ALLIENT INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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Form 10-K

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(Mark One)

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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (716) 242-8634

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ◻ No ⌧

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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 ⌧

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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 ⌧ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ⌧ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

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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. ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☒ No ◻

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ⌧

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The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, computed by reference to the average bid and asked prices of such stock as of the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was approximately $270,603,764.

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Number of shares of the only class of Common Stock outstanding: 9,772,519 as of March 10, 2021.

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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

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Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated into Part III.

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Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance, or achievements, and may contain the word “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “should” or words or phrases of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the expected results described in the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include those associated with: the domestic and foreign general business and economic conditions in the markets we serve, including political and currency risks and adverse changes in local legal and regulatory environments; the severity, magnitude and duration of the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, including impacts of the pandemic and of businesses’ and governments’ responses to the pandemic on our operations and personnel, and on commercial activity and demand across our and our customers’ businesses, and on global supply chains; our inability to predict the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and related impacts will continue to adversely impact our business operations, financial performance, results of operations, financial position, the prices of our securities and the achievement of our strategic objectives; the introduction of new technologies and the impact of competitive products; the ability to protect the Company’s intellectual property; our ability to sustain, manage or forecast our growth and product acceptance to accurately align capacity with demand; the continued success of our customers and the ability to realize the full amounts reflected in our order backlog as revenue; the loss of significant customers or the enforceability of the Company’s contracts in connection with a merger, acquisition, disposition, bankruptcy, or otherwise; our ability to meet the technical specifications of our customers; the performance of subcontractors or suppliers and the continued availability of parts and components; changes in government regulations; the availability of financing and our access to capital markets, borrowings, or financial transactions to hedge certain risks; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel who can design new applications and products for the motion industry; the ability to implement our corporate strategies designed for growth and improvement in profits including to identify and consummate favorable acquisitions to support external growth and the development of new technologies; the ability to successfully integrate an acquired business into our business model without substantial costs, delays, or problems; our ability to control costs, including the establishment and operation of low cost manufacturing and component sourcing capabilities; and the additional risk factors discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part I of this report. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict the occurrence of those matters or the manner in which they may affect us. The Company has no obligation or intent to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The Company’s expectations, beliefs and projections are believed to have a reasonable basis; however, the Company makes no assurance that expectations, beliefs or projections will be achieved.

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PART I

All dollar amounts are in thousands except share and per share amounts.

Item 1. Business.

OVERVIEW

Allied Motion Technologies Inc. (“Allied Motion” or the “Company” or “we” or “our”) is a global company that designs, manufactures and sells precision and specialty controlled motion components and systems used in a broad range of industries.  Our target markets include Vehicle, Medical, Aerospace & Defense (A&D), and Industrial. We are headquartered in Amherst, NY, and have global operations and sell to markets across the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. We are known worldwide for our expertise in electro-magnetic, mechanical and electronic motion technology. Our products include brush and brushless DC (BLDC) motors, brushless servo and torque motors, coreless DC motors, integrated brushless motor-drives, gearmotors, gearing, modular digital servo drives, motion controllers, incremental and absolute optical encoders, active and passive filters for power quality and harmonic issues, and other controlled motion-related products.

Allied Motion was established in 1962 under the laws of Colorado and operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia-Pacific. We are headquartered in Amherst, New York and the mailing address of our corporate headquarters is 495 Commerce Drive, Suite 3, Amherst, New York 14228. The telephone number at this location is (716) 242-8634. Our website is www.alliedmotion.com. We trade under the ticker symbol “AMOT” on the NASDAQ exchange.

The Company maintains a website at www.alliedmotion.com. We make available, free of charge on or through our website our annual reports on Form 10 K, quarterly reports on Form 10 Q, current reports on Form 8 K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such materials to the SEC.

We have a Code of Ethics for our chief executive officer and president and senior financial officers regarding their obligations in the conduct of Company affairs. We also have a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct that is applicable to all directors, officers and employees. The Codes are available on our website. We intend to disclose on our website any amendment to, or waiver of, the Codes that would otherwise be required to be disclosed under the rules of the SEC and the Nasdaq Global Market. A copy of both Codes is also available in print to any stockholder upon written request addressed to Allied Motion Technologies Inc., 495 Commerce Drive, Suite 3, Amherst, NY 14228 2313, Attention: Secretary.

IMPACT OF COVID-19

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted, and may continue to result, in significant disruptions to the United States (“U.S.”) and global economies and has, and may continue to, adversely affect our business, including our supply chain and operations. We have also experienced, and expect to continue to experience, temporary reductions in customer demand in some of our served markets. During 2020, the impact of social distancing measures, the reduced operational status of our suppliers and reductions in production at certain facilities adversely impacted our operations. We expect general business uncertainty will continue to negatively impact demand in several of our served markets into 2021. During 2020, the impact of COVID-19 on our operations was most pronounced in areas that serve our Vehicle, Industrial and Aerospace & Defense markets. However, during the last half of 2020, we experienced a solid recovery in our Vehicle market as order activity rebounded.

In response to the worldwide outbreak, we have taken proactive, aggressive action to protect the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers, and communities. We enacted rigorous safety measures in all of our sites, including implementing social distancing protocols, requiring work from home for those employees that do not need to be physically present on the manufacturing floor or in a lab to perform their work, suspending travel, implementing temperature checks at the entrances to our facilities, extensively and frequently disinfecting our workspaces and providing masks and other protective equipment to those employees who must be physically present. We implemented these measures on a worldwide basis and are continuing to monitor and act in accordance with government authorities’

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requirements and recommendations. We will continue to act in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, suppliers and communities.

We responded to the outbreak with a recognition that our Company provides essential and important products, including those that our customers rely on to address this crisis. We manufacture and deliver critical controlled motion components, including electronic drives, motors and control assemblies to manufacturers of medical equipment including respirators, ventilators, infusion pumps, medical fluid pumps and other breathing assist equipment required to care for patients with respiratory issues including those caused as the result of COVID-19 pandemic. We are a long-term, qualified supplier to leading medical device manufacturers of ventilators and respirators around the world.

Global demand and capacity to produce ventilators increased significantly in 2020 and we continue to be a reliable supplier of the critical controlled motion components it requires. The Company has rapidly deployed resources to increase production capacity to meet the surge in demand for certain types of medical products related to combatting the COVID-19 virus. We also continue to provide solutions to suppliers of other types of medical equipment, including surgical tools and equipment, surgical robots, diagnostic equipment, test equipment, patient mobility and rehabilitation equipment, hospital beds and mobile equipment carts.

Our worldwide locations are considered to be essential suppliers to our customers and therefore most of our locations have remained substantially operational during the outbreak while implementing enhanced safety procedures. Our facility in China was shut down for a small portion of the first quarter of 2020 but since then has continued to be fully operational. Our facility in Reynosa, Mexico experienced a brief shutdown in the second quarter of 2020 that did not continue into the remainder of the year. These facilities are currently fully operational.

We have taken actions since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen our liquidity and financial condition. In February 2020, we renewed and increased our revolving credit facility (“Amended Revolving Facility”) to $225 million through February 2025 (refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations from our consolidated financial statements). Through this amendment we lowered our cost of debt and secured more favorable covenants. While part of our pre-COVID-19 planning, this liquidity preserves our financial flexibility during the pandemic. During 2020, we paid down nearly $17 million of debt while maintaining a robust cash balance to cover our short-term needs. We believe that our cash flows from operations and borrowing capacity are sufficient to support our short and long-term liquidity needs.

To conserve cash while supporting growth plans, we continue to align variable costs with demand, maintain key engineering capabilities, restrict hiring activity and wage increases and tightly control discretionary spending. The Company continues to closely monitor events and conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impact on all forms of incentive compensation.

The extent of the future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance will depend on future developments on a global scale, including the duration, spread and intensity of the pandemic and the successful distribution and acceptance of vaccines for COVID-19, all of which are uncertain and difficult to predict. We will continue to proactively respond to the situation and will take further actions as warranted to alter our business operations as necessary.

ACQUISITION

Dynamic Controls Group: On March 7, 2020, we acquired Dynamic Controls Group (“Dynamic Controls”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Invacare Corporation, a market-leading designer and manufacturer of equipment for the medical mobility and rehabilitation markets. Dynamic Controls provides the Company with market leading electronic control solutions and products that further strengthen our medical market position, as well as enable us to further develop higher level solutions with embedded electronics across our other major served markets. The acquisition of Dynamic Controls allows us to build out our ability to leverage controlled motion system solutions in a wide range of markets.

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MARKETS AND APPLICATIONS

One of the Company’s growth initiatives includes product line platform development to meet the emerging needs of its selected target markets.  The platform development emphasizes a combination of technologies to create increased value solutions for customers.  The emphasis on new opportunities has allowed the Company to evolve from being an individual component provider to becoming a solutions provider whereby the new opportunities utilize multiple of the Company’s technologies in a system solution approach.  The Company believes this approach will allow it to provide increased value to its customers and improved margins for the Company.  Our strong financial condition, along with Allied Systematic Tools (“AST”) continuous improvement initiatives in quality, delivery, and cost provide a positive outlook for the continued long-term growth and profitability of the Company.

The Company’s growth strategy is focused on becoming the recognized controlled motion solution leader in its selected target markets by further developing its products and services platform to utilize multiple Allied Motion technologies to create increased value solutions for its customers.  Our strategy further defines Allied Motion as being a “technology/know-how” driven company and to be successful, the Company continues to invest in its areas of excellence.

The Company sells its products into a subset of the following broad markets:

Vehicle: electronic power steering and drive-by-wire applications to electrically replace, or provide power-assist to, a variety of mechanical linkages, traction / drive systems and pumps, automated and remotely guided power steering systems, various high performance vehicle applications, actuation systems (e.g., lifts, slide-outs, covers, etc.), HVAC systems, solutions to improve energy efficiency of vehicles while idling and alternative fuel systems such as LPG, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles. Vehicle types include off- and on-road construction and agricultural equipment; trucks, buses, boats, utility, recreational (e.g., RVs, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles), specialty automotive, automated and remotely guided vehicles).

Medical: surgical robots, prosthetics, electric powered surgical hand pieces, programmable pumps to meter and administer infusions associated with chemotherapy, pain control and antibiotics, nuclear imaging systems, radiology equipment, automated pharmacy dispensing equipment, kidney dialysis equipment, respiratory ventilators, heart pumps, and patient handling equipment (e.g., wheel chairs, scooters, stair lifts, patient lifts, transport tables and hospital beds). The Company’s sales generated from its March 2020 acquisition of Dynamic Controls are included within this market.

Aerospace & Defense: inertial guided missiles, mid-range smart munitions systems, weapons systems on armed personnel carriers, unmanned vehicles, security and access control, camera systems, door access control, airport screening and scanning devices.

Industrial: products are used in factory automation, specialty equipment, material handling equipment, commercial grade floor polishers and cleaners, commercial building equipment such as welders, cable pullers and assembly tools, the handling, inspection, and testing of components and final products such as PCs, high definition printers, tunable lasers and spectrum analyzers for the fiber optic industry, test and processing equipment for the semiconductor manufacturing industry, power quality products to filter distortion caused by variable frequency drives and other power electronic equipment.

OTHER FACTORS IMPACTING OUR OPERATIONS

Sales and Marketing

We design and develop our products within our Technology Centers and can manufacture these products in various facilities located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia-Pacific. We also operate Allied Motion Solution Centers that evaluate and focus all Allied Motion products to create integrated controlled motion solutions for our customers. We sell our products and solutions globally to a broad spectrum of customers through our own direct sales force and authorized manufacturers’ representatives and distributors. Our customers include end users and original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”).

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Allied Motion Sales Organization:

The Company’s sales organization continues to evolve with the goal of becoming the best sales and service force in its industry. Through the One Team approach for providing controlled motion solutions and components that best address customers’ needs, the Company has broadened the knowledge and skills of its direct sales force, while creating sales and service support in its Solution Centers. This enables the entire sales organization to be capable of selling all products designed, developed and produced by Allied Motion globally. The Company’s primary channels to market include the direct sales force and external authorized Sales Representatives, Agents and Distributors that provide field coverage in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Canada, Israel and the Americas. While the majority of the Company’s sales are directly to OEMs, it is working to expand its market reach through Distribution channels.

Allied Motion Solution Centers:

Allied Motion has Solution Centers in China, Europe and North America that enable the design and sale of individual component products as well as integrated controlled motion systems that utilize multiple Allied Motion products and technology. In addition to providing sales and applications support, the solution center function may include final assembly, integration and tests as required to support customers within their geographic region.

Sales Backlog:

Backlog as of December 31, 2020 was $141,344 compared with $124,950 as of December 31, 2019. The time to convert the majority of backlog to sales is approximately three to six months. Given the short product lead times, we do not believe that the amount of our backlog of orders is a reliable indication of our future sales. We may on occasion receive multi-year orders from customers for product to be delivered on demand over that time frame. There is no assurance that the Company’s backlog from these customers will be converted into revenue.

Major Customer

Sales to one customer were 15% and 16% of total sales in 2020 and 2019, respectively. We believe the diversification of the target markets we serve reduces our exposure to negative developments with any single customer.

Competitive Environment

Our products and solutions are sold into the global market with a large and diverse group of competitors that vary by product, geography, industry and application. We believe the controlled motion market is highly fragmented with many competitors, some of which are substantially larger and have greater resources than Allied Motion. We believe our competitive advantages include our electro-magnetic, mechanical and electronic controlled motion expertise, the breadth of our motor technologies and our ability to integrate these technologies with our encoders, gearing, power electronics, digital control technologies and network/feedback communications capabilities, as well as our global presence. Unlike many of our competitors, we are unique in our ability to provide custom-engineered controlled motion solutions that integrate the products we manufacture such as embedded or external electrical control solutions with our motors. We compete on technological capabilities, quality, reliability, service responsiveness, delivery speed and price. Our competitors include Altra Industrial Motion Corp., Ametek, Inc., Parker Hannifin Corporation and other smaller competitors.

Availability of Parts and Raw Materials

We purchase critical raw materials from a limited number of suppliers due to the technically challenging requirements of the supplied product and/or the lengthy process required to qualify these materials both internally and with our customers. We cannot quickly establish additional or replacement suppliers for these materials in some cases because of these rigid requirements. For these critical raw materials, we maintain minimum safety stock levels and partner with suppliers through contract to help ensure the continuity of supply. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have faced and are facing increased operational challenges from workplace disruptions and restrictions on the movement of raw materials and goods, both at our own facilities and at our customers and suppliers, leading to increases in prices and freight costs. As we seek to secure supply during these uncertain times, we have increased the levels of certain inventories to put us in the position to meet the needs of our customers.

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Patents, Trademarks, Licenses, Franchises and Concessions

We hold a number of patents and trademarks for components manufactured by our various subsidiaries, and we have several patents pending on new products recently developed, which are considered to be of significance.

Working Capital Items

We currently maintain inventory levels adequate for our short-term needs based upon present levels of production. We consider the component parts of our different product lines to be generally available and current suppliers to be reliable and capable of satisfying anticipated needs under normal conditions. As discussed herein, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced increased costs and have purposely increased certain inventories to deal with global supply chain issues.

Engineering and Development Activities

Our engineering and development (E&D) activities are for the development of new products, enhancement of the functionality, effectiveness and reliability of current products, to redesign products to reduce the cost of manufacturing of products or to expand the types of applications for which our products and solutions can be used. Our engineering and development expenditures for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $25,487 and $23,086, respectively, or 7.0% of sales in 2020, and 6.2% of sales in 2019. The increase was a result of the Dynamic Controls acquisition. We believe E&D is critical to our success and expect to continue to invest at these levels in the future. Of these expenditures, no material amounts were charged directly to customers, although we record non-recurring engineering charges to certain customers for custom engineering required to develop products that meet the customer’s specifications.

Environmental Issues

No significant pollution or other types of hazardous emission result from the Company’s operations and it is not anticipated that our operations will be materially affected by Federal, State or local provisions concerning environmental controls. Our costs of complying with environmental, health and safety requirements have not been material.

We do not believe that existing or pending climate change legislation, regulation, or international treaties or accords are reasonably likely to have a material effect in the foreseeable future on our business or markets that we serve, nor on our results of operations, capital expenditures or financial position. We will continue to monitor emerging developments in this area.

International Operations

Our operations outside the United States are conducted through wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries and are located primarily in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Our international operations are subject to the usual risks inherent in international trade, including currency fluctuations, local government contracting regulations, local governmental restrictions on foreign investment and repatriation of profits, exchange controls, regulation of the import and distribution of foreign goods, as well as changing economic and social conditions in countries in which our operations are conducted. The information required by this item is set forth in Note 13, Segment Information, of the notes to consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this report.

Human Capital

Employment

At December 31, 2020, we employed approximately 1,770 full-time employees worldwide. Of those, approximately 48% are located in North America, 40% are located in Europe and the remainder are located in Asia-Pacific.

Employee Health and Safety

The Company complies in all respects with the national and local laws of the jurisdictions in which we operate regarding workers safety and health. The Company strives to continuously improve employee safety and health through consistent

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measurement and reporting on progress and leading indicators. It has programs that emphasize that each employee in the organization is responsible for safety in the workplace. The Company provides a comprehensive safety program that focuses on a zero-incident mindset by providing ongoing training opportunities and review of safety activities and initiative. This clearly visible effort encourages employee engagement and active management and leadership involvement.

Human Capital Management

The Company believes that its workforce is one of the Company’s greatest assets, and it has a proactive human capital management and talent development program. The Compensation Committee recognizes human capital as a key driver of long-term value and is responsible for oversight of the Company’s human capital management and talent development programs.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Company is committed to apply fair labor practices while respecting the national and local laws of the countries and communities where we have operations. The Company is committed to providing equal opportunity in all aspects of employment. The Company does not engage in or tolerate unlawful conduct, including discrimination, intimidation, or harassment. The Company strives to establish relationships with key organizations and associations that foster diversity and inclusion initiatives in the communities where it is located. The Company is committed to identifying a talented and innovative workforce by building a diverse and inclusive pipeline of talent. The Compensation Committee is responsible for the oversight of the Company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Ethical Business Practices

The Company is dedicated to conducting its business with integrity and responsibility. The Company promotes honest and ethical conduct, and the Board has adopted a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct which applies to all employees, directors, and officers. The Company does not tolerate human rights abuses, human trafficking and or slavery, the use of child labor and will not engage or be complicit in any activity that solicits or encourages human rights abuse.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

In the ordinary course of our business, we face various strategic, operating, compliance and financial risks. These risks could have a material impact on our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations. Our most significant risks are set forth below and elsewhere in this Report. These risk factors should be considered in addition to our cautionary comments concerning forward-looking statements in this Report, including statements related to markets for our products and trends in our business that involve a number of risks and uncertainties.

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RISKS RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Our financial condition and results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected by public health issues, including epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has subjected our business, operations, financial performance, cash flows and financial condition to a number of risks, including, but not limited to those discussed below.

Operations-related risks: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have faced and are facing increased operational challenges from the need to protect employee health and safety, workplace disruptions and restrictions on the movement of people, raw materials and goods, both at our own facilities and at our customers and suppliers. For example, we have experienced and will continue to experience incremental operating costs due to increased challenges with our workforce (including as a result of illness, absenteeism or government orders), access to necessary components and supplies, and access to fundamental support services (such as shipping and transportation). The ultimate significance of these disruptions to our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows will depend greatly on how long the disruptions continue. A continued delay of full recovery in our operations, and/or any similar delay with respect to resumption of operations by one or more of our key suppliers, would result in further challenges to our business and may negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.

Customer-related risks: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been and could continue to be changes in our customers’ priorities and practices, as our customers in both the United States and globally confront competing budget priorities and more limited resources. To the extent that COVID-19 continues to impact demand for our products and services and impairs the viability of some of our customers, our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows could be adversely affected, and those impacts could be material.

Other risks: The magnitude and duration of the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to be uncertain. As the pandemic continues to adversely affect portions of our business and our overall operating and financial results, it may also adversely affect our operating and financial results in a manner that is not presently known to us or that we currently do not expect to present significant risks to our operations or financial results. The extent of the pandemic’s effect on our business will depend on future developments, including the duration, spread and intensity of the pandemic and the successful distribution and acceptance of vaccines for COVID-19, all of which are uncertain and difficult to predict.

OPERATIONAL RISKS

Our global sales and operations are subject to a variety of economic, market and financial risks and costs that could affect our profitability and operating results.

We do business around the world and are continuing our strategy of global expansion. Our international sales are primarily to customers in Europe, Canada and Asia-Pacific. In addition, our manufacturing operations, suppliers and employees are located in many places around the world. The future success of our business depends in large part on growth in our sales in non-U.S. markets. Our global operations are subject to numerous financial, legal and operating risks, such as political and economic instability; imposition of trade or foreign exchange restrictions, including in the U.S.; trade protection measures such as the imposition of or increase in tariffs and other trade barriers, including in the U.S.; unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, including in the U.S., prevalence of corruption in certain countries; enforcement of contract and intellectual property rights and compliance with existing and future laws, regulations and policies, including those related to tariffs, investments, taxation, trade controls, product content and performance, employment and repatriation of earnings. In addition, we are affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates, inflation rates and interest rates.

Our growth could suffer if the markets into which we sell our products and services decline.

Our growth depends in part on the growth of the markets which we serve. Any decline or lower than expected growth in our served markets could diminish demand for our products and services, which would adversely affect our financial results. Certain of our businesses operate in industries that may experience periodic, cyclical downturns. Demand for our products and services is also sensitive to changes in customer order patterns, which may be affected by announced price changes, changes in incentive programs, new product introductions and customer inventory levels. Any of these factors

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could adversely affect our growth and results of operations in any given period.

We could experience a failure of a key information technology system, process or site or a breach of information security, including a cybersecurity breach or failure of one or more key information technology systems, networks, processes, associated sites or service providers.

We rely extensively on information technology (“IT”) systems for the storage, processing, and transmission of our electronic, business-related information assets used in or necessary to conduct business. We leverage our internal information technology infrastructures, and those of our business partners, to enable, sustain, and support our global business activities. In addition, we rely on networks and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools and other hardware, software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and/or used by third-parties or their vendors, to assist in conducting our business. The data we store, and process may include customer payment information, personal information concerning our employees, confidential financial information, and other types of sensitive business-related information. Numerous and evolving cybersecurity threats pose potential risks to the security of our IT systems, networks and services, as well as the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our data. In addition, the laws and regulations governing security of data on IT systems is evolving and adding another layer of complexity in the form of new requirements. We have made, and continue to make investments, seeking to address these threats, including monitoring of networks and systems, hiring of experts, employee training and security policies for employees and third-party providers.

The techniques used in these attacks change frequently and may be difficult to detect for periods of time and we may face difficulties in anticipating and implementing adequate preventative measures. While the breaches of our IT systems to date have not been material to our business or results of operations, the costs of attempting to protect IT systems and data will increase, and there can be no assurance that these added security efforts will prevent all breaches of our IT systems or thefts of our data. If our IT systems are damaged or cease to function properly, the networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly, or we or one of our third-party providers suffer a loss or disclosure of our business or stakeholder information due to any number of causes ranging from catastrophic events or power outages to improper data handling or security breaches and our business continuity plans do not effectively address these failures on a timely basis, we may be exposed to potential disruption in operations, loss of customers, reputational, competitive and business harm as well as significant costs from remediation, litigation and regulatory actions.

We are also subject to an increasing number of evolving data privacy and security laws and regulations. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in the imposition of fines, penalties and other costs. The European Union (“EU”) and United Kingdom’s General Data Protection Regulations and the EU’s pending ePrivacy Regulation could disrupt our ability to sell products and solutions or use and transfer data because such activities may not be in compliance with applicable laws.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for information security oversight and is comprised entirely of independent directors. Additionally, three members of the Company’s Board of Directors have relevant information security and cybersecurity experience. As part of their oversight, senior leadership meets with the Audit Committee at least annually to discuss information security and cybersecurity matters. Over the last three years, nominal costs were incurred related to information security breaches, including penalties and settlements. Over the last three years, the Company has experienced one known security breach, which occurred in June 2018. On an annual basis, the Company is audited by an external security services provider to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-171 standards and enhances its security framework based upon the results of those audits. For new associates, and on an annual basis, the Company requires associates to take security awareness training and has an on-going phishing recognition training and testing programs.

We rely on suppliers to provide equipment, components and services, which creates certain risks and uncertainties that may adversely affect our business.

Our business requires that we buy equipment, components and services from third parties. Our reliance on suppliers involves certain risks, including poor quality or an insecure supply chain, which could adversely affect the reliability and reputation of our products; changes in the cost of these purchases due to inflation, exchange rates, tariffs, or other factors; shortages of components, commodities or other materials, which could adversely affect our manufacturing

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efficiencies and ability to make timely delivery.

Any of these uncertainties could adversely affect our profitability and ability to compete. The effect of unavailability or delivery delays would be more severe if associated with our higher volume and more profitable products. Even where substitute sources of supply are available, qualifying the alternate suppliers and establishing reliable supplies could cost more or could result in delays and a loss of sales.

Certain materials and components used in our products are required and qualified to be sourced from a single or a limited number of suppliers. As such, some materials and components could become in short supply resulting in limited availability and/or increased costs. Additionally, we may elect to develop relationships with a single or limited number of suppliers for materials and components that are otherwise generally available, because some customers require extensive certification of suppliers which is a considerable and time consuming undertaking. Although we believe that alternative suppliers are available to supply materials and components to replace those currently used, doing so may require redesign work and would require having those new sources qualified by our customers prior to making use of those new alternatives. Any interruption in the supply from any supplier that serves as a sole source could delay product shipments and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our profits may decline if the price of raw materials rise and we cannot recover the increases from our customers.

We use various raw materials, such as copper, steel, zinc and rare earth magnets, in our manufacturing operations. The prices of these raw materials have been subject to volatility. As a result of price increases, we have generally implemented price surcharges to our customers; however, we may be unable to collect surcharges without suffering reductions in unit volume, revenue and operating income. There can be no assurance that we will be able to fully recover the price increases through surcharges in a timely manner. We are also subject to risks associated with U.S. and foreign legislation and regulations relating to imports, including quotas, duties, tariffs or taxes, and other charges or restrictions on imports, which could adversely affect our operations and our ability to import products at current or increased levels. We cannot predict whether additional U.S. and foreign customs quotas, duties, tariffs, taxes or other charges or restrictions, requirements as to where raw materials must be purchased, or other restrictions on our imports will be imposed upon the importation of our products in the future or adversely modified, or what effect such actions would have on our costs of operations.

We face competition that could harm our business and we may be unable to compete successfully against new entrants and established companies with greater resources.

Competition in connection with the manufacturing of our products may intensify in the future. The market for our technologies is competitive and subject to rapid technological change. We compete globally on the basis of product performance, customer service, availability, reliability, productivity and price. Our competitors may be larger and may have greater financial, operational, economies of scale, personnel, sales, technical and marketing resources than us. Certain of our competitors also may pursue aggressive pricing or product strategies that may cause us to reduce the prices we charge for our original equipment and aftermarket products and services or lose sales. These actions may lead to reduced revenues, lower margins and/or a decline in market share, any of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Quality problems with our products could harm our reputation, erode our competitive advantage and could result in warranty claims and additional costs.

Quality is important to us and our customers, and our products are held to high quality and performance standards. In the event our products fail to meet these standards, our reputation could be harmed, which could damage our competitive advantage, causing us to lose customers and resulting in lower revenues. We generally allow customers to return defective or damaged products for credit, replacement, repair or exchange. We generally warrant that our products will meet customer specifications and will be free from defects in materials and workmanship. We reserve for our exposure to warranty claims based upon recent historical experience and other specific information as it becomes available. However, these reserves may not be adequate to cover future warranty claims and additional warranty costs or inventory write-offs may be incurred which could harm our operating results.

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If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, our ability to operate and grow our company will be in jeopardy.

We are required to hire and retain skilled employees at all levels of our operations in a market where such qualified employees are in high demand and are subject to receiving competing offers. We believe that there is, and will continue to be, competition for qualified personnel in our industry, and there is no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain the personnel necessary for the management and development of our business. The inability to attract or retain employees currently or in the future may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our future success depends in part on the continued service of our engineering and technical personnel and our ability to identify, hire and retain personnel.

Our success will depend in large part upon our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate highly skilled engineering and technical employees. There is currently aggressive competition for employees who have experience in technology and engineering. We may not be able to continue to attract and retain engineers or other qualified technical personnel necessary for the development and growth of our business or to replace personnel who may leave our employ in the future. The failure to retain and recruit key engineering and technical personnel could cause additional expense, potentially reduce the efficiency of our operations and could harm our business.

We depend heavily upon a limited number of customers, and if we lose any of them or they reduce their business with us, we would lose a substantial portion of our revenues.

A significant portion of our revenues and trade receivables are concentrated with a small group of customers. These customers have a variety of suppliers to choose from and therefore can make substantial demands on us, including demands on product pricing and on contractual terms, often resulting in the allocation of risk to us as the supplier. Our ability to maintain strong relationships with our principal customers is essential to our future performance. If we lose a key customer, if any of our key customers reduce their orders of our products or require us to reduce our prices before we are able to reduce costs, if a customer is acquired by one of our competitors or if a key customer suffers financial hardship, our operating results would likely be harmed as well as the collectability of accounts receivable.

If we do not respond to changes in technology, our products may become obsolete and we may experience a loss of customers and lower revenues.

We sell our products to customers in several industries that experience rapid technological changes, new product introductions and evolving industry standards. Without the timely introduction of new products and enhancements, our products and services will likely become technologically obsolete over time and we may lose a significant number of our customers. Our product development efforts may be affected by a number of factors, including our ability to anticipate customer needs, allocate our research and development funding, innovate and develop new products, differentiate our offerings and commercialize new technologies, secure intellectual property protection for our products and manufacture products in a cost-effective manner. We would be harmed if we did not meet customer requirements and expectations. Our inability, for technological or other reasons, to successfully develop and introduce new and innovative products could result in a loss of customers and lower revenues.

We face the challenge of accurately aligning our capacity with our demand.

We have experienced capacity constraints and longer lead times for certain products in times of growing demand and have also experienced idle capacity as economies slow or demand for certain products decline. Accurately forecasting our expected volumes and appropriately adjusting our capacity have been, and will continue to be, important factors in determining our results of operations. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to increase manufacturing capacity to a level that meets demand for our products, which could prevent us from meeting increased customer demand and could harm our business. However, if we overestimate our demand and overbuild our capacity, we may have significantly underutilized assets and we may experience reduced margins. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities with demand it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

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The manufacture of many of our products is a highly exacting and complex process, and if we directly or indirectly encounter problems manufacturing products, our reputation, business and financial results could suffer.

The manufacture of many of our products is an exacting and complex process. Problems may arise during manufacturing for a variety of reasons, including equipment malfunction, failure to follow specific protocols and procedures, problems with raw materials, natural disasters and environmental factors, and if not discovered before the product is released to market could result in recalls and product liability exposure. Because of the time required to develop and maintain manufacturing facilities, an alternative manufacturer may not be available on a timely basis to replace such production capacity. Any of these manufacturing problems could result in significant costs and liability, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation that could reduce demand for our products.

We face the potential harms of natural disasters, pandemics, acts of war, terrorism, international conflicts or other disruptions to our operations.

Natural disasters, pandemics, acts or threats of war or terrorism, international conflicts, political instability, and the actions taken by governments could cause damage to or disrupt our business operations, our suppliers or our customers, and could create economic instability. Although it is not possible to predict such events or their consequences, these events could decrease demand for our products or make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver products

STRATEGIC RISKS

We may explore additional acquisitions that complement, enhance or expand our business. We may not be able to complete these transactions, and, if completed, we may experience operational and financial risks in connection with our acquisitions that may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Acquisitions are part of our strategic growth plans. We may have difficulty finding these opportunities, or if we do identify these opportunities, we may not be able to complete the transactions for various reasons including a failure to secure financing.

To the extent that we are able to complete the transactions, we will face the operational and financial risks commonly encountered with an acquisition strategy. These risks include the challenge of integrating acquired businesses while managing the ongoing operations of each business, the challenge of combining the business cultures of each company, and the need to retain key personnel of our existing business and the acquired business. The process of integrating operations could cause an interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of the acquired business and our existing business. Members of our senior management may be required to devote considerable amounts of time to the integration process, which will decrease the time they will have to manage our businesses, service existing customers, attract new customers and develop new products. If our senior management is not able to effectively manage the integration process, or if any significant business activities are interrupted as a result of the integration process, our business could be adversely affected.

The indemnification provisions of acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies may not fully protect us and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities.

Certain of the acquisition agreements by which we have acquired companies require the former owners to indemnify us against certain liabilities related to the operation of the company before we acquired it. In most of these agreements, however, the liability of the former owners is limited, and certain former owners may be unable to meet their indemnification responsibilities. We cannot assure that these indemnification provisions will protect us fully or at all, and as a result we may face unexpected liabilities that adversely affect our financial results.

We intend to develop new products and expand into new markets, which may not be successful and could harm our operating results.

We intend to expand into new markets and develop new and modified products based on our existing technologies and engineering capabilities, including the continued expansion of our controlled motion systems and integrated electronics. These efforts have required and will continue to require us to make substantial investments, including significant

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research, development and engineering expenditures and capital expenditures for new, expanded or improved manufacturing facilities. Specific risks in connection with expanding into new products and markets include longer product development cycles, the inability to transfer our quality standards and technology into new products, and the failure of our customers to accept the new or modified products.

We may experience difficulties that could delay or prevent the successful development of new products or product enhancements under new and existing contracts, and new products or product enhancements may not be accepted by our customers. In addition, the development expenses we incur may exceed our cost estimates, and new products we develop may not generate sales sufficient to offset our costs. If any of these events occur, our sales and profits could be adversely affected.

Our competitiveness depends on successfully executing our growth initiatives and our globalization strategies.

We continue to invest in initiatives to support future growth, such as the creation of a more effective corporate structure, implementation of our enterprise resource planning system, launch of a new integrated website, implementation of a structured approach to identify target markets, and the expansion of our AST (continuous improvement initiatives in quality, delivery, and cost). The failure to achieve our objectives on these initiatives could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Our globalization strategy includes localization of our products and services to be closer to our customers and identified growth opportunities. Localization of our products and services includes expanding our capabilities, including supply chain and sourcing activities, product design, manufacturing, engineering, marketing and sales and support. These activities expose us to risks, including those related to political and economic uncertainties, transportation delays, labor market disruptions and challenges to protect our intellectual property.

FINANCIAL RISKS

Foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect our financial results.

Sales and purchases in currencies other than the U.S. dollar expose us to fluctuations in foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar and may adversely affect our financial results. Increased strength of the U.S. dollar increases the effective price of our products sold in U.S. dollars into other countries, which may require us to lower our prices or adversely affect sales to the extent we do not increase local currency prices. Decreased strength of the U.S. dollar could adversely affect the cost of materials, products and services we purchase from non-U.S. denominated locations. Sales and expenses of our non-U.S. businesses are also translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes and the strengthening or weakening of the U.S. dollar could result in unfavorable translation effects. The Company also faces exchange rate risk from its investments in subsidiaries owned and operated in foreign countries.

Economic and credit market uncertainty could interrupt our access to capital markets, borrowings, or financial transactions to hedge certain risks, which could adversely affect our financial condition.

To date, we have been able to access debt and equity financing that has allowed us to make investments in growth opportunities and fund working capital requirements. In addition, we enter into financial transactions to hedge certain risks, including foreign exchange and interest rate risk. Our continued access to capital markets, the stability of our lenders and their willingness to support our needs, and the stability of the parties to our financial transactions that hedge risks are essential for us to meet our current and long-term obligations, fund operations, and fund our strategic initiatives. An interruption in our access to external financing or financial transactions to hedge risk could affect our business prospects and financial condition.

Our indebtedness may limit our operations and our use of our cash flow, and any failure to comply with the covenants that apply to our indebtedness could adversely affect our liquidity and financial results.

Our ability to service our indebtedness depends on our financial performance, which is affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors. Some of these factors are beyond our control. Our debt level and related debt service obligations can have negative consequences, including requiring us to dedicate significant cash flow from operations to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, which reduces the funds we have available for other purposes such as acquisitions and capital investment; reducing our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and market conditions; and exposing us to interest rate risk since a portion of our

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debt obligations are at variable rates. In addition, certain of our indebtedness will have significant outstanding principal balances on their maturity dates, commonly known as balloon payments. Therefore, we will likely need to refinance at least a portion of our outstanding debt as it matures. We may incur more debt in the future, particularly to finance acquisitions, and there can be no assurance that our cost of funding will not substantially increase.

Our existing credit agreements contain, and any future debt agreements we may enter into may contain, certain financial tests and other covenants that limit our ability to incur indebtedness, acquire other businesses and impose various other restrictions. If we breach any of the covenants and do not obtain a waiver from the lenders, the outstanding indebtedness could be declared immediately due and payable. If we are unable to obtain sufficient capital in the future, we may have to curtail our capital expenditures and other expenses. Any such actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

In addition, certain of our variable rate debt uses London Interbank Offer Rate ("LIBOR") as a benchmark for establishing the interest rate, a portion of which is hedged with LIBOR-based interest rate derivatives. LIBOR has been the subject of recent proposals for reform, and is currently scheduled to be discontinued on June 30, 2023. While all of our material financing arrangements indexed to LIBOR provide procedures for determining an alternative base rate when LIBOR is discontinued, there can be no assurances as to whether such alternative base rate will be more or less favorable than LIBOR. We intend to monitor developments with respect to the phasing out of LIBOR and will work to minimize the impact of any LIBOR transition. The consequences of these developments cannot be entirely predicted, but could include an increase in the cost of our variable rate indebtedness.

Unforeseen exposure to additional income tax liabilities may negatively affect our operating results.

Our distribution of taxable income is subject to domestic tax and, as a result of our significant manufacturing and sales presence in foreign countries, foreign tax. Our effective tax rate may be affected by shifts in our mix of earnings in countries with varying statutory tax rates, changes in reinvested foreign earnings, alterations to tax rates, regulations or interpretations and outcomes of any audits performed on previous tax returns.

Our operating results could fluctuate significantly.

Our quarterly and annual operating results are affected by a wide variety of factors that could materially adversely affect revenues and profitability, including:  the timing of customer orders and the deferral or cancellation of orders previously received, the level of orders received which can be shipped in a quarter, fulfilling backlog on a timely basis, competitive pressures on selling prices, changes in the mix of products sold, the timing of investments in engineering and development, development of and response to new technologies, and delays in new product qualifications.

As a result of the foregoing and other factors, we may experience material fluctuations in future operating results on a quarterly or annual basis which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and stock price.

We may never realize the full value of our substantial intangible assets.

These intangible assets consist primarily of goodwill, customer lists, trade names and patented technology arising from our acquisitions. Goodwill is not amortized; it is tested annually or upon the occurrence of certain events which indicate that the assets may be impaired. Definite lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives and are tested for impairment upon the occurrence of certain events which indicate that the assets may be impaired. We may not receive the recorded value for our intangible assets if we sell or liquidate our business or assets. In addition, intangible assets with definite lives will continue to be amortized. Amortization expenses relating to these intangible assets will continue to reduce our future earnings.

Increased healthcare, pension and other costs under the Company’s benefit plans could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

We provide health benefits to many of our employees and the costs to provide such benefits continue to increase annually. The amount of any increase or decrease in the cost of Company-sponsored health plans will depend on a number of different factors including new governmental regulations mandating types of coverage and reporting and

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other requirements.

We also sponsor defined benefit pension, defined contribution pension, and other postretirement benefit plans. Our costs to provide such benefits generally continue to increase annually. We use actuarial valuations to determine the Company’s benefit obligations for certain benefit plans, which require the use of significant estimates, including the discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, mortality rates and the rates of increase in compensation and health care costs. Changes to these significant estimates could increase the cost of these plans, which could also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Failure of our internal control over financial reporting could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely or prevent fraud.

We believe that effective internal controls are necessary to provide reliable financial reports and to assist in the effective prevention of fraud. If we are unable to detect or correct any issues in the design or operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting or fail to prevent fraud, current and potential customers and shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could harm our business and the trading price of our stock.

Our operating results depend in part on our ability to contain or reduce costs. There is substantial price competition in our industry, and our success and profitability will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive cost and price structure.

Our efforts to maintain and improve profitability depend in part on our ability to reduce the costs of materials, components, supplies and labor, including establishing production capabilities at our low cost regional subcontractors. While the failure of any single cost containment effort by itself would most likely not significantly impact our results, we cannot give any assurances that we will be successful in implementing cost reductions and maintaining a competitive cost structure.

There is substantial price competition in our industry, and our success and profitability will depend on our ability to maintain a competitive cost and price structure. We may have to reduce prices in the future to remain competitive. Also, our future profitability will depend in part upon our ability to continue to improve our manufacturing efficiencies and maintain a cost structure that will enable us to offer competitive prices. Our inability to maintain a competitive cost structure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

LEGAL AND REGULATORY RISKS

Our international operations expose us to legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material effect on our business.

Our profitability and international operations are, and will continue to be, subject to risks relating to changes in foreign legal and regulatory requirements. In addition, our international operations are governed by various U.S. laws and regulations, including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.K. Bribery Act and other foreign anti-bribery laws. The FCPA generally prohibits companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Other countries in which we operate also have anti-bribery laws, some of which prohibit improper payments to government and non-government persons and entities. Any alleged or actual violations of these regulations may subject us to government scrutiny, severe criminal or civil sanctions and other liabilities and could negatively affect our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.

We are required to comply with various import laws and export control and economic sanctions laws, which may affect our transactions with certain customers, business partners and other persons and dealings between our employees and subsidiaries. In certain circumstances, export control and economic sanctions regulations or embargos may prohibit the export of certain products, services and technologies. In other circumstances, we may be required to obtain an export license before exporting the controlled item. Compliance with the various import laws that apply to our businesses can restrict our access to, and increase the cost of obtaining, certain products and at times can interrupt our supply of imported inventory. In addition to government regulations regarding sale and export, we are subject to other regulations regarding our products. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted disclosure rules for

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companies that use conflict minerals in their products, with substantial supply chain verification requirements in the event that the materials come from, or could have come from, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or adjoining countries. These rules and verification requirements impose additional costs on us and on our suppliers, and may limit the sources or increase the cost of materials used in our products. Further, if we are unable to certify that our products are conflict free, we may face challenges with our customers that could place us at a competitive disadvantage, and our reputation may be harmed.

Our inability to adequately enforce and protect our intellectual property or defend against assertions of infringement could prevent or restrict our ability to compete.

We rely on patents, trademarks and proprietary knowledge and technology, both internally developed and acquired, in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Our inability to defend against the unauthorized use of these rights and assets could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Litigation may be necessary to protect our intellectual property rights or defend against claims of infringement. This litigation could result in significant costs and divert our management’s focus away from operations.

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings in the course of our business that could adversely affect our financial results.

We are subject to a variety of litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings incidental to our business, including claims for damages arising out of the use of products or services and claims relating to intellectual property, employment, tax, commercial disputes, competition, sales and trading practices, environmental, personal injury, insurance coverage, acquisition, as well as regulatory investigations or enforcement. We may also become subject to lawsuits as a result of past or future acquisitions including liabilities retained from, or representations, warranties or indemnities provided in connection with these acquisitions. These lawsuits may include claims for compensatory damages, punitive and consequential damages and/or injunctive relief. The defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits and we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to equitable remedies that could adversely affect our operations and financial results. Moreover, any insurance or indemnification rights that we may have may be insufficient or unavailable to protect us against such losses. We estimate loss contingencies and establish reserves based on our assessment where liability is deemed probable and reasonably estimable given the facts and circumstances known to us at a particular point in time. Subsequent developments may affect our assessment and estimates of the loss contingencies recorded as liabilities. We cannot guarantee that our liabilities in connection with litigation and other legal and regulatory proceedings will not exceed our estimates or adversely affect our financial results and reputation.

Our business is subject to environmental regulations that could negatively affect our operating results.

Federal, state and local regulations impose various environmental controls on the manufacturing, transportation, storage, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals and other materials used in, and hazardous waste produced by the manufacturing of our products. Conditions relating to our historical operations may require expenditures for clean-up in the future and changes in environmental laws and regulations may impose costly compliance requirements on us or otherwise subject us to future liabilities. Additional or modified regulations relating to the manufacture, transportation, storage, use and disposal of materials used to manufacture our products or restricting disposal or transportation of our products may be imposed that may result in higher costs or lower operating results. In addition, we cannot predict the affect that additional or modified environmental regulations may have on us or our customers.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

Not applicable.

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Item 2. Properties.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company occupies facilities as follows:

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The Company’s management believes the above-described facilities are adequate to meet the Company’s current and foreseeable needs. Operating leases for the Company’s properties expire at various times through 2033. Upon the expiration of the Company’s current leases, management believes that the Company will be able to secure renewal terms or enter into leases for alterative locations at market terms.

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Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

The Company is involved in certain actions that have arisen out of the ordinary course of business. Management believes that resolution of the actions will not have a significant adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Allied Motion’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market System and trades under the symbol AMOT. The number of holders of record as reported by the Company’s transfer agent of the Company’s common stock as of the close of business on March 10, 2021 was 221.

Dividends

During 2020 and 2019, we declared regular quarterly cash dividends on our common stock. We paid $0.03 per quarter in 2020 and 2019. While it is our current intention to pay regular quarterly cash dividends, any decision to pay future cash dividends will be made by our Board and will depend on our earnings, financial condition and other factors.

Performance Graph

The following performance graph and tables reflect the five year change in the Company’s cumulative total stockholder return on Common Stock as compared with the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Stock Market Index and the S&P Electrical Components and Equipment Index for a $100 investment made on December 31, 2015, including reinvestment of any dividends.

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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(1)   As permitted under the Company’s equity compensation plan, these shares were withheld by the Company to satisfy tax withholding obligations for employees in connection with the vesting of stock. Shares withheld for tax withholding obligations do not affect the total number of shares available for repurchase under any approved common stock repurchase plan. At December 31, 2020, the Company did not have an authorized stock repurchase plan in place.

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Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Amounts presented in Item 7 are in thousands, except per share data.

Overview

We are a global company that designs, manufactures and sells precision and specialty controlled motion components and systems used in a broad range of industries. Our target markets include Vehicle, Medical, Aerospace & Defense, and Industrial. We are headquartered in Amherst, NY, and have operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia-Pacific. We are known worldwide for our expertise in electro-magnetic, mechanical and electronic motion technology. We sell component and integrated controlled motion solutions to end customers and OEMs through our own direct sales force and authorized manufacturers’ representatives and distributors. Our products include brush and brushless DC motors, brushless servo and torque motors, coreless DC motors, integrated brushless motor-drives, gearmotors, gearing, modular digital servo drives, motion controllers, incremental and absolute optical encoders, active and passive filters for power quality and harmonic issues, and other controlled motion-related products.

Financial Overview

Highlights for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, include:

The Company’s 2020 sales were 1% lower than in the prior year. Our market position in the Medical market, combined with the acquisition of Dynamic Controls, nearly offset reductions in our other served markets, many of which were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Net income was 19.9% lower in 2020 compared to 2019, and earnings per diluted share decreased by 20.6%. These decreases reflect the impact of declines in the markets we serve and the supply chains we utilize due to market conditions impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with incremental expenses from Dynamic Controls.

We remain focused on executing our strategy for growth while streamlining the organization and emphasizing continuous improvement in quality, delivery, cost and innovation as we drive the One Allied approach and expand our value proposition for our customers. Solid strides continue to be made with our multi-product, fully integrated solutions that are leading to increased business. Also, we continue to build a pipeline of exciting market-based application opportunities. Sales cycles are long and the time from being selected for the solution development to full rate production can be longer, yet we believe we continue to build a scalable foundation which can deliver strong returns on those investments.

Our Strategy

Our growth strategy is focused on becoming the controlled motion solution leader in our selected target markets by further developing our products and services platform to utilize multiple Allied Motion technologies to create increased value solutions for our customers. Our strategy further defines Allied Motion as being a “technology/know-how” driven company and to be successful, we continue to invest in our areas of excellence.

We have set growth targets for our Company and we will align and focus our resources to meet those targets. First and foremost, we invest in our people as we believe that attracting and retaining the right people is the most important element in our strategy. We will continue to invest in applied and design engineering resources.

Our strategic focus is addressing the critical issues that we believe are necessary to meet the stated long-term goals and objectives of the Company. The majority of the critical issues are focused on growth initiatives for the Company.

One of these growth initiatives includes product line platform development to meet the emerging needs of our selected target markets. Our platform development emphasizes a combination of our technologies to create increased value solutions for our customers. The emphasis with new opportunities has evolved from being an individual component provider to becoming a solutions provider whereby the new opportunities utilize multiple Allied Motion technologies in a system solution approach. We believe this approach will allow us to provide increased value to our customers and improved margins for our Company. Our strong financial condition, along with AST continuous improvement initiatives in quality, delivery, and cost allow us to have a positive outlook for the continued long-term growth of our Company.

Outlook for 2021

During 2020, we were able to navigate a difficult environment related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while advancing our strategic priorities and delivering solid results. Our fourth quarter 2020 performance was supported by record orders driven by favorable trends within our Medical markets, and exceptional engagement and focus on executing a significant recovery in our Vehicle market. This demand, combined with supply chain constraints, resulted in some inefficiencies and unintended costs as our teams worked hard to support and meet customer demand and schedules. We also felt the impact of tariffs given the expiration of certain exemptions during the fourth quarter. Ultimately, we believe we can mitigate these costs over time, though their impact is expected to continue over the coming quarters of 2021.

While the economic outlook for 2021 remains uncertain, we believe we are in a strong operational, financial and reputational position. Our record level of backlog, diversified end market penetration and demonstrated agility position us well to perform across varied market trends and give us confidence that we can drive further efficiency, profitable growth and enhanced free cash flow while delivering long-term value for our shareholders.

In 2021, we will continue to focus on leveraging our resources to expand our business in our served markets. In addition, we will continue to execute the ongoing critical issues as defined by our strategy, developed in 2017 and regularly updated since then.

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The critical issues from that strategy include:

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Allied Motion is an applied technology/know-how motion company, and to grow, we will continue to invest in the technical resources to ensure we can move forward with our mantra to “create controlled motion solutions that change the game” and to meet the emerging needs of our customers in our served market segments. We anticipate that our investment in these key resources will continue to drive our growth now and in the future. We expect to continue the shift from being a component supplier to a more complete solutions provider, along with the application of AST, to drive cost reduction.

Our global production footprint provides us with the opportunity to be a value added supplier for global companies who require support around the world. We will continue to evaluate and find areas to leverage our current manufacturing and sales footprint to drive sales and improve efficiencies.

In addition to our strategy described above, time and resources will be spent to further understand the ESG ecosystem and developments impacting stakeholder expectations. While the Company has a number of initiatives focused on individual components of ESG, we will begin to integrate ESG with our broader strategy and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). The strategy will include looking to further enhance the Company’s ability to meet ongoing and emerging challenges, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). We make estimates and assumptions in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates and judgments upon historical experience and other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in estimates or assumptions could result in a material adjustment to the consolidated financial statements.

We have identified several critical accounting estimates. An accounting estimate is considered critical if both: (a) the nature of the estimates or assumptions is material due to the levels of subjectivity and judgment involved, and (b) the impact of changes in the estimates and assumptions would have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements. This listing is not a comprehensive list of all of our accounting policies. For further information regarding the application of these and other accounting policies, See Note 1, Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the notes to consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this report for additional information.

The Company’s critical accounting estimates include:

Revenue Recognition

The Company considers control of most products to transfer at a single point in time when control is transferred to the customer, generally when the products are shipped in accordance with an agreement and/or purchase order. Control is defined as the ability to direct the use of and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits of the product. The Company satisfies its performance obligations under a contract with a customer by transferring goods and services generally in exchange for monetary consideration from the customer. The Company considers the customer’s purchase order, and the Company’s corresponding sales order acknowledgment as the contract with the customer. In the normal course of business, the Company does not accept product returns unless the item is defective as manufactured. The

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Company establishes provisions for estimated returns and warranties. All contracts include a standard warranty clause to guarantee that the product complies with agreed specifications.

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, the accrual for future warranty obligations was $1,571 and $1,075, respectively. The Company’s expense (income) for warranty obligations was $34 in 2020, $210 in 2019, and ($13) in 2018, respectively. The length of the warranty period for the Company’s products is generally three months to two years and varies significantly based on the product sold. The Company calculates its warranty expense provision based on its historical warranty experience and adjustments are made periodically to reflect actual warranty expenses. If actual future sales returns and allowances are higher than the Company’s historical experience, additional accruals may be required.

Inventories

Inventories are measured on a first-in, first-out basis at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. Inventory costing requires complex calculations that include assumptions for overhead absorption, scrap, sample calculations, manufacturing yield estimates, costs to sell, and the determination of which costs may be capitalized. The valuation of inventory requires us to estimate obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality.

Historically, our inventory adjustment has been adequate to cover our losses. However, variations in methods or assumptions could have a material impact on our results. If our demand forecast for specific products is greater than actual demand and we fail to reduce manufacturing output accordingly, we could be required to record additional inventory write-down or expense a greater amount of overhead costs, which would negatively impact our net income. As of December 31, 2020, we have $62,978 of inventory recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, representing approximately 18% of total assets. A 1% write-down of our inventory would decrease our 2020 net income by approximately $458, or $0.05 per diluted share.

Valuation of Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets

We make assumptions in establishing the carrying value, fair value and, if applicable, the estimated lives of our goodwill, intangible and other long-lived assets. Goodwill and intangible assets determined to have an indefinite useful life are not amortized. Instead, these assets are evaluated for impairment on an annual basis and whenever events or business conditions change that could indicate that the asset is impaired. Definite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset (asset group) may not be recoverable.

Evaluation of goodwill for impairment

We test the reporting unit’s goodwill for impairment as of October 31^st of each fiscal year and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that may indicate that the fair value of the reporting unit is below its carrying value. In conducting this annual impairment testing, we may first perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value. If not, no further goodwill impairment testing is required. If it is more-likely-than-not that the reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value, or if we elect not to perform a qualitative assessment of a reporting unit, a quantitative analysis is performed, in which the fair value of the reporting unit is compared to its net book value. If the net book value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss is recognized equal to the excess, limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

We performed a qualitative assessment of our single reporting unit as of October 31, 2020. As part of this analysis, we evaluated factors including, but not limited to, our market capitalization and stock price performance, macro-economic conditions, market and industry conditions, cost factors, the competitive environment, and the operational stability and overall financial performance of our reporting unit. The assessment indicated that it was more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting unit exceeded its respective carrying value, and as such, a quantitative assessment was not required.

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We do not believe that our reporting unit is at risk for impairment. However, changes to the factors considered above could affect the estimated fair value of our reporting unit and could result in a goodwill impairment charge in a future period. As of December 31, 2020, we have $61,860 of goodwill recorded on our consolidated balance sheet, representing approximately 18% of total assets. A 1% write-down of our goodwill would decrease our 2020 net income approximately $450, or $0.05 per diluted share.

Business Combinations

The Company allocates the purchase price of an acquired company, including when applicable, the acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration between tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed from the acquired business based on their estimated fair values, with the residual of the purchase price recorded as goodwill. Third party appraisal firms and other consultants are engaged to assist management in determining the fair values of certain assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Estimating fair values requires significant judgments, estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to: discount rates, future cash flows and the economic lives of trade names, technology, customer relationships, and property, plant and equipment. These estimates are based on historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain.

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Stock-based Compensation

Compensation expense for time-based restricted stock units is measured at the grant date and recognized ratably over the vesting period. We determine the fair value of time-based and performance-based restricted stock units based on the closing market price of our common stock on the grant date. The recognition of compensation expense associated with performance-based restricted stock units requires judgment in assessing the probability of meeting the performance goals, as well as defined criteria for assessing achievement of the performance-related goals. For purposes of measuring compensation expense, the number of shares ultimately expected to vest is estimated at each reporting date based on management’s expectations regarding the relevant performance criteria. The performance shares begin vesting only upon the achievement of the performance criteria. The achievement of the performance goals can impact the valuation and associated expense of the restricted stock units.

The assumptions used in accounting for the share-based payment awards represent management’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if circumstances change and we use different assumptions, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.

Impact of Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In the normal course of business, we evaluate all new accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) or other authoritative accounting bodies to determine the potential impact they may have on our consolidated financial statements. See Note 1, Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the notes to consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this report for additional information about these recently issued accounting standards and their potential impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

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Operating Results

The following discussion is a comparison between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2019 results. For a discussion of our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, please refer to Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC on March 11, 2020.

Year 2020 compared to 2019

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REVENUES: During 2020, the decrease in revenues reflects growth in the Medical market, including the contribution from Dynamic Controls, offset by declines in all other markets we serve due to reduced demand as a result of the global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sales for 2020 were comprised of 53% to US customers and 47% to customers primarily in Europe, Canada and Asia. The overall decrease in revenue was due to a 1.7% volume decrease partially offset with a 0.5% favorable currency impact. See information included in “Non – GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and reconciliation of revenue to revenue excluding foreign currency impacts.

ORDER BOOKINGS AND BACKLOG: The increase in orders in 2020 compared to 2019 is due to a 0.8% increase in volume and a 0.5% favorable currency impact. The order volume increases are primarily due to increases in the Medical market, offset by reduced demand in all other markets. The increase in backlog is largely attributable to the Medical market. Included in the current backlog is approximately $8 million of the previously announced $325 million of Vehicle market awards. The Company has begun shipments for the first of four, seven-year awards, and all four awards are expected to concurrently be at full rate production in 2024.

GROSS PROFIT AND GROSS MARGIN: The 4% decrease in gross profit was largely driven by reduced volume in our served markets and additional fixed costs associated with Dynamic Controls. The 70 basis point decline in gross margin

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was due to the impact of lower revenue and higher tariffs, freight, and duties related primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic, offset partially by cost containment efforts also related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SELLING EXPENSES: Selling expenses declined 7% during 2020 compared to last year. The addition of expenses from Dynamic Controls was offset by cost control efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically travel restrictions. Selling expenses as a percentage of revenues were 4% for both 2020 and 2019.

GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES: General and administrative expenses increased by 2% during 2020 compared to 2019 due to the incremental expenses from Dynamic Controls and costs associated with ensuring employee safety and making other adjustments for the COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by reduced incentive compensation and travel costs. As a percentage of revenues, general and administrative expenses were 10% for both 2020 and 2019.

ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES: Engineering and development expenses increased by 10% in 2020 compared to 2019. The increase is partially due to the addition of Dynamic Controls, whose focus is electronics and software engineering, and partially due to the continued ramp up of development projects to meet the future needs of target markets, as well as supporting growing customer application development needs. As a percentage of revenues, engineering and development expenses increased to 7% for 2020 from 6% for 2019.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COSTS: The Company incurred $473 of business development costs during 2020 related to the acquisition of Dynamic Controls. The Company incurred $113 of business development costs during 2019.

AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS: Amortization of intangible assets increased 4% in 2020 compared to 2019, from $5,718 to $5,928 due to the addition of Dynamic Controls.

INTEREST EXPENSE: Interest expense decreased by 28% in 2020 compared to 2019 as the increase in our outstanding debt was offset by lower interest rates.

INCOME TAXES: The effective income tax rate as a percentage of income before income taxes was 27.3% and 28.6% for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effective tax rate included a discrete tax provision of 1.8% related to settlement of a tax audit in a foreign jurisdiction. The effective rate before discrete items varies from the statutory rate primarily due to differences in state taxes, the impact of international tax provisions in the US, the difference in US and foreign tax rates and the mix of foreign and domestic income, section 162(m) compensation limits, and the benefit from the R&D tax credit. Refer to Note 9, Income Taxes, of the notes to consolidated financial statements for a reconciliation of statutory rates to tax provision rates.

NET INCOME AND ADJUSTED NET INCOME: Net income decreased during 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 reflecting lower revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on volume and the resulting impact to margins along with increased operating expenses resulting from the Dynamic Controls acquisition.

Adjusted net income for the years ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 was $14,315 and $17,999, respectively. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for 2020 and 2019 were $1.50 and $1.90, respectively. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are non-GAAP measures. Adjusted net income for 2020 excludes $1,035 ($752 net of tax) and for 2019 excludes $111 ($79 net of tax) of foreign currency losses. Adjusted net income for 2020 excludes a non-income based tax assessment gain of $424. Adjusted net income for 2019 excludes the non-income based tax assessment of $384 and the income tax charge of $433 related to a tax assessment in a foreign jurisdiction. Adjusted net income for 2020 excludes $473 ($344 net of tax) and for 2019 excludes $113 ($81 net of tax) of business development costs. See information included in “Non–GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and reconciliation of net income to Adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share to Adjusted diluted earnings per share.

EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA: EBITDA was $38,477 for 2020 compared to $43,832 for 2019. Adjusted EBITDA was $43,111 and $47,643 for 2020 and 2019, respectively. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. EBITDA consists of income before interest expense, provision for income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes stock compensation expense, foreign currency gain/loss and certain other items. Refer to information included in “Non-GAAP Measures” below for a discussion of the non-GAAP measure and a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA.

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Non-GAAP Measures

Revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are provided for information purposes only and are not measures of financial performance under GAAP.

Management believes the presentation of these financial measures reflecting non-GAAP adjustments provides important supplemental information in evaluating the operating results of the Company as distinct from results that include items that are not indicative of ongoing operating results; in particular, those charges and credits that are not directly related to operating unit performance, and that are not a helpful measure of the performance of our underlying business particularly in light of their unpredictable nature. These non-GAAP disclosures have limitations as analytical tools, should not be viewed as a substitute for revenue and net income determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP, nor is it necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. In addition, supplemental presentation should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by similar adjustments to net income determined in accordance with GAAP.

The Company believes that revenue excluding foreign currency exchange impacts is a useful measure in analyzing organic sales results. The Company excludes the effect of currency translation from revenue for this measure because currency translation is not under management’s control, is subject to volatility and can obscure underlying business trends. The portion of revenue attributable to currency translation is calculated as the difference between the current period revenue and the current period revenue after applying foreign exchange rates from the prior period.

The Company believes EBITDA is often a useful measure of the Company’s operating performance and is a significant basis used by the Company’s management to measure the operating performance of the Company’s business because EBITDA excludes charges for depreciation, amortization and interest expense that have resulted from our debt financings, as well as our provision for income tax expense. EBITDA is frequently used as one of the bases for comparing businesses in the Company’s industry.

The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides helpful information about the operating performance of its business. Adjusted EBITDA excludes stock compensation expense, foreign currency gain/loss as well as certain income or expenses which are not indicative of the ongoing performance of the Company. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not represent and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income, net cash provided by operating activities or any other measure for determining operating performance or liquidity that is calculated in accordance with GAAP.

The Company’s calculation of revenues excluding foreign currency exchange impacts for 2020 and 2019 is as follows (in thousands):

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The Company’s calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

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Allied Motion’s management uses Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share to assess the Company’s consolidated financial and operating performance. Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share are provided for informational purposes only and are not a measure of financial performance under GAAP. These measures help management make decisions that are expected to facilitate meeting current financial goals as well as achieving optimal financial performance. Adjusted net income provides management with a measure of financial performance of the Company based on operational factors as it removes the impact of certain non-routine items from the Company’s operating results. Adjusted diluted earnings per share provides management with an indication of how Adjusted net income would be reflected on a per share basis for comparison to the GAAP diluted earnings per share measure. Adjusted net income is a key metric used by senior management and the Company’s board of directors to review the consolidated financial performance of the business. This measure adjusts net income determined in accordance with GAAP to reflect changes in financial results associated with the highlighted charges and income items.

The Company’s calculation of Adjusted net income and Adjusted diluted earnings per share for years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company’s liquidity position as measured by cash and cash equivalents increased by $9,715 to a balance of $23,131 at December 31, 2020 from 2019.

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Of the $23,131 cash and cash equivalents on hand at December 31, 2020, $21,371 was located at our foreign entities and may be subject to withholding tax if repatriated back to the U.S.

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During 2020, the decrease in cash provided by operating activities as compared to 2019 was equally impacted by net income, accrued liabilities, and inventories. Moreover, inventories in 2020 increased due to the push out of orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, building inventory for new product launches and purchasing additional inventory in order to secure supply. Accrued expenses in 2020 decreased based on timing of income tax payments and reduced amounts of incentive compensation.

The significant cash used in investing activities in 2020 reflects the acquisition of Dynamic Controls for $14,728 net of cash acquired. Purchases of property and equipment were $9,371 in 2020 compared to $14,882 during 2019 reflecting cash preservation efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase in cash provided by financing activities reflects the Amended Revolving Facility borrowing for the acquisition of Dynamic Controls for approximately $26,000 in the first quarter of 2020. Subsequent to the acquisition, we have made payments of $16,897 on the Amended Revolving Facility. During 2019, the Company utilized revolver borrowings to fund working capital needed to support growth, and for the payment of normal year-end accruals. At December 31, 2020, we had $120,656 of obligations under the Amended Revolving Facility, excluding deferred financing costs.

The Amended Credit Agreement contains certain financial covenants related to minimum interest coverage and total leverage ratio at the end of each quarter. The Amended Credit Agreement also includes other covenants and restrictions, including limits on the amount of additional indebtedness, and restrictions on the ability to merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all our assets. We were in compliance with all covenants at December 31, 2020.

As of December 31, 2020, the unused Amended Revolving Facility was $104,344. The amount available to borrow may be lower and may vary from period to period based upon our debt and EBITDA levels, which impacts our covenant calculations. The Amended Credit Agreement matures in February 2025.

There were no borrowings for the China Facility balance during 2020 or 2019.

The Company declared dividends of $0.03 per share during each quarter of 2020 and 2019. The Company’s working capital, capital expenditure and dividend requirements are expected to be funded from cash provided by operations and amounts available under the Amended Credit Agreement (refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations, of the notes to consolidated financial statements for definition and terms).

Although there is uncertainty related to the anticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our future results, we believe our diverse market channel strategy and the steps we have taken to strengthen our balance sheet, such as retaining cash to support shorter term needs and extending the maturity of our revolving credit facility leaves us well-positioned to manage our business through the crisis as it continues to unfold. Based on our analysis, we believe our existing balances of cash, the flexibility of our Amended Credit Agreement and our currently anticipated operating cash flows will be sufficient to meet our cash needs arising in the ordinary course of business for the next twelve months.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes contractual obligations and borrowings as of December 31, 2020 and the timing and effect that such commitments are expected to have on our liquidity and capital requirements in future periods. We expect to fund other commitments primarily with operating cash flows generated in the normal course of business. At December 31, 2020, our long-term contractual obligations were limited to debt and leases.

(1)   Amounts represent our debt obligations as of December 31, 2020.

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(2)  Amounts represent the estimated interest payments based on the balances as of December 31, 2020 and applicable interest rates under the Amended Revolving Facility.

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Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Foreign Currency

We have international operations in The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, China, Portugal, Canada, Czech Republic, Mexico, the United Kingdom and New Zealand which expose us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations due to transactions denominated in Euros, Swedish Krona, Chinese Renminbi, Canadian dollar, Czech Krona, Mexican pesos, British Pound Sterling, and New Zealand dollar, respectively. We continuously evaluate our foreign currency risk and we take action from time to time in order to best mitigate these risks. A hypothetical 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to our most significant foreign currency exposures would have had an impact of approximately $15,200 on our 2020 sales. This amount is not indicative of the hypothetical net earnings impact due to partially offsetting impacts on cost of sales and operating expenses in those currencies. We estimate that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations increased sales in 2020 compared to 2019 by approximately $1,800.

We translate all assets and liabilities of foreign operations, where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency, at the period-end exchange rate and translate sales and expenses at the average exchange rates in effect during the period. The net effect of these translation adjustments is recorded in the consolidated financial statements as comprehensive income. The translation adjustment was a gain of $8,410 for 2020 and a loss of $680 for 2019. Translation adjustments are not adjusted for income taxes as they relate to permanent investments in our foreign subsidiaries. A hypothetical 10% change in the value of the U.S. dollar in relation to our most significant foreign currency net assets would have had an impact of approximately $10,000 and $7,000 on our foreign net assets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

To the extent that our monetary assets and liabilities, including short-term and long-term intercompany loans, are recorded in a currency other than the functional currency of the subsidiary, these amounts are remeasured each period at the period-end exchange rate, with the resulting gain or loss recorded in other expense, net in the consolidated statement of income and comprehensive income. Net foreign currency transaction gains and losses included in total other expense, net amounted to losses of $1,035 and $111 in 2020 and 2019, respectively. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company began a hedging program to help mitigate these foreign currency transaction gains and losses. Accordingly, we expect these gains and losses to be lower in the future.

Interest Rates

Interest rates on our Amended Credit Agreement are based on the LIBOR plus a margin of 1.00% to 1.75% (1.625% at December 31, 2020) or the Prime Rate plus a margin of 0% to 0.75% (0.625% at December 31, 2020), in each case depending on the Company’s ratio of total funded indebtedness to Consolidated EBITDA. We use interest rate derivatives to add stability to interest expense and to manage our exposure to interest rate movements. We primarily use interest rate swaps as part of our interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedges involve the receipt of variable amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount. In February 2017, we entered into three interest rate swaps with a combined notional amount of $40,000 that matures in February 2022. In March 2020, the Company entered into two additional interest rate swaps with a combined notional amount of $20,000 that increases to $60,000 in March 2022 and matures in December 2024.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $120,656 outstanding under the Amended Revolving Facility (excluding deferred financing fees), of which $60,000 is currently being hedged. Refer to Note 7, Debt Obligations, of the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information about our outstanding debt. A hypothetical one percentage point (100 basis points) change in the Base Rate on the $60,656 of unhedged floating rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2020 would have an impact of approximately $607 on our interest expense for 2020. A hypothetical one percentage point (100 basis points) change in the Base Rate on the $70,085 of unhedged floating rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2019 would have had an impact of approximately $701 on our interest expense for 2019.

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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

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To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of Allied Motion Technologies Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Allied Motion Technologies Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 10, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Change in Accounting Principle

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In fiscal 2019, the Company changed its method of accounting for leases due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as amended, using the option to not restate comparative periods and apply the standard as of the date of initial application.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

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We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

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Critical Audit Matter

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The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

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Inventories – Refer to Note 1 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

Inventories are measured on a first-in, first-out basis at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The valuation of inventory requires the Company to estimate obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality. The Company’s estimate of the appropriate amount of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, uses certain inputs and involves judgment. Such inputs include data associated with historic trends, the demand forecast for inventory on-hand which includes customer purchase order data, and item-specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part. Inventories at December 31, 2020 totaled $63 million.

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We identified the estimate of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, as a critical audit matter because of the significant amount of judgment required by management when evaluating demand forecasts and assumptions for item-specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of the demand forecast for inventory on-hand and item-specific estimates about the timing or level of demand for a specific part.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the valuation of obsolete or excess inventory, as well as inventory that is not of saleable quality, included the following, among others:

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We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2018.

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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except per share data)

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See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

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ALLIED MOTION TECHNOLOGIES INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In thousands, except per share data)

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