NOTE 11 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

The Company has been named as a defendant in lawsuits alleging personal injury from exposure to asbestos allegedly contained in, or accompanying, products made by the Company.  The Company is a co-defendant with numerous other defendants in these lawsuits and intends to vigorously defend itself against these claims.  The claims in the Company’s current lawsuits are similar to those made in previous asbestos-related suits that named the Company as defendant, which either were dismissed when it was shown that the Company had not supplied products to the plaintiffs’ places of work or were settled for immaterial amounts.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company was subject to the claims noted above, as well as other legal proceedings and potential claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of business.

Although the outcome of the lawsuits, legal proceedings or potential claims to which the Company is, or may become, a party to cannot be determined and an estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss cannot be made, management does not believe that the outcomes, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or cash flows.