| Emerging growth company ¨ | (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | |||||
| If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No þ
The aggregate market value, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, of the common stock (based on the June 30, 2017 closing price of $113.01) held by non-affiliates of IDEX Corporation was $8,634,426,211.
The number of shares outstanding of IDEX Corporation’s common stock, par value $.01 per share, as of February 14, 2018 was 76,535,263.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the proxy statement with respect to the IDEX Corporation 2018 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2018 Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.
Table of Contents
PART I
Cautionary Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
This report contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements may relate to, among other things, capital expenditures, acquisitions, cost reductions, cash flow, revenues, earnings, market conditions, global economies and operating improvements, and are indicated by words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “plans,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “should,” “could,” “will,” “management believes,” “the company believes,” “the company intends,” and similar words or phrases. These statements are subject to inherent uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the date of this report. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: economic and political consequences resulting from terrorist attacks and wars; levels of industrial activity and economic conditions in the U.S. and other countries around the world; pricing pressures, other competitive factors and levels of capital spending in certain industries, all of which could have a material impact on order rates and IDEX Corporation’s results, particularly in light of the low levels of order backlogs it typically maintains; its ability to make acquisitions and to integrate and operate acquired businesses on a profitable basis; the relationship of the U.S. dollar to other currencies and its impact on pricing and cost competitiveness; political and economic conditions in foreign countries in which the company operates; interest rates; capacity utilization and the effect this has on costs; labor markets; market conditions and material costs; and developments with respect to contingencies, such as litigation and environmental matters. The forward-looking statements included here are only made as of the date of this report, and management undertakes no obligation to publicly update them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. Investors are cautioned not to rely unduly on forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented here.
| Item 1. | Business. |
IDEX Corporation (“IDEX,” the “Company,” “us,” “our,” or “we”) is a Delaware corporation incorporated on September 24, 1987. The Company is an applied solutions business that sells an extensive array of pumps, valves, flow meters and other fluidics systems and components and engineered products to customers in a variety of markets around the world. All of the Company’s business activities are carried out through wholly-owned subsidiaries.
The Company has three reportable business segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (“FMT”), Health & Science Technologies (“HST”) and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (“FSDP”). Within our three reportable segments, the Company maintains thirteen platforms, where we focus on organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Each of our thirteen platforms is also a reporting unit, where we annually test for goodwill impairment.
The Fluid & Metering Technologies segment contains the Energy platform (comprised of Corken, Liquid Controls, SAMPI, and Toptech), the Valves platform (comprised of Alfa Valvole, Richter, and Aegis), the Water platform (comprised of Pulsafeeder, OBL, Knight, ADS, Trebor, and iPEK), the Pumps platform (comprised of Viking and Warren Rupp), and the Agriculture platform (comprised of Banjo). The Health & Science Technologies segment contains the Scientific Fluidics & Optics platform (comprised of Eastern Plastics, Rheodyne, Sapphire Engineering, Upchurch Scientific, ERC, CiDRA Precision Services, thinXXS Microtechnology, CVI Melles Griot, Semrock, and AT Films), the Sealing Solutions platform (comprised of Precision Polymer Engineering, FTL Seals Technology, Novotema, and SFC Koenig), the Gast platform, the Micropump platform, and the Material Processing Technologies platform (comprised of Quadro, Fitzpatrick, Microfluidics, and Matcon). The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment is comprised of the Fire & Safety platform (comprised of Class 1, Hale, Godiva, Akron Brass, AWG Fittings, Dinglee, Hurst Jaws of Life, Lukas, and Vetter), the Band-It platform, and the Dispensing platform.
IDEX believes that each of its reporting units is a leader in its product and service areas. The Company also believes that its strong financial performance has been attributable to its ability to design and engineer specialized quality products, coupled with its ability to identify and successfully consummate and integrate strategic acquisitions.
FLUID & METERING TECHNOLOGIES SEGMENT
The Fluid & Metering Technologies segment designs, produces and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems and provides flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water & wastewater, agriculture, and energy industries. Fluid & Metering Technologies application-specific pump and metering solutions serve a diverse range of end markets, including industrial infrastructure (fossil fuels, refined & alternative fuels, and water & wastewater), chemical processing, agriculture, food & beverage, pulp and paper, transportation, plastics and resins, electronics and electrical, construction & mining, pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical, machinery, and numerous other specialty niche markets.
Fluid & Metering Technologies accounted for 38%, 40% and 43% of IDEX’s sales in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, with approximately 42% of its 2017 sales to customers outside the U.S. The segment accounted for 42%, 44% and 43% of IDEX’s operating income in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Energy. Energy consists of the Company’s Corken, Liquid Controls, SAMPI, and Toptech businesses. Energy is a leading supplier of flow meters, electronic registration and control products, rotary vane and turbine pumps, reciprocating piston compressors, and terminal automation control systems. Applications for Liquid Controls and SAMPI consist of positive displacement flow meters and electronic registration and control products, including mobile and stationary metering installations for wholesale and retail distribution of petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas, aviation refueling, and industrial metering and dispensing of liquids and gases. Corken products consist of positive-displacement rotary vane pumps, single and multistage regenerative turbine pumps, and small horsepower reciprocating piston compressors. Toptech supplies terminal automation hardware and software to control and manage inventories as well as transactional data and invoicing to customers in the oil, gas, and refined-fuels markets. Energy maintains facilities in Lake Bluff, Illinois (Liquid Controls products); Longwood, Florida and Zwijndrecht, Belgium (Toptech products); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Corken products); and Altopascio, Italy (SAMPI products). Approximately 45% of Energy’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Valves. Valves consists of the Company’s Alfa Valvole, Richter, and Aegis businesses. Valves is a leader in the design, manufacture and sale of specialty valve products for use in the chemical, petro-chemical, energy, and sanitary markets as well as a leading producer of fluoroplastic lined corrosion-resistant magnetic drive and mechanical seal pumps, shut-off, control and safety valves for corrosive, hazardous, contaminated, pure and high-purity fluids. Alfa Valvole’s products are used in various industrial fields for fluid control, in both gas and liquid form, in all sectors of plant engineering, cosmetics, detergents, food industry, electric energy, pharmaceutical, chemical plants, petrochemical plants, oil, heating/air conditioning, and also on ships, ferries and marine oil platforms. Richter’s products offer superior solutions for demanding and complex pump applications in the process industry. Aegis produces specialty chemical processing valves for use in the chemical, petro-chemical, chlor-alkali, and pulp & paper industries. Valves maintains operations in Casorezzo, Italy (Alfa Valvole products); Cedar Falls, Iowa, Kempen, Germany, and Suzhou, China (Richter products); and Geismar, Louisiana (Aegis products). Approximately 82% of Valves’ 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Water. Water consists of the Company’s ADS, iPEK, Knight, Trebor, Pulsafeeder, and OBL businesses. Water is a leading provider of metering technology, flow monitoring products and underground surveillance services for wastewater markets, alloy and non-metallic gear pumps, peristaltic pumps, transfer pumps as well as dispensing equipment for industrial laundries, commercial dishwashing, and chemical metering. ADS’ products and services provide comprehensive integrated solutions that enable industry, municipalities, and government agencies to analyze and measure the capacity, quality, and integrity of wastewater collection systems, including the maintenance and construction of such systems. iPEK supplies remote controlled systems used for
infrastructure inspection. Knight is a leading manufacturer of pumps and dispensing equipment for industrial laundries, commercial dishwashing, and chemical metering. Trebor is a leader in high-purity fluid handling products, including air-operated diaphragm pumps and deionized water-heating systems. Trebor products are used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, disk drives, and flat panel displays. Pulsafeeder products (which also include OBL products) are used to introduce precise amounts of fluids into processes to manage water quality and chemical composition as well as peristaltic pumps. Its markets include water & wastewater treatment, oil & gas, power generation, pulp & paper, chemical and hydrocarbon processing, and swimming pools. Water maintains operations in Huntsville, Alabama and various other locations in the United States and Australia (ADS products and services); Hirschegg, Austria and Sulzberg, Germany (iPEK products); Rochester, New York, Punta Gorda, Florida, and Milan, Italy (Pulsafeeder products); West Jordan, Utah (Trebor products); Irvine, California, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and Lewes, England (Knight products); and a maquiladora in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico (Knight products). Approximately 37% of Water’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Pumps. Pumps consists of the Company’s Viking and Warren Rupp businesses. Pumps is a leading manufacturer of rotary internal gear, external gear, vane and rotary lobe pumps, custom-engineered OEM pumps, strainers, gear reducers, and engineered pump systems. Viking’s products consist of external gear pumps, strainers and reducers, and related controls used for transferring and metering thin and viscous liquids sold under the Viking and Wright Flow brands. Viking products primarily serve the chemical, petroleum, pulp & paper, plastics, paints, inks, tanker trucks, compressor, construction, food & beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, and biotech markets. Warren Rupp products (which include Versa-Matic products) are used for abrasive and semisolid materials as well as for applications where product degradation is a concern or where electricity is not available or should not be used. Warren Rupp products, which include air-operated double diaphragm pumps, primarily serve the chemical, paint, food processing, electronics, construction, utilities, oil & gas, mining, and industrial maintenance markets. Pumps maintains operations in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Viking and Wright Flow products); Eastbourne, England (Wright Flow products); Shannon, Ireland (Viking and Blagdon products); and Mansfield, Ohio (Warren Rupp products). Pumps primarily uses independent distributors to market and sell its products. Approximately 38% of Pumps’ 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Agriculture. Agriculture consists of the Company’s Banjo business. Banjo is a provider of special purpose, severe-duty pumps, valves, fittings, and systems used in liquid handling. Banjo is based in Crawfordsville, Indiana with distribution facilities in Didam, The Netherlands and Valinhos, Brazil. Its products are used in agriculture (approximately 70% of revenue) and industrial (approximately 30% of revenue) applications. Approximately 17% of Banjo’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
HEALTH & SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES SEGMENT
The Health & Science Technologies segment designs, produces and distributes a wide range of precision fluidics, rotary lobe pumps, centrifugal and positive displacement pumps, roll compaction and drying systems used in beverage, food processing, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics, pneumatic components and sealing solutions, including very high precision, low-flow rate pumping solutions required in analytical instrumentation, clinical diagnostics, and drug discovery, high performance molded and extruded sealing components, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, air compressors used in medical, dental, and industrial applications, optical components and coatings for applications in the fields of scientific research, defense, biotechnology, aerospace, telecommunications, and electronics manufacturing, laboratory and commercial equipment used in the production of micro and nano scale materials, precision photonic solutions used in life sciences, research, and defense markets, and precision gear and peristaltic pump technologies that meet exacting original equipment manufacturer specifications.
Health & Science Technologies accounted for 36%, 35% and 36% of IDEX’s sales in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, with approximately 55% of its 2017 sales to customers outside the U.S. The segment accounted for 32%, 31% and 33% of IDEX’s operating income in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Scientific Fluidics & Optics. Scientific Fluidics & Optics consists of the Company’s Eastern Plastics, Rheodyne, Sapphire Engineering, Upchurch Scientific, ERC, CiDRA Precision Services, thinXXS Microtechnology (“thinXXS”), CVI Melles Griot, Semrock, and AT Films (including Precision Photonics products) businesses. Eastern Plastics products, which consist of high-precision integrated fluidics and associated engineered manifolds, are used in a broad set of end markets including medical diagnostics, analytical instrumentation, and laboratory automation. Rheodyne products consist of injectors, valves, fittings, and accessories for the analytical instrumentation market. These products are used by manufacturers of high pressure liquid chromatography (“HPLC”) equipment servicing the pharmaceutical, biotech, life science, food & beverage, and chemical markets. Sapphire Engineering and Upchurch Scientific products consist of fluidic components and systems for the analytical, biotech, and diagnostic instrumentation markets, such as fittings, precision-dispensing pumps and valves, tubing and integrated tubing assemblies, filter sensors, and other micro-fluidic and nano-fluidic components as well as advanced column hardware and accessories for the high performance liquid chromatography market. The products produced by Sapphire Engineering and Upchurch Scientific primarily serve the pharmaceutical, drug discovery, chemical, biochemical processing, genomics/proteomics research, environmental labs, food/agriculture, medical lab, personal care, and plastics/polymer/rubber production markets. ERC manufactures gas liquid separations and detection solutions for the life science, analytical instrumentation, and clinical chemistry markets. ERC’s products consist of in-line membrane vacuum degassing solutions, refractive index detectors, and ozone generation systems. CiDRA Precision Services’ products consist of microfluidic components serving the life science, health, and industrial markets and thinXXS is a leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of microfluidic components serving the point of care, veterinary, and life science markets. CVI Melles Griot is a global leader in the design and manufacture of precision photonic solutions used in the life science, research, semiconductor, security, and defense markets. CVI Melles Griot’s innovative products are focused on the generation, control, and productive use of light for a variety of key science and industrial applications. Products consist of specialty lasers and light sources, electro-optical components, specialty shutters, opto-mechanical assemblies, and components. In addition, CVI Melles Griot produces critical components for life science research, electronics manufacturing, military, and other industrial applications including lenses, mirrors, filters, and polarizers. These components are utilized in a number of important applications such as spectroscopy, cytometry (cell counting), guidance systems for target designation, remote sensing, menology, and optical lithography. Semrock is a provider of optical filters for biotech and analytical instrumentation in the life science market. Semrock’s optical filters are produced using state-of-the-art manufacturing processes which enable it to offer its customers significant improvements in instrument performance and reliability. AT Films specializes in optical components and coatings for applications in the fields of scientific research, defense, aerospace, telecommunications, and electronics
manufacturing. AT Films’ core competence is the design and manufacture of filters, splitters, reflectors, and mirrors with the precise physical properties required to support their customers’ most challenging and cutting-edge optical applications. The Precision Photonics portion of its business specializes in optical components and coatings for applications in the fields of scientific research, aerospace, telecommunications, and electronics manufacturing. Scientific Fluidics & Optics has facilities in Bristol, Connecticut (Eastern Plastics products); Rohnert Park, California (Rheodyne products); Middleboro, Massachusetts (Sapphire Engineering products); Oak Harbor, Washington (Upchurch Scientific products); Kawaguchi, Japan (ERC products); Wallingford, Connecticut (CiDRA Precision Services products); Zweibrücken, Germany (thinXXS products); Albuquerque, New Mexico, Carlsbad, California, Rochester, New York, Leicester, England, and Didam, The Netherlands (CVI Melles Griot products); Rochester, New York (Semrock products); and Boulder, Colorado (AT Films products). Approximately 50% of Scientific Fluidics & Optics’ 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Sealing Solutions. Sealing Solutions consists of the Company’s Precision Polymer Engineering, FTL Seals Technology, Novotema, and SFC Koenig businesses. Precision Polymer Engineering is a provider of proprietary high performance seals and advanced sealing solutions for a diverse range of global industries and applications, including hazardous duty, analytical instrumentation, semiconductor, process technologies, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, electronics, and food applications. Precision Polymer Engineering is headquartered in Blackburn, England with an additional manufacturing facility in Brenham, Texas. FTL Seals Technology, located in Leeds, England, specializes in the design and application of high integrity rotary seals, specialty bearings, and other custom products for the mining, power generation, and marine markets. Novotema, located in Villongo, Italy, is a leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of specialty sealing solutions for use in the building products, gas control, transportation, industrial, and water markets. SFC Koenig is a producer of highly engineered expanders and check valves for critical applications across the transportation, hydraulic, aviation, and medical markets. SFC Koenig is based in Dietikon, Switzerland, with additional facilities in North Haven, Connecticut, Illerrieden, Germany, and Suzhou, China. Approximately 75% of Sealing Solutions’ 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Gast. The Gast business is a leading manufacturer of air-moving products, including air motors, low-range and medium-range vacuum pumps, vacuum generators, regenerative blowers and fractional horsepower compressors. Gast products are used in a variety of long-life applications requiring a quiet, clean source of moderate vacuum or pressure. Gast products primarily serve the medical equipment, environmental equipment, computers and electronics, printing machinery, paint mixing machinery, packaging machinery, graphic arts, and industrial manufacturing markets. Based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Gast also has a logistics and commercial center in Redditch, England. Approximately 27% of Gast’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Micropump. Micropump, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, is a leader in small, precision-engineered, magnetically and electromagnetically driven rotary gear, piston and centrifugal pumps. Micropump products are used in low-flow abrasive and corrosive applications. Micropump products primarily serve the continuous ink-jet printing, medical equipment, chemical processing, pharmaceutical, refining, laboratory, electronics, textiles, peristaltic metering pumps, analytical process controllers, and sample preparation systems markets. Approximately 74% of Micropump’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Material Processing Technologies. Material Processing Technologies consists of the Company’s Quadro, Fitzpatrick, Microfluidics, and Matcon businesses. Quadro is a leading provider of particle control solutions for the pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical markets. Based in Waterloo, Canada, Quadro’s core capabilities include fine milling, emulsification, and special handling of liquid and solid particulates for laboratory, pilot phase, and production scale processing. Fitzpatrick is a global leader in the design and manufacture of process technologies for the pharmaceutical, food, and personal care markets. Fitzpatrick designs and manufactures customized size reduction, roll compaction and drying systems to support their customers’ product development and manufacturing processes. Fitzpatrick is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. Microfluidics is a global leader in the design and manufacture of laboratory and commercial equipment used in the production of micro and nano scale materials for the pharmaceutical and chemical markets. Microfluidics is the exclusive producer of the Microfluidizer family of high shear fluid processors for uniform particle size reduction, robust cell disruption and nanoparticle creation. Microfluidics is also based in Waterloo, Canada and has offices in Newton, Massachusetts. Matcon is a global leader in material processing solutions for high value powders used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, food, plastics, and fine chemicals. Matcon’s innovative products consist of the original cone valve powder discharge system and filling, mixing, and packaging systems, all of which support its customers’ automation and process requirements. These products are critical to its customers’ need to maintain clean, reliable, and repeatable formulations of prepackaged foods and pharmaceuticals while helping them achieve lean and agile manufacturing. Matcon is located in Evesham, England. Approximately 65% of Material Processing Technologies’ 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
FIRE & SAFETY/DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTS SEGMENT
The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment produces firefighting pumps and controls, apparatus valves, monitors, nozzles, rescue tools, lifting bags, and other components and systems for the fire and rescue industry, engineered stainless steel banding and clamping devices used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications, and precision equipment for dispensing, metering, and mixing colorants and paints used in a variety of retail and commercial businesses around the world.
The Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment accounted for 26%, 25% and 21% of IDEX’s sales in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, with approximately 52% of its 2017 sales to customers outside the U.S. The segment accounted for 26%, 25% and 24% of IDEX’s operating income in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
Fire & Safety. Fire & Safety consists of the Company’s Class 1, Hale, Godiva, Akron Brass, AWG Fittings, Dinglee, Hurst Jaws of Life, Lukas, and Vetter businesses, which produce truck-mounted and portable fire pumps, stainless steel valves, monitors, apparatus valves, nozzles, foam and compressed air foam systems, pump modules and pump kits, electronic controls and information systems, conventional and networked electrical systems, mechanical components for the fire, rescue and specialty vehicle markets, hydraulic, battery, gas and electric-operated rescue equipment, hydraulic re-railing equipment, hydraulic tools for industrial applications, recycling cutters, pneumatic lifting and sealing bags for vehicle and aircraft rescue, environmental protection and disaster control, and shoring equipment for vehicular or structural collapse. Fire & Safety’s customers are OEMs as well as public and private fire and rescue organizations. Fire & Safety maintains facilities in Ocala, Florida (Class 1 and Hale products); Warwick, England (Godiva products); Wooster and Columbus, Ohio (Akron Brass and Weldon products); Ballendorf, Germany (AWG Fittings products); Shelby, North Carolina (Hurst Jaws of Life products); Tianjin, China (Dinglee products); Erlangen, Germany (Lukas products); and Zulpich, Germany (Vetter products). Approximately 50% of Fire & Safety’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Band-It. Band-It is a leading producer of high-quality stainless steel banding, buckles, and clamping systems. The BAND-IT brand is highly recognized worldwide. Band-It products are used for securing exhaust system heat and sound shields, industrial hose fittings, traffic signs and signals, electrical cable shielding, identification and bundling, and in numerous other industrial and commercial applications. Band-It products primarily serve the automotive, transportation equipment, oil & gas, general industrial maintenance, electronics, electrical, communications, aerospace, utility, municipal, and subsea marine markets. Band-It is based in Denver, Colorado, with additional operations in Staveley, England. Approximately 43% of Band-It’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
Dispensing. Dispensing produces precision equipment for dispensing, metering, and mixing colorants and paints used in a variety of retail and commercial businesses around the world. Dispensing is a global supplier of precision-designed tinting, mixing, dispensing, and measuring equipment for auto refinishing and architectural paints. Dispensing products are used in retail and commercial stores, hardware stores, home centers, department stores, automotive body shops as well as point-of-purchase dispensers. Dispensing maintains facilities in Sassenheim, The Netherlands, Wheeling, Illinois, Unanderra, Australia, and Milan, Italy, as well as IDEX shared manufacturing facilities in India and China. Approximately 67% of Dispensing’s 2017 sales were to customers outside the U.S.
INFORMATION APPLICABLE TO THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS IN GENERAL AND ITS SEGMENTS
Competitors
The Company’s businesses participate in highly competitive markets. IDEX believes that the principal points of competition are product quality, price, design and engineering capabilities, product development, conformity to customer specifications, quality of post-sale support, timeliness of delivery, and effectiveness of our distribution channels.
Principal competitors of the Fluid & Metering Technologies segment are the Pumps Group (Maag, Blackmer and Wilden products) of Dover Corporation (with respect to pumps and small horsepower compressors used in liquified petroleum gas distribution facilities, rotary gear pumps, and air-operated double-diaphragm pumps); Milton Roy LLC (with respect to metering pumps and controls); and Tuthill Corporation (with respect to rotary gear pumps).
Principal competitors of the Health & Science Technologies segment are the Thomas division of Gardner Denver, Inc. (with respect to vacuum pumps and compressors); Thermo Scientific Dionex products (with respect to analytical instrumentation); Parker Hannifin (with respect to sealing devices); Valco Instruments Co., Inc. (with respect to fluid injectors and valves); and Gooch & Housego PLC (with respect to electro-optic and precision photonics solutions used in the life sciences market).
The principal competitors of the Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment are Waterous Company, a unit of American Cast Iron Pipe Company (with respect to truck-mounted firefighting pumps); Holmatro, Inc. (with respect to rescue tools); Corob S.p.A. (with respect to dispensing and mixing equipment for the paint industry); and Panduit Corporation (with respect to stainless steel bands, buckles and clamping systems).
Customers
The principal customers for our products are discussed immediately above by product category in each segment. None of our customers in 2017 accounted for more than two percent of net sales.
Employees
At December 31, 2017, the Company had 7,167 employees. Approximately 8% of employees were represented by labor unions, with various contracts expiring through November 2020. Management believes that the Company has a positive relationship with its employees. The Company historically has been able to renegotiate its collective bargaining agreements satisfactorily, with its last work stoppage occurring in March 1993.
Suppliers
The Company manufactures many of the parts and components used in its products. Substantially all materials, parts and components purchased by the Company are available from multiple sources.
Inventory and Backlog
The Company regularly and systematically adjusts production schedules and quantities based on the flow of incoming orders. Backlogs typically are limited to one to one and a half months of production. While total inventory levels also may be affected by changes in orders, the Company generally tries to maintain relatively stable inventory levels based on its assessment of the requirements of the various industries served.
Raw Materials
The Company uses a wide variety of raw materials which are generally available from a number of sources. As a result, shortages from any single supplier have not had, and are not likely to have a material impact on operations.
Shared Services
The Company has production facilities in Suzhou, China and Vadodara, India that support multiple business units. IDEX also has personnel in China, India, Dubai, Mexico, Latin America and Singapore that provide sales and marketing, product design and engineering, and sourcing support to its business units, as well as personnel in various locations in South America, the Middle East, Korea and Japan to support sales and marketing efforts of IDEX businesses in those regions.
Segment Information
For segment financial information for the years 2017, 2016 and 2015, including financial information about foreign and domestic sales and operations, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Executive Officers of the Registrant
Set forth below are the names of the executive officers of the Company, their ages, years of service, the positions held by them, and their business experience during the past five years.
| Name | Age | Years of Service | Position | |||
| Andrew K. Silvernail | 47 | 9 | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | |||
| William K. Grogan | 39 | 6 | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Eric D. Ashleman | 50 | 9 | Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer | |||
| Denise R. Cade | 55 | 2 | Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | |||
| Daniel J. Salliotte | 51 | 13 | Senior Vice President-Corporate Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions and Treasury | |||
| Michael J. Yates | 52 | 12 | Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer | |||
| Jeffrey D. Bucklew | 47 | 6 | Senior Vice President-Chief Human Resources Officer | |||
| James MacLennan | 54 | 6 | Senior Vice President-Chief Information Officer |
Mr. Silvernail has served as Chief Executive Officer since August 2011 and as Chairman of the Board since January 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Silvernail was Vice President-Group Executive Health & Science Technologies, Global Dispensing and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products from January 2011 to August 2011. From February 2010 to December 2010, Mr. Silvernail was Vice President-Group Executive Health & Sciences Technologies and Global Dispensing. Mr. Silvernail joined IDEX in January 2009 as Vice President-Group Executive Health & Science Technologies.
Mr. Grogan has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since January 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Grogan served as Vice President of Finance, Operations from July 2015 through January 2017. From January 2012 through July 2015, Mr. Grogan was Vice President-Finance for the Company’s Health & Science Technologies and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segments.
Mr. Ashleman has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since July 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Ashleman served as the Vice President-Group Executive of the Company’s Health & Science Technologies and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segments from January 2014 through July 2015 and President-Group Executive of the Company’s Fire & Safety/Diversified Products segment from 2011 through January 2014. Mr. Ashleman joined IDEX in 2008 as the President of Gast Manufacturing.
Ms. Cade has served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since joining IDEX in October 2015. Prior to joining IDEX, Ms. Cade was Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer for SunCoke Energy, Inc. from March 2011 to October 2015 and held various roles at PPG Industries before joining SunCoke.
Mr. Salliotte has served as Senior Vice President-Corporate Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions and Treasury since February 2011. Mr. Salliotte joined IDEX in October 2004 as Vice President-Strategy and Business Development.
Mr. Yates has served as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since February 2010, and served as interim Chief Financial Officer from September 2016 to December 2016. Mr. Yates joined IDEX as Vice President-Controller in October 2005.
Mr. Bucklew has served as the Senior Vice President-Chief Human Resources Officer since joining IDEX in March 2012. Prior to joining IDEX, Mr. Bucklew served as the Vice President of Human Resources for Accretive Health from March 2009 to March 2012.
Mr. MacLennan has served as the Senior Vice President-Chief Information Officer since joining IDEX in March 2012. Prior to joining IDEX, Mr. MacLennan had a dual role as CIO for Pactiv LLC and Vice President of IT for Reynolds Services Inc.
The Company’s executive officers are elected at a meeting of the Board of Directors immediately following the annual meeting of stockholders, and they serve until the meeting of the Board immediately following the next annual meeting of stockholders, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified or until their death, resignation or removal.
Public Filings
Copies of the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports are made available free of charge at www.idexcorp.com as soon as reasonably practicable after being filed electronically with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Our reports are also available free of charge on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Information on the Company’s website is not incorporated into this Form 10-K.