Note 4 - PENSION PLANS

Defined contribution plans cover employees at seven different manufacturing or administrative locations and provide for contributions ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent of covered employees’ salaries or wages and totaled $845,000 in 2000, $695,000 in 1999, and $733,000 in 1998. Multiemployer plans cover employees at two different manufacturing locations and provide for contributions to a union administered defined benefit pension plan. Amounts charged to pension cost and contributed to the plans in 2000, 1999, and 1998 totaled $771,000, $1,136,000, and $1,267,000, respectively.

The Company has defined benefit pension plans covering the majority of U.S. employees. The benefits under the plans are based on years of service and salary levels. Certain plans covering hourly employees provide benefits of stated amounts for each year of service. In addition, the Company also sponsors an unfunded supplemental retirement plan to provide senior management with benefits in excess of limits under the federal tax law and increased benefits to reflect a service adjustment factor. Net periodic pension cost for defined benefit plans included the following components for the year ended December 31, 2000, 1999, and 1998.

Changes in benefit obligation and plan assets, and a reconciliation of the funded status at December 31, 2000
and 1999, are as follows:

 

The Company has recorded the following amounts pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 87, “Employers’ Accounting for Pensions,” to reflect the minimum pension obligation at December 31:

Presented below are the projected benefit obligation, accumulated benefit obligation, and fair value of plan assets for the pension plans with accumulated benefit obligations in excess of plan assets at December 31:

The weighted-average discount rate and rate of increase in future compensation levels used in determining the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation together with the expected long-term rate of return on assets is presented below.

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