Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
General
We are a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products. Our operations are currently comprised of four segments: Aerospace & Electronics (“A&E”), Process Flow Technologies (“PFT”), Payment & Merchandising Technologies (“P&MT”), and Engineered Materials (“EM”). Our primary end markets include aerospace, defense and space, process industries, non-residential and municipal construction, payment automation solutions, banknote design and production, along with a wide range of general industrial and certain consumer related end markets.
We have been committed to the highest standards of business conduct since inception in 1855 when our founder, R.T. Crane, resolved “to conduct my business in the strictest honesty and fairness; to avoid all deception and trickery; to deal fairly with both customers and competitors; to be liberal and just toward employees; and to put my whole mind upon the business.”
Our strategy is to grow earnings and cash flow by focusing on the manufacturing of highly engineered industrial products for specific markets where our scale is a relative advantage, and where we can compete based on our proprietary and differentiated technology, our deep vertical expertise, and our responsiveness to unique and diverse customer needs. We continuously evaluate our portfolio, pursue acquisitions that complement our existing businesses and selectively divest businesses where appropriate. We strive to foster a performance-based culture focused on productivity and continuous improvement, to attract and retain a committed management team whose interests are directly aligned with those of our shareholders, and to maintain a focused, efficient corporate structure.
We operate a comprehensive set of business processes, philosophies and operational excellence tools to drive continuous improvement throughout our businesses (collectively, the Crane Business System). Beginning with a core value of integrity, we incorporate “Voice of the Customer” teachings (specific processes designed to capture our customers’ requirements) and a broad range of tools into a disciplined strategy deployment process to continuously improve safety, quality, delivery, cost and growth. An embedded intellectual capital development process helps ensure that we attract, develop, promote and retain talent to drive continuity and repeatable results.
Recent Transactions
Holding Company Reorganization
On May 16, 2022, Crane Co., a Delaware corporation (“Crane Co.”), completed its previously announced reorganization merger pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 28, 2022 (the “Reorganization Agreement”), by and among Crane Co., Crane Holdings, Co., a Delaware corporation (“Crane Holdings”), and Crane Transaction Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and, as of immediately prior to the consummation of such merger, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Holdings (“Merger Sub”). The Reorganization Agreement provided for the merger of Crane Co. and Merger Sub, with Crane Co. surviving the merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Holdings (the “Reorganization Merger”).
Following the Reorganization Merger, on May 16, 2022, Crane Co. converted from a Delaware corporation into a Delaware limited liability company named “Crane LLC” (such conversion, together with the Reorganization Merger, the “Reorganization”). Following the Reorganization, substantially all of the assets of Crane LLC were distributed, assigned, transferred, conveyed and delivered to, and certain non-asbestos related liabilities of Crane LLC were assumed by, Crane Holdings. On May 17, 2022, Crane LLC converted from a Delaware limited liability company to a Delaware corporation named “Crane Co.” Subsequently, on May 26, 2022, Crane Co. filed a Certificate of Amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Amendment”) with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, which became effective upon filing, pursuant to which the Crane Co. officially changed its name from “Crane Co.” to “Redco Corporation”. The “Crane Co.” name has been reserved for future use by Crane Holdings.
Divestiture of asbestos-related assets and liabilities
On August 12, 2022, Crane Holdings, Co., Crane Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Holdings, Co., and Redco Corporation (“Redco”), then a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane Company that held asbestos liabilities and related insurance assets, entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Redco Purchase Agreement”) with Spruce Lake Liability Management Holdco LLC (“Redco Buyer”), an unrelated third party and long-term liability management company specializing in the acquisition and management of legacy corporate liabilities whereby Crane Company transferred to Redco Buyer all of the issued and outstanding shares of Redco (the “Redco Sale”). In connection with the Redco Sale, Crane Holdings, Co., on behalf of Crane Company, contributed approximately $550 million in cash to Redco, which was funded by a combination of short-
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term borrowings and cash on hand. As a result of the Redco Sale, all asbestos obligations and liabilities, related insurance assets and associated deferred tax assets have been removed from Crane Holdings, Co.’s consolidated balance sheets effective August 12, 2022. A loss on the divestiture of asbestos-related assets and liabilities of $162.4 million was recognized in the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Sale of Crane Supply
On April 8, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement to sell the Crane Supply business for CAD 380 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis. Subsequent to net working capital and other closing adjustments, the sale closed on May 31, 2022 for CAD 402 million. In August 2022, the Company received CAD 5 million related to a final working capital adjustment. The Company recognized a total gain on sale of $232.5 million.
Pending Separation
On March 30, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors unanimously approved a plan to pursue a separation into two independent, publicly-traded companies (the “Separation”), Crane Company and Crane NXT, Co. Upon completion of the pending Separation, Crane Holdings, Co. will be renamed “Crane NXT, Co.” and will continue to operate our Payment & Merchandising Technologies segment. The new company distributed to our stockholders in the Separation, Crane Company, will hold our Aerospace & Electronics and Process Flow Technologies global growth platforms, as well as our Engineered Materials segment. The Separation is expected to occur through a tax-free distribution of all of the outstanding shares of Crane Company common stock to holders of our common stock and is expected to be completed in April, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions and final approval by Crane Holdings, Co.’s Board of Directors. On February 7, 2023, the SEC declared effective the registration statement of Crane Company on Form 10. Each of our stockholders will receive one share of Crane Company common stock for every one share of our common stock held on March 23, 2023, the record date for the distribution.
For additional information regarding the Separation, including risk factors, see the Information Statement of Crane Company, filed as Exhibit 99.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement on Form 10 filed by Crane Company with the SEC on January 23, 2023.
Termination of Agreement to Sell Engineered Materials
On May 16, 2021, we entered into an agreement to sell the Engineered Materials segment to Grupo Verzatec S.A. de C.V. (“Verzatec”) for $360 million on a cash-free and debt-free basis. In the second quarter of 2021, the assets and liabilities of the segment were classified as held for sale. On May 26, 2022, Verzatec terminated the sale agreement and paid $7.5 million to the Company in termination fees, which is presented within Miscellaneous income, net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. As such, as of June 30, 2022 the Engineered Materials segment is no longer classified as assets held for sale and is presented herein as continuing operations for all periods presented.
Reportable Segments
For additional information on recent business developments and other information about us and our business, please refer to the information set forth under the captions, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in Part II, Item 7 of this report, as well as in Part II, Item 8 under Note 3, “Segment Information,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for sales, operating profit and assets employed by each segment.
Aerospace & Electronics
The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts, primarily for the commercial aerospace, and the military aerospace, defense and space markets. The commercial market and military market accounted for 57% and 43%, respectively, of total segment sales in 2022. Sales to original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") and aftermarket customers were 72% and 28%, respectively, in 2022.
We provide mission critical systems that require high reliability and high accuracy, such as pressure sensors for aircraft engine control, aircraft braking systems for fighter jets, power conversion solutions for spacecraft and lubrication systems for the harshest and most hazardous environmental conditions. Crane has differentiated proprietary technology and know-how supporting many of the fundamental technologies that are supporting solutions where we are often sole source in the areas where we compete, with a track record for performance, reliability and continued innovation. A&E’s integrated capabilities include the following:
• Power Solutions: Provides enabling technology to accelerate electrification of air, land, space and sea vehicles and systems.
• Sensing Systems: Provides components and systems for condition and position sensing, and pressure and flow measurement, with high-accuracy, reliability and engineering to excel in rugged aerospace environments.
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• Fluid & Thermal Management: Designs and manufactures positive displacement pumps, centrifugal pumps and true mass flowmeters for aerospace and defense applications.
• Landing Systems: Provides hydraulic and electric brake control systems with antiskid and autobrake functionality, as well as electronic and hydraulic subsystems for landing gear control.
• Microwave Solutions: Designs and manufactures high-performance RF and IF components and millimeter-wave systems and subsystems for defense, space and commercial end-use customers.
A&E has a solid long term growth profile driven by positions on market leading platforms, recent new program wins and continued investment in technology readiness. The segment is also positioned to benefit from underlying market growth driven by increasing new commercial aircraft deliveries, air passenger travel growth, defense investment, ongoing maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations (“MRO”) requirements and emerging applications in the space market, as well as a strong trend driving greater electrification for aerospace and defense applications. Our unique position to drive sustained growth is driven by differentiated technology investment focused on high-growth market segments, including Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations, next-generation aircraft engines, advanced ground and sea-based radar systems, as well as high-power and bi-directional power conversion for numerous emerging commercial and military applications, including more-electric and hybrid-electric ground vehicles and hybrid-electric and pure electric-propulsion aircraft.
Facilities are located in the United States, Taiwan, and France.
Process Flow Technologies
The Process Flow Technologies segment is a provider of highly engineered fluid handling equipment for mission critical applications that require high reliability. The segment is comprised of Process Valves and Related Products, Pumps and Systems and Commercial Valves.
• Process Valves and Related Products: Manufactures a wide range of on/off isolation valves, including check valves, sleeved plug valves, lined valves, process ball valves, high performance butterfly valves, bellows sealed globe valves, aseptic and industrial diaphragm valves and multi / quarter-turn valves actuation. Other related products include lined pipe, fittings and hoses, air operated diaphragm and peristaltic pumps, instrumentation and sampling systems, valve positioning and control systems, valve diagnostic and calibration systems. Across the portfolio, the primary focus is on chemical, pharmaceutical and general industrial end markets. Manufacturing facilities, along with sales and service centers, are located across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
• Pumps and Systems: Manufactures pumps products for water and wastewater applications, primarily in the United States municipal and industrial markets.
• Commercial Valves: Manufactures valves and related products for the non-residential construction, gas utility and municipal markets. The primary geographies served by the manufacturing operations are the United Kingdom, the Middle East and continental Europe.
Our portfolio strategically targets the higher growth and less cyclical chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater and pharmaceutical industries. We expect these industries to be outsized growth segments of the market, driven by investment in sustainability and clean energy, aging infrastructure, tightening wastewater regulations and an aging population with a growing demand for healthcare.
Crane has a strong track record of innovation and being a pioneer in the industry, “writing the book” on the flow of fluids with Technical Paper 410, which is still used as a definitive authority on the topic for engineers, professionals and other practitioners. By focusing on accelerating the rate of innovation through R&D investment, we have driven incremental market capture and significantly improved new product sales vitality to support long term profitable growth.
Payment & Merchandising Technologies
The Payment & Merchandising Technologies segment consists of Crane Payment Innovations (“CPI”) and Crane Currency.
CPI provides electronic equipment and associated software leveraging extensive and proprietary core capabilities with various detection and sensing technologies for applications including payment verification and authentication. CPI also provides automation solutions, field service solutions, and remote diagnostics and productivity enhancing software solutions. Key R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Switzerland, and Germany, with additional sales offices across the world. Crane Currency is a pioneer in advanced, proprietary micro-optics technology
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for securing physical products. It provides a broad portfolio of engaging visual effects in features that aid in verification, thereby increasing the level of security and public trust in the authenticity of products including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products. Additionally, Crane Currency has provided banknote substrate to the U.S. Government since 1879, and today, customers for its advanced technology include more than 50 central banks around the world, and a growing number of consumer and industrial companies. Facilities are located in the United States, Sweden and Malta.
Engineered Materials
The Engineered Materials segment manufactures fiberglass-reinforced plastic ("FRP") panels and coils, primarily for use in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles ("RVs"), and in commercial and industrial buildings applications, with some additional applications including trailers and other transportation-related products. Engineered Materials sells the majority of its products directly to RV, trailer, and truck manufacturers, and it uses distributors and retailers to serve the commercial and industrial construction markets. Manufacturing facilities are located in the United States.
Other Matters Relating to Our Business as a Whole
Competitive Conditions
Our businesses participate in markets that are highly competitive. Because of the diversity of products manufactured and sold, our businesses typically have a different set of competitors in each geographic area and end market in which they participate. Accordingly, it is not possible to estimate the number of competitors, or precise market share; however, we believe that we are a principal competitor in most of our markets. Our primary basis of competition is providing high quality products, with technological differentiation, at competitive prices, with superior customer service and timely delivery.
Our products are sold into primary end markets which include aerospace, defense and space, process industries, non-residential and municipal construction, payment automation solutions, banknote design and production, along with a wide range of general industrial and certain consumer related end markets. As such, our revenues depend on numerous unpredictable factors, including changes in market demand, general economic conditions, customer capital spending, timing and amount of contract awards and credit availability. Since our products are sold in such a wide variety of markets, we do not believe that we can reliably quantify or predict the potential effects of changes in any of the aforementioned factors. Our engineering and product development activities are focused on improving existing products, customizing existing products for particular customer requirements, as well as the development of new products. We own numerous patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and licenses to intellectual property, no one of which is of such importance that termination would materially affect our business. From time to time, however, we do engage in litigation to protect our intellectual property.
Raw Materials
Our manufacturing operations employ a wide variety of raw materials, including steel, copper, cast iron, electronic components, aluminum, plastics, cotton, flax and various petroleum-based products. We purchase raw materials from a large number of independent sources around the world. Although market forces have at times , including in 2022, caused increases in the costs of key raw materials, there have been no raw materials shortages that have had a material adverse impact on our business. We believe that we will generally be able to obtain adequate supplies of major raw material requirements or reasonable substitutes at acceptable costs. For a further discussion of risks related to raw materials, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
Government Contracts
We have agreements relating to the sale of products to government entities, primarily involving products in our Aerospace & Electronics and Payment & Merchandising Technologies segments and, to a lesser extent, our Process Flow Technologies segment. As a result, we are subject to various statutes and regulations that apply to companies doing business with the government. The laws and regulations governing government contracts differ from those governing private contracts. For example, some government contracts require disclosure of cost and pricing data and impose certain sourcing conditions that are not applicable to private contracts. Our failure to comply with these laws could result in suspension of these contracts, criminal or civil sanctions, administrative penalties and fines or suspension or debarment from government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time. For a further discussion of risks related to compliance with government contracting requirements, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
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Environmental Compliance and Climate Change
We are regulated by federal, state and international environmental laws governing our use, transport and disposal of substances and control of emissions. Our manufacturing facilities generally do not produce significant volumes or quantities of byproducts that would be considered hazardous waste or otherwise harmful to the environment if not properly handled or maintained. Accordingly, continued compliance with these existing laws has not had a material impact on our capital expenditures or earnings.
However, we occasionally engage in environmental remediation activities as required by federal and state laws. In addition, we may be exposed to other environmental costs including participation in the characterization and remediation of federal Superfund sites, or analogous state sites. When it is reasonably probable we will pay remediation costs at a site, and those costs can be reasonably estimated, we accrue a liability for such future costs with a related charge against our earnings. For further discussion of environmental related risks, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” For further discussion of our environmental matters, please refer to Part II, Item 8 under Note 12, “Commitments and Contingencies,” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Human Capital Resources
To remain a leading manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products, it is important that we continue to attract, develop, and retain exceptional talent across our global enterprise.
The Company has a diverse global workforce located in 34 countries, spanning six continents. At December 31, 2022, we employed approximately 11,000 persons worldwide, of which substantially all were full time employees. In the United States, we employed approximately 5,900 people across 100 locations. At December 31, 2022, approximately 4% of our U.S. employees were represented by a union under a collective bargaining agreement. Employees based in some foreign countries may, from time to time, be represented by works councils or unions or subject to collective bargaining agreements. We consider our relations with our employees to be good.
To be an employer of choice and maintain the strength of our workforce, we consistently assess the current business environment and labor market to refine our compensation and benefits programs and other resources available to our associates. We are committed to developing our associates personally and professionally by leveraging a structured and disciplined Intellectual Capital (“IC”) process. Our regular IC cadence includes constructive reviews and various talent and leadership development initiatives conducted by the executive management team and provided throughout an associate’s career. We are also committed to an inclusive and high-performance culture at all levels of the organization, based on trust and respect.
The manufacture and production of our products requires the use of a variety of tools, equipment, materials, and supplies. At Crane, we are strongly committed to the health and safety of our associates and strive to continuously adhere to global regulatory safety requirements and to reduce the incidence and severity of job-related injuries. We utilize strict compliance protocols, training programs, effective risk management practices, and sound science in our operations to minimize risk to our associates.
Beginning in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented flexible remote work options and health and safety protocols and procedures across all of our global offices, manufacturing and distribution facilities to ensure the safety and well-being of our associates. These protocols included proper hygiene, social distancing, mask use and temperature screenings and other health and safety standards as required by federal, state and local government agencies, taking into consideration guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S., and other similar public health authorities in our international locations. Today, we continue to deploy various work options and protocols in response to the significantly reduced health risks compared to the initial and early period of the pandemic.
For a discussion of risks related to employee relations, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
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Available Information
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and amendments to these reports, proxy statements and other information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov.
We also make our filings available free of charge through our Internet website, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically with, or furnishing such material, to the SEC. Also posted on our website are our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Standards for Director Independence, Crane Holdings, Co. Code of Ethics and the charters and a brief description of each of the Audit Committee, the Management Organization and Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. These items are available in the “Investors – Corporate Governance” section of our website at www.craneco.com. The content of our website is not part of this report.
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