We are a defendant in a substantial number of lawsuits that seek to recover damages for personal injury allegedly resulting from exposure to asbestos-containing products formerly manufactured and/or distributed by us. Such products were used as internal components of process equipment, and we do not believe that there was any significant emission of asbestos-containing fibers during the use of this equipment. Although we are defending these allegations vigorously and believe that a high percentage of these lawsuits are covered by insurance or indemnities from other companies, there can be no assurance that we will prevail or that coverage or payments made by insurance or such other companies would be adequate. Unfavorable rulings, judgments or settlement terms could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We currently have significant net deferred tax assets resulting from tax credit carryforwards, net operating losses and other deductible temporary differences that are available to reduce taxable income in future periods. Based on our assessment of our deferred tax assets, we determined, based on projected future income and certain available tax planning strategies, that approximately $331 million of our deferred tax assets will more likely than not be realized in the future, and no valuation allowance is currently required for this portion of our deferred tax assets. Should we determine in the future that these assets will more likely than not be realized we will be required to record an additional valuation allowance in connection with these deferred tax assets and our operating results would be adversely affected in the period such determination is made. In addition, tax law changes could negatively impact our deferred tax assets.

A substantial portion of our operations is conducted and located outside the U.S. We have manufacturing, sales or service facilities in more than 50 countries and sell to customers in over 90 countries, in addition to the U.S. Moreover, we primarily source certain of our manufacturing and engineering functions, raw materials and components from China, Eastern Europe, India and Latin America. Accordingly, our business and results of operations are subject to risks associated with doing business internationally, including: - instability in a specific country's or region's political or economic conditions, particularly economic conditions in Europe and Latin America, and political conditions in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, Latin America, the Trans-Pacific region and other emerging markets;- trade protection measures, such as tariff increases, and import and export licensing and control requirements;- political, financial market or economic instability relating to epidemics or pandemics;- uncertainties related to any geopolitical, economic and regulatory effects or changes due to recent or upcoming domestic and international elections;- the imposition of governmental economic sanctions on countries in which we do business;- potentially negative consequences from changes in tax laws or tax examinations;- difficulty in staffing and managing widespread operations;- increased aging and slower collection of receivables, particularly in Latin America and other emerging markets;- difficulty of enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through some foreign legal systems;- differing and, in some cases, more stringent labor regulations;- potentially negative consequences from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;- partial or total expropriation;- differing protection of intellectual property;- inability to repatriate income or capital; and - difficulty in administering and enforcing corporate policies, which may be different than the customary business practices of local cultures. For example, political unrest or work stoppages negatively impact the demand for our products from customers in affected countries and other customers, such as U.S. oil refineries, that are affected by the resulting disruption in the supply of crude oil. Similarly, military conflicts in Russia/Ukraine, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa could soften the level of capital investment and demand for our products and services. We have experienced logistics disruptions as a result of the Israel-Hamas war that have increased expenses and delayed import of our products in the region. The conflict is ongoing and the length, impact, and outcome is highly unpredictable. If the conflict further intensifies or develops, it could have an adverse impact on our business operations in the Middle East or other affected areas. In response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, several countries, including the United States, have imposed economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors and parties in Russia. As a result of this conflict, including the aforementioned sanctions and overall instability in the region, in March 2022 we permanently ceased all Company operations in Russia and are currently taking the necessary steps to wind down in the country. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report for further discussion of the termination of our Russian operations. In order to manage our day-to-day operations, we must overcome cultural and language barriers and assimilate different business practices. In addition, we are required to create compensation programs, employment policies and other administrative programs that comply with laws of multiple countries. We also must communicate and monitor standards and directives across our global network. In addition, emerging markets pose other uncertainties, including challenges to our ability to protect our intellectual property, pressure on the pricing of our products and increased risk of political instability, and may prefer local suppliers because of existing relationships, local restrictions or incentives. Our failure to successfully manage our geographically diverse operations could impair our ability to react quickly to changing business and market conditions and to enforce compliance with standards and procedures. Additionally, increasing tensions between the U.S. and China may result in further restrictions or actions by the U.S. government with respect to doing business in China or by the Chinese government with respect to business conducted by foreign entities in China, which could impact certain of our manufacturing operations, as well as supply for our raw materials and components. Our future success will depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other risks associated with our international operations. Any of these factors could, however, materially adversely affect our international operations and, consequently, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The success of new and improved products and services depends on their initial and continued acceptance by our customers. Our businesses are affected by varying degrees of technological change and corresponding shifts in customer demand, which result in unpredictable product transitions, shortened life cycles and increased importance of being first to market with new products and services. Difficulties or delays in the research, development, production and/or marketing of new products and services negatively impact our operating results and prevent us from recouping or realizing a return on the investments required to continue to bring these products and services to market.

We cannot guarantee that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights or misappropriation of our technology. For example, effective patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret protection are unavailable or limited in some of the foreign countries in which we operate. In addition, confidentiality agreements which we enter into with employees and third parties could be breached or otherwise may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets and know-how related to the design, manufacture or operation of our products. Resorting to litigation to protect our intellectual property rights is burdensome and costly, and we may not always prevail. Further, adequate remedies are not always available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. Failure to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our information technology networks and related systems and devices and those technology systems under control of third parties with whom we do business are critical to the operation of our business and essential to our ability to successfully perform day-to-day operations. These information technology networks and related systems and devices and those under control of third parties are susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to programming errors, defects or other vulnerabilities, power outages, hardware failures, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, malware attacks, ransomware attacks, theft, misconduct by employees or other insiders, misuse, human errors or other cybersecurity incidents. If any of the aforementioned cybersecurity incidents or disruptions occur and our business continuity plans do not effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity could be materially adversely affected. In addition, any of the aforementioned cybersecurity incidents or disruptions could expose us to a risk of loss, disclosure, misuse, corruption, or interruption of sensitive and critical data, information and functions, including our proprietary and confidential information and information related to our customers, suppliers and employees. It is also possible a cybersecurity incident could result in theft of material trade secrets or other material intellectual property. While we devote substantial resources to maintaining adequate levels of cybersecurity, there can be no assurance that we will be able to prevent all of the rapidly evolving forms of increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyberattacks, or avoid or limit a material adverse impact on our systems after such incidents or attacks occur. The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include reputational damage, loss of customers, litigation with third parties, regulatory actions and fines, theft of intellectual property, systems disruption, disruption of manufacturing plant operations and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs. Any of the foregoing can be exacerbated by a delay or failure to detect a cybersecurity incident or the full extent of such incident. In addition, our liability insurance, which includes cyber insurance, might not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to cybersecurity incidents, attacks and other related incidents. If we are unable to prevent, anticipate, detect or adequately respond to cybersecurity incidents, our operations could be disrupted and our business could be materially and adversely affected. Developments in the applicable legal standards for the handling of personal data from time to time require changes to our business practices, penalties, increased cost of operations, or otherwise harm our business. To conduct our operations, we regularly move data across national borders and must comply with increasingly complex and rigorous regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the U.S. and elsewhere. For example, the E.U. has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR"). The GDPR imposes additional obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is stored. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks, including proceedings against the Company by governmental entities or others, fines and penalties, damage to our reputation and credibility and could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.

The markets for our products and services are geographically diverse and highly competitive. We compete against large and well-established national and global companies, as well as regional and local companies, low-cost replicators of spare parts and in-house maintenance departments of our end-user customers. We compete based on price, technical expertise, timeliness of delivery, contractual terms, project management, proximity to service centers, previous installation history and reputation for quality and reliability. Competitive environments in slow-growth industries and for original equipment orders have been inherently more influenced by pricing and domestic and global economic conditions and current economic forecasts suggest that the competitive influence of pricing has broadened. Additionally, some of our customers have been attempting to reduce the number of vendors from which they purchase in order to reduce the size and diversity of their supply chain. To remain competitive, we must invest in manufacturing, technology, marketing, customer service and support and our distribution networks. No assurances can be made that we will have sufficient resources to continue to make the investment required to maintain or increase our market share or that our investments will be successful. A relatively strong U.S. dollar has made and may continue to make our products more expensive overseas, which may make our ability to meet our international customers' pricing expectations particularly challenging and may result in erosion of product margin and market share. In addition, negative publicity or other organized campaigns critical of us, through social media or otherwise, could negatively affect our reputation and competitive position. If we do not compete successfully, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.