0001564590-21-012084 | 10-K | XBRL Viewer

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Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Feb. 26, 2021	Jun. 30, 2020
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2020
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2020
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	NL
Title of 12(b) Security	Common stock
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Registrant Name	NL INDUSTRIES, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000072162
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		48,788,984
Entity Public Float			$ 28.6
Entity File Number	1-640
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	NJ
Entity Tax Identification Number	13-5267260
Entity Address, Address Line One	5430 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1700
Entity Address, City or Town	Dallas
Entity Address, State or Province	TX
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	75240-2620
City Area Code	(972)
Local Phone Number	233-1700
Document Annual Report	true
Document Transition Report	false
ICFR Auditor Attestation Flag	false
Documents Incorporated by Reference	The information required by Part III is incorporated by reference from the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this report.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 137,039	$ 129,730
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	2,695	2,695
Accounts and other receivables, net	11,142	11,929
Receivables from affiliates	313	581
Inventories, net	18,337	18,348
Prepaid expenses and other	1,638	1,401
Total current assets	171,164	164,684
Other assets:
Restricted cash and cash equivalents	25,538	25,445
Note receivable from affiliate	29,500	28,100
Marketable securities	18,206	26,877
Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	242,374	248,355
Goodwill	27,156	27,156
Other assets, net	5,262	5,860
Total other assets	348,036	361,793
Property and equipment:
Land	4,940	4,940
Buildings	23,146	23,047
Equipment	68,227	67,718
Construction in progress	1,010	1,002
Property and equipment, gross	97,323	96,707
Less accumulated depreciation	68,373	65,692
Net property and equipment	28,950	31,015
Total assets	548,150	557,492
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	2,647	3,438
Accrued litigation settlement	11,830	11,830
Accrued and other current liabilities	10,253	10,601
Accrued environmental remediation and related costs	2,027	3,065
Payables to affiliates	725	801
Income taxes	25	73
Total current liabilities	27,507	29,808
Noncurrent liabilities:
Long-term debt from affiliate	500	500
Accrued environmental remediation and related costs	91,389	91,443
Long-term litigation settlement	49,403	60,081
Deferred income taxes	33,830	33,957
Accrued pension costs	6,392	8,230
Other	3,780	6,260
Total noncurrent liabilities	185,294	200,471
NL stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, no par value; 5,000 shares authorized; none issued
Common stock, $.125 par value; 150,000 shares authorized; 48,756 and 48,789 shares issued and outstanding	6,098	6,094
Additional paid-in capital	299,093	299,102
Retained earnings	257,875	251,000
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(251,189)	(251,690)
Total NL stockholders' equity	311,877	304,506
Noncontrolling interest in subsidiary	23,472	22,707
Total equity	335,349	327,213
Total liabilities and equity	548,150	557,492
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 14 and 17)

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Statement Of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Common stock, par value	$ 0.125	$ 0.125
Common stock, shares authorized	150,000,000	150,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	48,789,000	48,756,000
Common stock, shares outstanding	48,789,000	48,756,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 114,537	$ 124,243	$ 118,217
Cost of sales	81,689	85,280	79,946
Gross margin	32,848	38,963	38,271
Selling, general and administrative expense	21,031	21,297	20,460
Other operating income (expense):
Insurance recoveries	81	5,138	1,298
Other income, net	18	7,444	644
Litigation settlement expense, net		(19,266)	(62,000)
Corporate expense	(9,559)	(12,591)	(18,419)
Income (loss) from operations	2,357	(1,609)	(60,666)
Equity in earnings of Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	19,437	26,470	62,316
Other income (expense):
Interest and dividend income	2,599	6,672	5,069
Marketable equity securities	(8,671)	(863)	(60,941)
Other components of net periodic pension and OPEB cost	(784)	(1,375)	(115)
Interest expense	(1,350)	(681)	(37)
Income (loss) before income taxes	13,588	28,614	(54,374)
Income tax expense (benefit)	(2,515)	579	(15,361)
Net income (loss)	16,103	28,035	(39,013)
Noncontrolling interest in net income of subsidiary	1,423	2,191	2,004
Net income (loss) attributable to NL stockholders	$ 14,680	$ 25,844	$ (41,017)
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share	$ 0.30	$ 0.53	$ (0.84)
Weighted average shares used in the calculation of net income (loss) per share	48,776	48,745	48,727

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Statement Of Income And Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net income (loss)	$ 16,103	$ 28,035	$ (39,013)
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Currency translation	3,268	(409)	(7,967)
Defined benefit pension plans	(2,447)	(2,971)	(2,335)
Other postretirement benefit plans	(320)	(40)	(162)
Total other comprehensive income (loss), net	501	(3,420)	(10,464)
Comprehensive income (loss)	16,604	24,615	(49,477)
Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest	1,423	2,191	2,004
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to NL stockholders	$ 15,181	$ 22,424	$ (51,481)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance	Common stock	Common stock Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance	Additional paid-in capital	Additional paid-in capital Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance	Retained earnings	Retained earnings Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance	Noncontrolling interest in subsidiary	Noncontrolling interest in subsidiary Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjusted Balance
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 353,078	$ 353,078	$ 6,089	$ 6,089	$ 300,866	$ 300,866	$ 220,104	$ 266,173	$ (191,737)	$ (237,806)	$ 17,756	$ 17,756
Beginning Balance (Accounting Standards Update 2016-01) at Dec. 31, 2017							46,069		(46,069)
Net income (loss)	(39,013)						(41,017)				2,004
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax	(10,464)								(10,464)
Issuance of NL common stock	120		1		119
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest	(335)										(335)
Other, net	172				154						18
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	303,558		6,090		301,139		225,156		(248,270)		19,443
Net income (loss)	28,035						25,844				2,191
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax	(3,420)								(3,420)
Issuance of NL common stock	100		4		96
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest	(470)										(470)
Other, net	(590)				(2,133)						1,543
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	327,213		6,094		299,102		251,000		(251,690)		22,707
Net income (loss)	16,103						14,680				1,423
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax	501								501
Issuance of NL common stock	100		4		96
Dividends paid	(7,805)						(7,805)
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest	(676)										(676)
Other, net	(87)				(105)						18
Ending Balance at Dec. 31, 2020	$ 335,349		$ 6,098		$ 299,093		$ 257,875		$ (251,189)		$ 23,472

- Definition

Amount after tax and reclassification adjustments of other comprehensive income (loss).

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- Definition

The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

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Amount of stockholders' equity (deficit), net of receivables from officers, directors, owners, and affiliates of the entity, attributable to both the parent and noncontrolling interests. Amount excludes temporary equity. Alternate caption for the concept is permanent equity.

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Parenthetical)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 $ / shares
Statement Of Stockholders Equity [Abstract]
Dividends paid per share	$ 0.16

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)	$ 16,103	$ 28,035	$ (39,013)
Depreciation and amortization	3,827	3,685	3,476
Deferred income taxes	(2,530)	430	(15,178)
Equity in earnings of Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	(19,437)	(26,470)	(62,316)
Dividends received from Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	25,356	25,356	23,948
Marketable equity securities	8,671	863	60,941
Cash funding of benefit plans in excess of net benefit plan expense	(792)	(1,574)	(1,875)
Noncash interest expense	1,321	646
Net gain from sale of excess property		(4,424)
Net gain from sale of business		(3,000)
Other, net	93	281	(2)
Change in assets and liabilities:
Accounts and other receivables, net	1,121	15,487	(16,786)
Inventories, net	(193)	(1,439)	(1,846)
Prepaid expenses and other	(237)	(77)	(162)
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(13,163)	(26,365)	61,769
Income taxes	(77)	33	16
Accounts with affiliates	193	444	1,113
Accrued environmental remediation and related costs	(1,092)	(3,703)	(13,698)
Other noncurrent assets and liabilities, net	(141)	19,227	16,689
Net cash provided by operating activities	19,023	27,435	17,076
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(1,740)	(3,166)	(3,118)
Note receivable from affiliate:
Loans	(34,828)	(34,900)	(46,800)
Collections	33,428	40,800	51,000
Proceeds from sale of excess property		4,636
Proceeds from sale of business		2,925
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents of business at time of sale		(504)
Other		125	225
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(3,140)	9,916	1,307
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividends paid	(7,805)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests in subsidiary	(676)	(470)	(335)
Net cash used in financing activities	(8,481)	(470)	(335)
Net cash provided by operating activities	19,023	27,435	17,076
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(3,140)	9,916	1,307
Net cash used in financing activities	(8,481)	(470)	(335)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents - net change from:
Operating, investing and financing activities	7,402	36,881	18,048
Balance at beginning of year	157,870	120,989	102,941
Balance at end of year	165,272	157,870	120,989
Supplemental disclosures:
Interest	27	36	34
Income taxes, net	$ 46	(118)	$ (1,716)
Noncash investing - receivable from sale of business		$ 325

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of significant accounting policies

Note 1 - Summary of significant accounting policies:

Nature of our business - NL Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NL) is primarily a holding company. We operate in the component products industry through our majority-owned subsidiary, CompX International Inc. (NYSE American: CIX). We operate in the chemicals industry through our noncontrolling interest in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: KRO).

Organization - At December 31, 2020, Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI) held approximately 83% of our outstanding common stock and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Contran Corporation held approximately 92% of Valhi’s outstanding common stock. A majority of Contran's outstanding voting stock is held directly by Lisa K. Simmons and various family trusts established for the benefit of Ms. Simmons, Thomas C. Connelly (the husband of Ms. Simmons’ late sister) and their children and for which Ms. Simmons or Mr. Connelly, as applicable, serve as trustee (collectively, the “Other Trusts”). With respect to the Other Trusts for which Mr. Connelly serves as trustee, he is required to vote the shares of Contran voting stock held by such trusts in the same manner as Ms. Simmons. Such voting rights of Ms. Simmons last through April 22, 2030 and are personal to Ms. Simmons. The remainder of Contran’s outstanding voting stock is held by another trust (the “Family Trust”), which was established for the benefit of Ms. Simmons and her late sister and their children and for which a third-party financial institution serves as trustee. Consequently, at December 31, 2020 Ms. Simmons and the Family Trust may be deemed to control Contran, and therefore may be deemed to indirectly control the wholly-owned subsidiary of Contran, Valhi and us.

Our results of operations for 2020 were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily in the second and third quarters, due to government mandated closures and reduced demand for many of CompX’s and Kronos’ products resulting from the rapid contraction of vast areas of the global economy. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our future operations will depend on the time period and degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic persists in the global economy, including the timing and extent to which CompX’s and Kronos’ customers’ operations continue to be impacted, their customers’ perception as to when consumer demand for their products will return to pre-pandemic levels and on any future disruptions in their operations or their suppliers’ operations, all of which are difficult to predict.

Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we,” “us” or “our” refer to NL Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliate, Kronos, taken as a whole.

Management’s estimates - In preparing our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at each balance sheet date and the reported amounts of our revenues and expenses during each reporting period. Actual results may differ significantly from previously-estimated amounts under different assumptions or conditions.

Principles of consolidation - Our consolidated financial statements include the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of NL and our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, including CompX. We account for the 14% of CompX stock we do not own as a noncontrolling interest. We eliminate all material intercompany accounts and balances. Changes in ownership of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries are accounted for as equity transactions with no gain or loss recognized on the transaction unless there is a change in control.

Currency translation - The financial statements of Kronos’ non-U.S. subsidiaries are translated to U.S. dollars. The functional currency of Kronos’ non-U.S. subsidiaries is generally the local currency of their country. Accordingly, Kronos translates the assets and liabilities at year-end rates of exchange, while it translates its revenues and expenses at average exchange rates prevailing during the year. We accumulate the resulting translation adjustments in stockholders’ equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of related deferred income taxes. Kronos recognizes currency transaction gains and losses in income which is reflected as part of our equity in earnings (losses) of Kronos.

Cash and cash equivalents - We classify bank time deposits and highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents.

Restricted cash and cash equivalents - We classify cash equivalents that have been segregated or are otherwise limited in use as restricted. Such restrictions include cash pledged as collateral with respect to performance obligations or letters of credit required by regulatory agencies for certain environmental remediation sites and cash pledged as collateral with respect to certain workers compensation liabilities or legal settlements. To the extent the restricted amount relates to a recognized liability, we classify such restricted amount as either a current or noncurrent asset to correspond with the classification of the liability. To the extent the restricted amount does not relate to a recognized liability, we classify restricted cash as a current asset. Restricted cash equivalents classified as a current asset or a non-current asset are presented separately on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Marketable securities and securities transactions - We carry marketable securities at fair value. Accounting Standard Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value and, with certain exceptions, this framework is generally applied to all financial statement items required to be measured at fair value. The standard requires fair value measurements to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:

•

Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

•

Level 2 - Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the assets or liability; and

•

Level 3 - Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.

We classify all of our marketable securities as available-for-sale. Unrealized gains or losses on the securities are recognized in Marketable equity securities on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. We base realized gains and losses upon the specific identification of the securities sold. See Notes 5 and 11.

Accounts receivable - We provide an allowance for doubtful accounts for known and estimated potential losses arising from sales to customers based on a periodic review of these accounts. See Note 3.

Inventories and cost of sales - We state inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value. We record a provision for obsolete and slow-moving inventories. We generally base inventory costs for all inventory categories on an average cost that approximates the first-in, first-out method. Inventories include the costs for raw materials, the cost to manufacture the raw materials into finished goods and overhead. Depending on the inventory’s stage of completion, our manufacturing costs can include the costs of packing and finishing, utilities, maintenance and depreciation, shipping and handling, and salaries and benefits associated with our manufacturing process. We allocate fixed manufacturing overhead costs based on normal production capacity. Unallocated overhead costs resulting from periods with abnormally low production levels are charged to expense as incurred. As inventory is sold to third parties, we recognize the cost of sales in the same period that the sale occurs. We periodically review our inventory for estimated obsolescence or instances when inventory is no longer marketable for its intended use and we record any write-down equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and its estimated net realizable value based on assumptions about alternative uses, market conditions and other factors. See Note 4.

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. - We account for our 30% non-controlling interest in Kronos by the equity method. Distributions received from Kronos are classified for statement of cash flow purposes using the “nature of distribution” approach under ASC Topic 230. See Note 6.

Goodwill - Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of individual net assets acquired in business combinations. Goodwill is not subject to periodic amortization. We evaluate goodwill for impairment annually, or when circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. See Note 7.

Leases - We enter into various arrangements (or leases) that convey the rights to use and control identified underlying assets for a period of time in exchange for consideration. We lease various facilities and equipment.

From time to time, we may also enter into an arrangement in which the right to use and control an identified underlying asset is embedded in another type of contract. We determine if an arrangement is a lease (including leases embedded in another type of contract) at inception. All of our leases are classified as operating leases under ASC Topic 842 Leases. Operating leases are not material.

Property and equipment; depreciation expense - We state property and equipment, including purchased computer software for internal use, at cost. We compute depreciation of property and equipment for financial reporting purposes principally by the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of 15 to 40 years for buildings and 3 to 20 years for equipment and software. We use accelerated depreciation methods for income tax purposes, as permitted. Upon sale or retirement of an asset, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any gain or loss is recognized in income currently. Expenditures for maintenance, repairs and minor renewals are expensed; expenditures for major improvements are capitalized.

We perform impairment tests when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. We consider all relevant factors. We perform impairment tests by comparing the estimated future undiscounted cash flows associated with the asset to the asset’s net carrying value to determine whether impairment exists.

Employee benefit plans - Accounting and funding policies for our defined benefit pension and defined contribution retirement plans are described in Note 11. We also provide certain postretirement benefits other than pensions (OPEB), consisting of health care and life insurance benefits, to certain U.S. and Canadian retired employees, which are not material. See Note 12.

Income taxes - We, Valhi and our qualifying subsidiaries are members of Contran’s consolidated U.S. federal income tax group (the Contran Tax Group) and we and certain of our qualifying subsidiaries also file consolidated unitary state income tax returns with Contran in qualifying U.S. jurisdictions. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, we are jointly and severally liable for the federal income tax liability of Contran and the other companies included in the Contran Tax Group for all periods in which we are included in the Contran Tax Group. See Note 17. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, we are party to a tax sharing agreement with Valhi and Contran which provides that we compute our provision for income taxes on a separate-company basis using the tax elections made by Contran. Pursuant to our tax sharing agreement, we make payments to or receive payments from Valhi in amounts that we would have paid to or received from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the applicable state tax authority had we not been a member of the Contran Tax Group. We received net refunds from Valhi for income taxes of $1.7 million in 2018, $.2 million in 2019 and nil in 2020.

We recognize deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the income tax and financial reporting carrying amounts of assets and liabilities, including investments in our subsidiaries and affiliates who are not members of the Contran Tax Group and undistributed earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries which are not deemed to be permanently reinvested. In addition, we recognize deferred income taxes with respect to the excess of the financial reporting carrying amount over the income tax basis of our direct investment in Kronos common stock because the exemption under GAAP to avoid recognition of such deferred income taxes is not available to us. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities for each tax-paying jurisdiction in which we operate are netted and presented as either a noncurrent deferred income tax asset or liability, as applicable. We periodically evaluate our deferred tax assets in the various taxing jurisdictions in which we operate and adjust any related valuation allowance based on the estimate of the amount of such deferred tax assets that we believe does not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition criteria.

We account for the tax effects of a change in tax law as a component of the income tax provision related to continuing operations in the period of enactment, including the tax effects of any deferred income taxes originally established through a financial statement component other than continuing operations (i.e. other comprehensive income). Changes in applicable income tax rates over time as a result of changes in tax law, or times in which a deferred income tax asset valuation allowance is initially recognized in one year and subsequently reversed in a later year, can give rise to “stranded” tax effects in accumulated other comprehensive income in which the net accumulated income tax (benefit) remaining in accumulated other comprehensive income does not correspond to the then-applicable income tax rate applied to the pre-tax amount which resides in accumulated other comprehensive income. As permitted by GAAP, our accounting policy is to remove any such stranded tax effect remaining in

accumulated other comprehensive income, by recognizing an offset to our provision for income taxes related to continuing operations, only at the time when there is no remaining pre-tax amount in accumulated other comprehensive income. For accumulated other comprehensive income related to currency translation, this would occur only upon the sale or complete liquidation of one of our non-U.S. subsidiaries. For defined pension benefit plans and OPEB plans, this would occur whenever one of our subsidiaries which previously sponsored a defined benefit pension or OPEB plan had terminated such a plan and had no future obligation or plan asset associated with such a plan.

We record a reserve for uncertain tax positions for tax positions where we believe it is more-likely-than-not our position will not prevail with the applicable tax authorities. The amount of the benefit associated with our uncertain tax positions that we recognize is limited to the largest amount for which we believe the likelihood of realization is greater than 50%. We accrue penalties and interest on the difference between tax positions taken on our tax returns and the amount of benefit recognized for financial reporting purposes. We classify our reserves for uncertain tax positions in a separate current or noncurrent liability, depending on the nature of the tax position. See Note 14.

Environmental remediation costs - We record liabilities related to environmental remediation obligations when estimated future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust these accruals as further information becomes available to us or as circumstances change. We generally do not discount estimated future expenditures to present value. We recognize any recoveries of remediation costs from other parties when we deem their receipt probable. At December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, we had not recognized any such receivables for recoveries. We expense any environmental remediation related legal costs as incurred. See Note 17.

Net sales - Our sales involve single performance obligations to ship our products pursuant to customer purchase orders. In some cases, the purchase order is supported by an underlying master sales agreement, but our purchase order verification notice generally evidences the contract with our customer by specifying the key terms of product and quantity ordered, price and delivery and payment terms. In accordance with Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606), we record revenue when we satisfy our performance obligations to our customers by transferring control of our products to them, which generally occurs at point of shipment or upon delivery. Such transfer of control is also evidenced by transfer of legal title and other risks and rewards of ownership (giving the customer the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the benefits of, the product), and our customers becoming obligated to pay us and it is probable we will receive payment. In certain arrangements we provide shipping and handling activities after the transfer of control to our customer (e.g. when control transfers prior to delivery). In such arrangements shipping and handling are considered fulfillment activities, and accordingly, such costs are accrued when the related revenue is recognized.

Revenue is recorded in an amount that reflects the net consideration we expect to receive in exchange for our products. Prices for our products are based on terms specified in published list prices and purchase orders, which generally do not include financing components, noncash consideration or consideration paid to our customers. As our standard payment terms are less than one year, we have elected the practical expedient under ASC 606 and we have not assessed whether a contract has a significant financing component. We state sales net of price, early payment and distributor discounts as well as volume rebates (collectively, variable consideration). Variable consideration, to the extent present, is not material and is recognized as the amount to which we are most-likely to be entitled, using all information (historical, current and forecasted) that is reasonably available to us, and only to the extent that a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized is not probable of occurring in a future period. Differences, if any, between estimates of the amount of variable consideration to which we will be entitled and the actual amount of such variable consideration have not been material in the past. We report any tax assessed by a governmental authority that we collect from our customers that is both imposed on and concurrent with our revenue-producing activities (such as sales, use, value added and excise taxes) on a net basis (meaning we do not recognize these taxes either in our revenues or in our costs and expenses).

Frequently, we receive orders for products to be delivered over dates that may extend across reporting periods. We invoice for each delivery upon shipment and recognize revenue for each distinct shipment when all sales recognition criteria for that shipment have been satisfied. As scheduled delivery dates for these orders are within a one year period, under the optional exemption provided by ASC 606, we do not disclose sales allocated to future shipments of partially completed contracts.

Selling, general and administrative expenses; advertising costs; research and development costs - Selling, general and administrative expenses include costs related to marketing, sales, distribution, research and development, and administrative functions such as accounting, treasury and finance, as well as costs for salaries and benefits, travel and entertainment, promotional materials and professional fees. We expense advertising costs and research and development costs as incurred. Advertising costs were not significant in any year presented.

Corporate expenses - Corporate expenses include environmental, legal and other costs attributable to formerly-owned business units.

Business and Geographic Information

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Segments Geographical Areas [Abstract]

Business and geographic information

Note 2 - Business and geographic information:

We operate in the security products industry and marine components industry through our majority ownership of CompX. CompX manufactures and sells security products including locking mechanisms and other security products for sale to the transportation, postal, office and institutional furniture, cabinetry, tool storage, healthcare and other industries with a facility in South Carolina and a facility shared with Marine Components in Illinois. CompX also manufactures and distributes stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges, throttle controls, wake enhancement systems, trim tabs and related hardware and accessories primarily for performance and ski/wakeboard boats.

The following table disaggregates our net sales by reporting unit, which are the categories that depict how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are affected by economic factors (as required by ASC 606).

	Years ended December 31,
	2018		2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Net sales:
Security Products	$	98,383	$	99,328	$	87,863
Marine Components		19,834		24,915		26,674
Total	$	118,217	$	124,243	$	114,537

For geographic information, the point of origin (place of manufacture) for all net sales is the U.S., the point of destination for net sales is based on the location of the customer.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018		2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Net sales - point of destination:
United States	$	108,773	$	114,186	$	107,712
Canada		6,436		7,257		4,423
Mexico		1,438		922		431
Other		1,570		1,878		1,971
Total	$	118,217	$	124,243	$	114,537

All of our net property and equipment is located in the United States at December 31, 2019 and 2020.

Accounts and Other Receivables, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Receivables [Abstract]

Accounts and other receivables, net

Note 3 - Accounts and other receivables, net:

	December 31,
	2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Trade receivables - CompX	$	11,940		$	10,801
Accrued insurance recoveries		28			18
Other receivables		31			393
Allowance for doubtful accounts		(70	)		(70	)
Total	$	11,929		$	11,142

Accrued insurance recoveries are discussed in Note 17.

Inventories, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]

Inventories, net

Note 4 - Inventories, net:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Raw materials	$	2,941	$	3,220
Work in process		11,771		11,668
Finished products		3,636		3,449
Total	$	18,348	$	18,337

Marketable Securities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]

Marketable securities

Note 5 - Marketable securities:

Our marketable securities consist of investments in the publicly-traded shares of our immediate parent company Valhi, Inc. Our shares of Valhi common stock are accounted for as available-for-sale securities, which are carried at fair value using quoted market prices in active markets and represent a Level 1 input within the fair value hierarchy. Unrealized gains or losses on the securities are recognized in Marketable equity securities on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

	Fair value
	measurement	Market		Cost		Unrealized
	level	value		basis		gain (loss)
		(In thousands)
December 31, 2019
Noncurrent assets
Valhi common stock	1	$	26,877	$	24,347	$	2,530

December 31, 2020
Noncurrent assets
Valhi common stock	1	$	18,206	$	24,347	$	(6,141	)

At December 31, 2019 and 2020, we held approximately 1.2 million shares of our immediate parent company, Valhi. See Note 1. The per share quoted market price of Valhi common stock at December 31, 2019 and 2020 was $22.44 and $15.20, respectively. Valhi implemented a reverse split of its common stock at a ratio of 1-for-12 effective on June 1, 2020. We have adjusted all share and per-share disclosures related to our investment in Valhi stock for all periods prior to June 2020 to give effect to the reverse stock split. The reverse stock split had no financial statement impact to us, and our ownership interest in Valhi did not change as a result of the split.

The Valhi common stock we own is subject to the restrictions on resale pursuant to certain provisions of the SEC Rule 144. In addition, as a majority-owned subsidiary of Valhi we cannot vote our shares of Valhi

common stock under Delaware General Corporation Law, but we do receive dividends from Valhi on these shares, when declared and paid.

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Equity Method Investments And Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.

Note 6 - Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.:

At December 31, 2019 and 2020, we owned approximately 35.2 million shares of Kronos common stock. The per share quoted market price of Kronos common stock at December 31, 2019 and 2020 was $13.40 and $14.91 per share, respectively, or an aggregate market value of $471.9 million and $525.1 million, respectively. The change in the carrying value of our investment in Kronos during the past three years is summarized below:

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In millions)
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	229.5		$	255.5		$	248.4
Equity in earnings of Kronos		62.3			26.5			19.4
Dividends received from Kronos		(23.9	)		(25.4	)		(25.4	)
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation		(10.1	)		(.5	)		4.1
Defined benefit pension plans		(2.2	)		(6.7	)		(3.7	)
Other postretirement benefit plans		(.1	)		(.1	)		(.1	)
Other		-			(.9	)		(.3	)
Balance at the end of the year	$	255.5		$	248.4		$	242.4

Selected financial information of Kronos is summarized below:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In millions)
Current assets	$	1,219.7	$	1,218.3
Property and equipment, net		490.6		524.6
Investment in TiO₂ joint venture		90.2		103.3
Other noncurrent assets		165.3		190.5
Total assets	$	1,965.8	$	2,036.7

Current liabilities	$	270.6	$	260.2
Long-term debt		444.0		486.7
Accrued pension costs		307.4		372.6
Other noncurrent liabilities		127.7		120.7
Stockholders' equity		816.1		796.5
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	1,965.8	$	2,036.7

Goodwill

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill

Note 7 - Goodwill:

All of our goodwill is related to our component products operations and was generated from CompX’s acquisitions of certain business units. There have been no changes in the carrying amount of our goodwill during the past three years.

We assign goodwill based on the reporting unit (as that term is defined in ASC Topic 350-20-20 Goodwill) which corresponds to CompX’s security products operations. We test for goodwill impairment at the reporting unit level. In accordance with ASC 350-20-35, we test for goodwill impairment during the third quarter of each year or when circumstances arise that indicate an impairment might be present.

In 2018, 2019 and 2020, our goodwill was tested for impairment only in the third quarter of each year in connection with our annual testing. No impairment was indicated as part of such annual review of goodwill. As permitted by GAAP, during 2018, 2019 and 2020 we used the qualitative assessment of ASC 350-20-35 for our annual impairment test and determined it was not necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. Such discounted cash flows are a Level 3 input as defined by ASC 820-10-35. Prior to 2018, all of the goodwill related to CompX’s marine components operations (which aggregated $10.1 million) was impaired, and all of the goodwill related to our wholly-owned subsidiary EWI Re, Inc., (EWI) an insurance brokerage and risk management services company (which aggregated $6.4 million), was impaired. Our gross goodwill at December 31, 2020 was $43.7 million.

Other Assets, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Deferred Costs Capitalized Prepaid And Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Other assets, net

Note 8 - Other assets, net:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Pension asset	$	4,294	$	3,881
Other		1,566		1,381
Total	$	5,860	$	5,262

Accrued and Other Current Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Accrued and other current liabilities

Note 9 - Accrued and other current liabilities:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Employee benefits	$	8,917	$	9,000
Other		1,684		1,253
Total	$	10,601	$	10,253

Long-Term Debt

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-term debt

Note 10 - Long-term debt:

In November 2016, we entered into a financing transaction with Valhi. Previously, and in contemplation of the financing transaction described herein, we formed NLKW Holding, LLC and capitalized it with 35.2 million shares of the common stock of Kronos held by us.

The financing transaction consisted of two steps. Under the first step, NLKW entered into a $50 million revolving credit facility (the “Valhi Credit Facility”) pursuant to which NLKW can borrow up to $50 million from Valhi (with such commitment amount subject to increase from time to time at Valhi’s sole discretion). Proceeds from any borrowings by NLKW under the Valhi Credit Facility would be available for one or more loans from NLKW to us in accordance with the terms of the second step of the financing transaction: a Back-to-Back Credit Facility, as described below. Outstanding borrowings under the Valhi Credit Facility bear interest at the prime rate plus 1.875% per annum, payable quarterly, with all amounts due on December 31, 2023. The maximum principal amount which may be outstanding from time-to-time under the Valhi Credit Facility is limited to 50% of the amount determined by multiplying

the number of shares of Kronos common stock pledged by the most recent closing price of such security on the New York Stock Exchange. Borrowings under the Valhi Credit Facility are collateralized by the assets of NLKW (consisting primarily of the shares of Kronos common stock pledged) and 100% of the membership interest in NLKW held by us. The Valhi Credit Facility contains a number of covenants and restrictions which, among other things, restrict NLKW’s ability to incur additional debt, incur liens, and merge or consolidate with, or sell or transfer substantially all of NLKW’s assets to, another entity, and require NLKW to maintain a minimum specified level of consolidated net worth. Upon an event of default, Valhi will be entitled to terminate its commitment to make further loans to NLKW, to declare the outstanding loans (with interest) immediately due and payable, and, in the case of certain insolvency events with respect to NLKW or us, to exercise its rights with respect to the collateral. Such collateral rights include the right to purchase all of the shares of Kronos common stock pledged at a purchase price equal to the aggregate market value of such stock (with such market value determined by an independent third-party valuation provider), less amounts owing to Valhi under the Valhi Credit Facility, with up to 50% of such purchase price being payable by Valhi in the form of an unsecured promissory note bearing interest at the prime rate plus 2.75% per annum, payable quarterly, with all amounts due no later than five years from the date of purchase, and with the remainder of such purchase price payable in cash at the date of purchase.

Contemporaneously with the entering into the Valhi Credit Facility, NLKW entered into a $50 million revolving credit facility (the “Back-to-Back Credit Facility”) with us, pursuant to which we can borrow up to $50 million from NLKW (with such commitment amount subject to increase from time to time in NLKW’s sole discretion). Proceeds from any borrowings under the Back-to-Back Credit Facility would be available for our general corporate purposes, including providing resources to assist us in the resolution of certain claims and contingent liabilities which may be asserted against us. Outstanding borrowings under the Back-to-Back Credit Facility bear interest at the same rate and are payable on the same maturity date as are borrowings by NLKW under the Valhi Credit Facility. Borrowings under the Back-to-Back Credit Facility are on an unsecured basis; however, as a condition thereto, we pledged to Valhi as collateral for the Valhi Credit Facility our 100% membership interest in NLKW. Any outstanding borrowings and interest on such borrowings under the Back-to-Back Credit Facility are eliminated in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

We had outstanding borrowings under the Valhi Credit Facility of $.5 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2020. The interest rate as of December 31, 2020 and the average interest rate for the year then ended were 5.13% and 5.42%, respectively. See Note 16. NLKW is in compliance with all of the covenants contained in the Valhi Credit Facility at December 31, 2020.

Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee benefit plans

Note 11 - Employee benefit plans:

Defined contribution plans - We maintain various defined contribution pension plans. Company contributions are based on matching or other formulas. Defined contribution plan expense approximated $3.1 million in 2018, $3.2 million in 2019 and $3.0 million in 2020.

Defined benefit pension plans - We maintain a defined benefit pension plan in the U.S. We also maintain a plan in the United Kingdom (U.K.) related to a former disposed business unit in the U.K. The benefits under our defined benefit plans are based upon years of service and employee compensation. The plans are closed to new participants and no additional benefits accrue to existing plan participants. Our funding policy is to contribute annually the minimum amount required under ERISA (or equivalent non-U.S.) regulations plus additional amounts as we deem appropriate.

In accordance with applicable U.K. pension regulations, we entered into an agreement in March 2021 for the bulk annuity purchase, or “buy-in” with a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension plans. Following the buy-in, individual policies will replace the bulk annuity policy in a “buy-out” which is expected to be completed in late 2021 or early 2022. The buy-out is expected to be completed with existing plan funds. At the completion of the buy-out we will remove the assets and liabilities of the U.K. pension plan from our Consolidated Financial Statements and a plan settlement gain or loss (which we are currently unable to estimate) will be included in net periodic pension cost. At December 31, 2020, the U.K. plan had a benefit obligation of $9.1 million, plan assets of $13.0 million and a pension plan asset of $3.9 million was recognized in our Consolidated Balance Sheet.

We expect to contribute approximately $1.2 million to our defined benefit pension plans during 2021. Benefit payments to all plan participants out of plan assets are expected to be the equivalent of:

Years ending December 31,	Amount
	(In thousands)
2021	$	3,623
2022		3,625
2023		3,581
2024		3,501
2025		3,420
Next 5 years		15,913

The funded status of our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligations (PBO):
Benefit obligations at beginning of the year	$	49,249		$	50,350
Interest cost		1,884			1,483
Participant contributions		1			-
Actuarial losses		2,582			4,353
Change in currency exchange rates		260			307
Benefits paid		(3,626	)		(3,620	)
Benefit obligations at end of the year		50,350			52,873

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of the year		40,626			46,313
Actual return on plan assets		5,752			5,308
Employer contributions		3,173			1,841
Participant contributions		1			-
Change in currency exchange rates		387			418
Benefits paid		(3,626	)		(3,620	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		46,313			50,260
Funded status	$	(4,037	)	$	(2,613	)

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Noncurrent pension asset	$	4,294		$	3,881
Accrued pension costs:
Current		(101	)		(102	)
Noncurrent		(8,230	)		(6,392	)
Total		(4,037	)		(2,613	)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss - actuarial losses, net		28,687			28,209
Total	$	24,650		$	25,596

Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	$	50,350		$	52,873

The amounts shown in the table above for actuarial losses at December 31, 2019 and 2020 have not been recognized as components of our periodic defined benefit pension cost as of those dates. These amounts will be recognized as components of our periodic defined benefit cost in future years. These amounts, net of deferred

income taxes, are recognized in our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2019 and 2020.

The total net underfunded status of our defined benefit pension plans decreased from $4.0 million at December 31, 2019 to $2.6 million at December 31, 2020 due to the change in plan assets during 2020 exceeding the change in our PBO during 2020. The increase in our plan assets in 2020 was primarily attributable to net plan asset returns in 2020 and employer contributions. The increase in our PBO in 2020 was primarily attributable to actuarial losses due to the decrease in discount rates from year end 2019.

The table below details the changes in other comprehensive income (loss) during 2018, 2019 and 2020.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year	$	(2,709	)	$	1,330	$	(934	)
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial loss		1,937			1,584		1,412
Total	$	(772	)	$	2,914	$	478

The components of our net periodic defined benefit pension cost are presented in the table below. The amount shown below for the amortization of unrecognized actuarial losses in 2018, 2019 and 2020, net of deferred income taxes, was recognized as a component of our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Net periodic pension cost:
Interest cost on PBO	$	1,808		$	1,884		$	1,483
Expected return on plan assets		(3,043	)		(1,899	)		(1,850	)
Recognized actuarial losses		1,937			1,584			1,412
Total	$	702		$	1,569		$	1,045

Certain information concerning our defined benefit pension plans (including information concerning certain plans for which ABO exceeds the fair value of plan assets as of the indicated date) is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
PBO at end of the year:
U.S. plan	$	42,198	$	43,754
U.K. plan		8,152		9,119
Total	$	50,350	$	52,873
Fair value of plan assets at end of the year:
U.S. plan	$	33,867	$	37,260
U.K. plan		12,446		13,000
Total	$	46,313	$	50,260

Plans for which the ABO exceeds plan assets (only our U.S. plan):
PBO	$	42,198	$	43,754
ABO		42,198		43,754
Fair value of plan assets		33,867		37,260

The weighted-average discount rate assumptions used in determining the actuarial present value of our benefit obligations as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 are 2.9% and 2.1%, respectively. Such weighted-average rates were determined using the projected benefit obligations at each date. Since our plans are closed to new participants and no new additional benefits accrue to existing plan participants, assumptions regarding future compensation levels are not applicable. Consequently, the accumulated benefit obligations for all of our defined benefit pension plans were equal to the projected benefit obligations at December 31, 2019 and 2020.

The weighted-average rate assumptions used in determining the net periodic pension cost for 2018, 2019 and 2020 are presented in the table below. Such weighted-average discount rates were determined using the projected benefit obligations as of the beginning of each year and the weighted-average long-term return on plan assets was determined using the fair value of plan assets as of the beginning of each year.

	Years ended December 31,
Rate	2018			2019			2020
Discount rate		3.4	%		3.9	%		2.9	%
Long-term rate of return on plan assets		7.2	%		4.7	%		4.2	%

Variances from actuarially assumed rates will result in increases or decreases in accumulated pension obligations, pension expense and funding requirements in future periods.

Prior to 2018, substantially all of the assets attributable to our U.S. plan were invested in the Combined Master Retirement Trust (CMRT), a collective investment trust sponsored by Contran to permit the collective investment by certain master trusts that fund certain employee benefit plans sponsored by Contran and certain of its affiliates, including us. For 2018, the long-term rate of return assumption for our U.S. plan assets was 7.5%, based on the long-term asset mix of the assets of the CMRT and the expected long-term rates of return for such asset components as well as advice from Contran’s actuaries. During 2018, Contran and the other employer-sponsors (including us) implemented a restructuring of the CMRT, in which a substantial part of each plan’s units in the CMRT were redeemed in exchange for a pro-rata portion of a substantial part of the CMRT’s investments. Following such restructuring, the plans held directly in the aggregate the investments previously held directly by the CMRT which had been exchanged for CMRT units as part of the restructuring. Certain investments held directly by the CMRT were not part of such restructuring and remained investments of the CMRT at December 31, 2018. During 2019, the remaining investments of the CMRT allocable to our U.S. plan were transferred and are held as

direct investments of our U.S. plan at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020. Such restructuring was implemented in part so each plan could more easily align the composition of its plan asset portfolio with the plan’s benefit obligations.

In determining the expected long-term rate of return on our U.S. and non-U.S. plan asset assumptions, we consider the long-term asset mix (e.g. equity vs. fixed income) for the assets for each of our plans and the expected long-term rates of return for such asset components. In addition, we receive third-party advice about appropriate long-term rates of return. In the U.S. we currently have a plan asset target allocation of 38% to equity securities, 54% to fixed income securities, and the remainder is allocated to multi-asset strategies. The expected long-term rate of return for such investments is approximately 9%, 3% and 2%, respectively (before plan administrative expenses). The majority of U.S. plan assets are Level 1 inputs because they are traded in active markets and approximately 34% of our U.S. plan assets are invested in funds that are valued at net asset value (NAV) and, in accordance with ASC 820-10, not subject to classification in the fair value hierarchy. The non-U.S. plan assets consist of marketable securities which are Level 1 inputs because they trade in active markets.

We regularly review our actual asset allocation for each plan, and will periodically rebalance the investments in each plan to more accurately reflect the targeted allocation and/or maximize the overall long-term return when considered appropriate.

The composition of our pension plan assets by fair value level at December 31, 2019 and 2020 is shown in the table below.

	Fair Value Measurements
	Total		Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Assets measured at NAV
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2019:
U.S.
Equities	$	13,439	$	3,789	$	-	$	439	$	9,211
Fixed income		16,290		16,290		-		-		-
Cash and other		4,138		3,197		-		-		941
U.K. - Other		12,446		12,446		-		-		-
Total	$	46,313	$	35,722	$	-	$	439	$	10,152

	Fair Value Measurements
	Total		Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Assets measured at NAV
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2020:
U.S.
Equities	$	14,636	$	2,158	$	-	$	538	$	11,940
Fixed income		18,747		18,747		-		-		-
Cash and other		3,877		3,052		-		-		825
U.K. - Other		13,000		13,000		-		-		-
Total	$	50,260	$	36,957	$	-	$	538	$	12,765

- Definition

The entire disclosure for retirement benefits.

+ References

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+ Details

Other Noncurrent Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

Other noncurrent liabilities

Note 12 - Other noncurrent liabilities:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Reserve for uncertain tax positions	$	4,053	$	1,717
OPEB		1,129		985
Insurance claims and expenses		665		653
Other		413		425
Total	$	6,260	$	3,780

Our reserve for uncertain tax positions is discussed in Note 14.

Other Operating Income (Expense)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Income And Expenses [Abstract]

Other Operating Income (Expense)

Note 13 - Other operating income (expense):

We have agreements with certain insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers reimburse us for a portion of our past lead pigment and asbestos litigation defense costs. Insurance recoveries include amounts we received from these insurance carriers.

The agreements with certain of our insurance carriers also include reimbursement for a portion of our future litigation defense costs. We are not able to determine how much we will ultimately recover from these carriers for defense costs incurred by us because of certain issues that arise regarding which defense costs qualify for reimbursement. Accordingly, these insurance recoveries are recognized when the receipt is probable and the amount is determinable. Insurance recoveries in 2019 primarily related to a single settlement we reached with one of our insurance carriers in which they agreed to reimburse us for a portion of our past and future litigation defense costs. See Note 17.

Other income, net in 2019 includes a gain of $4.4 million related to a sale of excess property in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2019 we sold our insurance and risk management business for proceeds of $3.25 million and recognized a gain of $3.0 million on the sale.

Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income taxes

Note 14 - Income taxes:

The provision for income taxes and the difference between such provision for income taxes and the amount that would be expected using the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate are presented below.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In millions)
Expected tax expense (benefit), at U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21%	$	(11.4	)	$	6.0		$	2.9
Rate differences on equity in earnings of Kronos, net of dividends		(5.0	)		(5.3	)		(5.3	)
Change in federal tax rate, net		.8			-			-
U.S. state income taxes and other, net		.2			(.1	)		(.1	)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)

Components of income tax expense (benefit):
Currently payable (receivable)	$	(.2	)	$	.2		$	-
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)		(15.2	)		.4			(2.5	)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)

Comprehensive provision for income taxes (benefit) allocable to:
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)
Additional paid-in capital		-			(.2	)		(.1	)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation		(2.1	)		(.1	)		.9
Pension plans		(.6	)		(.8	)		(.7	)
OPEB plans		-			-			(.1	)
Total	$	(18.1	)	$	(.5	)	$	(2.5	)

The components of the net deferred tax liability at December 31, 2019 and 2020 are summarized in the following table.

	December 31,
	2019						2020
	Assets			Liabilities			Assets			Liabilities
	(In millions)
Tax effect of temporary differences related to:
Inventories	$	.4		$	-		$	.4		$	-
Marketable securities		-			(5.4	)		-			(3.6	)
Property and equipment		-			(2.8	)		-			(2.6	)
Accrued OPEB costs		.3			-			.3			-
Accrued pension costs		.7			-			.5			-
Accrued employee benefits		1.2			-			1.1			-
Accrued environmental liabilities		31.7			-			29.1			-
Goodwill		-			(1.7	)		-			(1.7	)
Other accrued liabilities and deductible differences		.2			-			-			-
Other taxable differences		-			(2.3	)		-			(2.3	)
Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.		-			(56.3	)		-			(55.0	)
Adjusted gross deferred tax assets (liabilities)		34.5			(68.5	)		31.4			(65.2	)
Netting of items by tax jurisdiction		(34.5	)		34.5			(31.4	)		31.4
Net noncurrent deferred tax liability	$	-		$	(34.0	)	$	-		$	(33.8	)

In accordance with GAAP, we recognize deferred income taxes on our undistributed equity in earnings (losses) of Kronos. Because we and Kronos are part of the same U.S. federal income tax group, any dividends we receive from Kronos are nontaxable to us. Accordingly, we do not recognize and we are not required to pay income taxes on dividends from Kronos. We received aggregate dividends from Kronos of $23.9 million in 2018 and $25.4 million in each of 2019 and 2020. See Note 6. The amounts shown in the table above of our income tax rate reconciliation for rate differences on equity in earnings (losses) of Kronos represent the benefit associated with the nontaxable dividends we receive from Kronos compared to the amount of deferred income taxes we recognize on our undistributed equity in earnings (losses) of Kronos.

At December 31, 2020, we had NOL carryforwards for federal income tax purposes of approximately $26.6 million all of which have an indefinite carryforward period subject to an 80% annual usage limitation. Our deferred tax asset for such NOL carryforward is net of a portion of our uncertain tax positions as discussed below.

We believe that we have adequate accruals for additional taxes and related interest expense which could ultimately result from tax examinations. We believe the ultimate disposition of tax examinations should not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

At December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020, the gross amount of our uncertain tax positions (exclusive of the effect of interest and penalties) was $7.3 million, and there was no change in such amount during the past three years. Prior to 2007, we made certain pro-rata distributions to our stockholders in the form of Kronos common stock and we recognized a taxable gain related to such distributions. Our uncertain tax positions are attributable to such prior period distribution of Kronos common stock. As discussed in Note 1, we are part of the Contran Tax Group and we have not paid this liability because Contran has not paid the liability to the applicable tax authority. This liability would be payable by Contran to the applicable tax authority if the shares of Kronos common stock were to be sold or otherwise disposed outside of the Contran Tax Group. At December 31, 2020, $5.6 million of our uncertain tax position is classified as a component of our noncurrent deferred tax liability. If our uncertain tax position at December 31, 2020 was recognized, a benefit of $7.3 million would affect our effective income tax rate. We currently estimate that our unrecognized tax benefits will not change materially during the next twelve months.

We and Contran file income tax returns in U.S. federal and various state and local jurisdictions. Our U.S. income tax returns prior to 2017 are generally considered closed to examination by applicable tax authorities.

On March 27, 2020, the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act” was signed into law in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions relating to refundable payroll tax credits, deferment of employer side social security payments, modifications to net operating loss carryovers and carrybacks, modifications to the limitation of business interest for 2019 and 2020 and technical corrections to tax depreciation methods for qualified improvement property. We have evaluated the relevant provisions of the CARES Act and do not expect the NOL carryback provisions to result in a cash tax benefit to us because we do not have any prior year refundable income taxes and other provisions of the CARES Act will not have a material impact on our tax provision.

Income tax matters related to Kronos

Kronos has substantial net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards in Germany (the equivalent of $531 million for German corporate tax purposes at December 31, 2020) and in Belgium (the equivalent of $20 million for Belgian corporate tax purposes at December 31, 2020). At December 31, 2020, Kronos has concluded that no deferred income tax asset valuation allowance is required to be recognized with respect to such carryforwards, principally because (i) such carryforwards have an indefinite carryforward period, (ii) Kronos has utilized a portion of such carryforwards during the most recent three-year period and (iii) Kronos currently expects to utilize the remainder of such carryforwards over the long term. However, prior to the complete utilization of such carryforwards, if Kronos were to generate additional losses in its German or Belgian operations for an extended period of time, or if applicable law were to change such that the carryforward period was no longer indefinite, it is possible that Kronos might conclude the benefit of such carryforwards would no longer meet the more-likely-than-not recognition criteria, at which point Kronos would be required to recognize a valuation allowance against some or all of the then-remaining tax benefit associated with the carryforwards.

Prior to the enactment of the 2017 Tax Act, the undistributed earnings of Kronos’ European subsidiaries were deemed to be permanently reinvested (Kronos had not made a similar determination with respect to the undistributed earnings of its Canadian subsidiary). Pursuant to the one-time repatriation tax (Transition Tax) provisions of the 2017 Tax Act which imposed a one-time repatriation tax on post-1986 undistributed earnings, Kronos recognized a provisional current income tax expense of $76.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 based on information available at that date. During the third quarter of 2018, in conjunction with finalizing its federal income tax return and based on additional information that became available (including proposed regulations issued by the IRS in August 2018 with respect to the Transition Tax), Kronos recognized a provisional income tax benefit of $1.7 million which amount is recorded as a measurement-period adjustment, reducing the provisional income tax expense recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017. Kronos elected to pay such tax over an eight year period beginning in 2018. At December 31, 2020 the balance of its unpaid Transition Tax $56.6 million, which will be paid in annual installments over the remainder of the eight year period. Of such $56.6 million, $50.6 million is recorded as a noncurrent payable to affiliate (income taxes payable to Valhi) classified as a noncurrent liability in its Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2020, and $6.0 million is included with its current payable to affiliate (income taxes payable to Valhi) classified as a current liability (a portion of its noncurrent income tax payable to affiliate was reclassified to its current payable to affiliate for the portion of its 2020 Transition Tax installment due within the next twelve months).

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Kronos recognized an income tax benefit of $3.0 million primarily related to the favorable settlement of a prior year tax matter in Germany, with $1.5 million recognized as a current cash tax benefit and $1.5 million recognized as a non-cash deferred income tax benefit related to an increase to its German net operating loss carryforward. In addition, Kronos recognized a non-cash deferred income tax expense of $5.5 million primarily related to the revaluation of its net deferred income tax asset in Germany resulting from a decrease in the German trade tax rate.

As a result of prior audits in certain jurisdictions which are now settled, in 2008 Kronos filed Advance Pricing Agreement Requests with the tax authorities in the U.S., Canada and Germany. These requests have been under review with the respective tax authorities since 2008 and prior to 2016, it was uncertain whether an agreement would be reached between the tax authorities and whether Kronos would agree to execute and finalize such agreements. During the first quarter of 2018, Kronos’ German subsidiary executed and finalized the related Advance Pricing Agreement with the Competent Authority for Germany effective for tax years 2005 - 2017. In the first quarter of 2018, Kronos recognized a net $1.4 million non-cash income tax benefit related to an APA tax settlement payment between its German and Canadian subsidiaries.

Tax authorities are examining certain of Kronos’ U.S. and non-U.S. tax returns and may propose tax deficiencies, including penalties and interest. Because of the inherent uncertainties involved in settlement initiatives and court and tax proceedings, Kronos cannot guarantee that these tax matters, if any, will be resolved in Kronos’ favor, and therefore its potential exposure, if any, is also uncertain. Kronos believes it has adequate accruals for additional taxes and related interest expense which could ultimately result from tax examinations. Kronos believes the ultimate disposition of tax examinations should not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Under the Cares Act, the modification to the business interest provisions increases the business interest limitation from 30% of adjusted taxable income to 50% of adjusted taxable income which increases Kronos’ allowable interest expense deduction for 2019 and 2020. Consequently, in the first quarter of 2020 Kronos recognized a cash tax benefit of $.5 million related to the reversal of the valuation allowance recognized in 2019 for the portion of the disallowed interest expense Kronos did not expect to fully utilize at December 31, 2019 and Kronos has considered such modifications in its 2020 provision for income taxes. Kronos has determined other provisions of the CARES Act did not have a material impact on its provision for income taxes in 2020.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.

+ References + Details

Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Stockholders Equity Note [Abstract]

Stockholders' equity

Note 15 - Stockholders’ equity:

Long-term incentive compensation plan - We have a long-term incentive plan that provides for the award of stock to our board of directors, up to a maximum of 200,000 shares. We awarded 12,600 shares in 2018, 28,250 shares in 2019 and 33,250 shares in 2020 under this plan. At December 31, 2020, 79,900 shares were available for future grants.

Long-term incentive compensation plans of subsidiaries and affiliates - CompX and Kronos each have a share based incentive compensation plan pursuant to which an aggregate of up to 200,000 shares of their common stock can be awarded to members of their board of directors. At December 31, 2020, Kronos had 127,400 shares available for award and CompX had 140,950 shares available for award.

Dividends - We did not pay dividends during 2018 or 2019. During 2020, our board of directors approved and we paid quarterly dividends of $.04 per share to stockholders aggregating $7.8 million. The declaration and payment of future dividends, and the amount thereof, is discretionary and is dependent upon our financial condition, cash requirements, contractual obligations and restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. The amount and timing of past dividends is not necessarily indicative of the amount or timing of any future dividends which might be paid. There are currently no contractual restrictions on the amount of dividends which we may pay.

Accumulated other comprehensive loss - Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss attributable to NL stockholders, including amounts resulting from our investment in Kronos Worldwide (see Note 6), are presented in the table below.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Currency translation:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(164,467	)	$	(172,434	)	$	(172,843	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(7,967	)		(409	)		3,268
Balance at end of year	$	(172,434	)	$	(172,843	)	$	(169,575	)

Defined benefit pension plans:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(72,951	)	$	(75,286	)	$	(78,257	)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Amortization of prior service cost and net losses included in net periodic pension cost		(2,335	)		3,539			4,330
Net actuarial loss arising during the year		-			(6,510	)		(6,777	)
Balance at end of year	$	(75,286	)	$	(78,257	)	$	(80,704	)

Marketable securities:
Balance at beginning of year	$	46,069		$	-		$	-
Change in accounting principle		(46,069	)		-			-
Balance at beginning of year, as adjusted		-			-			-
Other comprehensive income:
Unrealized gain arising during the year		-			-			-
Balance at end of year	$	-		$	-		$	-

Other postretirement benefit plans:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(388	)	$	(550	)	$	(590	)
Other comprehensive loss		(162	)		(40	)		(320	)
Balance at end of year	$	(550	)	$	(590	)	$	(910	)

Total accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(191,737	)	$	(248,270	)	$	(251,690	)
Change in accounting principle		(46,069	)		-			-
Balance at beginning of year, as adjusted		(237,806	)		(248,270	)		(251,690	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(10,464	)		(3,420	)		501
Balance at end of year	$	(248,270	)	$	(251,690	)	$	(251,189	)

See Note 5 for further discussion on our marketable securities and see Note 11 for amounts related to our defined benefit pension plans.

Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Related party transactions

Note 16 - Related party transactions:

We may be deemed to be controlled by Ms. Simmons and the Family Trust. See Note 1. Corporations that may be deemed to be controlled by or affiliated with such individuals sometimes engage in (a) intercorporate transactions such as guarantees, management and expense sharing arrangements, shared fee arrangements, joint ventures, partnerships, loans, options, advances of funds on open account, and sales, leases and exchanges of assets, including securities issued by both related and unrelated parties and (b) common investment and acquisition strategies, business combinations, reorganizations, recapitalizations, securities repurchases, and purchases and sales (and other acquisitions and dispositions) of subsidiaries, divisions or other business units, which transactions have

involved both related and unrelated parties and have included transactions which resulted in the acquisition by one related party of a publicly-held noncontrolling interest in another related party. While no transactions of the type described above are planned or proposed with respect to us other than as set forth in these financial statements, we continuously consider, review and evaluate, and understand that Contran and related entities consider, review and evaluate such transactions. Depending upon the business, tax and other objectives then relevant, it is possible that we might be a party to one or more such transactions in the future.

Current receivables and payables to affiliates are summarized in the table below:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Current receivables from affiliates:
Other - trade items	$	565	$	313
Refundable income taxes from Valhi		16		-
Total	$	581	$	313

Current payables to affiliates:
Other - trade items	$	801	$	696
Income taxes payable to Valhi		-		29
Total	$	801	$	725

From time to time, we may have loans and advances outstanding between us and various related parties, pursuant to term and demand notes. We generally enter into these loans and advances for cash management purposes. When we loan funds to related parties, we are generally able to earn a higher rate of return on the loan than the lender would earn if the funds were invested in other instruments and when we borrow from related parties, we are generally able to pay a lower rate of interest than we would pay if we borrowed from unrelated parties. While certain of such loans may be of a lesser credit quality than cash equivalent instruments otherwise available to us, we believe that we have evaluated the credit risks involved and reflected those credit risks in the terms of the applicable loans. On November 14, 2016, NLKW entered into the Valhi Credit Facility whereby we could borrow up to $50 million. NLKW had borrowings outstanding of $.5 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 under the Valhi Credit Facility, and we incurred a nominal amount of interest expense under such credit facility for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020. See Note 10. In addition prior to 2018, CompX entered into an unsecured revolving demand promissory note with Valhi whereby CompX has agreed to loan Valhi up to $40 million. CompX’s loan to Valhi, as amended, bears interest at prime plus 1.00%, payable quarterly, with all principal due on demand, but in any event no earlier than December 31, 2022. Loans made to Valhi at any time are at CompX’s discretion. At December 31, 2019 and 2020, the outstanding principal balance receivable from Valhi under the promissory note was $28.1 million and $29.5 million, respectively. Interest income (including unused commitment fees) on CompX’s loan to Valhi was $2.1 million in 2018, $2.4 million in 2019 and $1.5 million in 2020.

Under the terms of various intercorporate services agreements (ISAs) we enter into with Contran, employees of Contran will provide certain management, tax planning, financial and administrative services to the company on a fee basis. Such charges are based upon estimates of the time devoted by the Contran employees to our affairs and the compensation and other expenses associated with those persons. Because of the number of companies affiliated with Contran, we believe we benefit from cost savings and economies of scale gained by not having certain management, financial and administrative staffs duplicated at each entity, thus allowing certain Contran employees to provide services to multiple companies but only be compensated by Contran. We, CompX and Kronos negotiate fees annually and agreements renew quarterly. The net ISA fees charged to us by Contran, (including amounts attributable to Kronos for all periods) aggregated approximately $32.0 million in 2018, $36.1 million in 2019 and $33.4 million in 2020.

Contran and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, including us, purchase certain of their insurance policies as a group, with the costs of the jointly-owned policies being apportioned among the participating companies. Tall Pines Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Valhi, underwrites certain insurance policies for Contran

and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. Tall Pines purchases reinsurance from third-party insurance carriers with an A.M. Best Company rating of generally at least A- (excellent) for substantially all of the risks it underwrites. EWI RE, Inc., a subsidiary of ours and Valhi, brokered certain of our insurance policies, provided claims and risk management services and, where appropriate, engaged certain third-party risk management consultants prior to our sale of EWI’s insurance and risk management business to a third party in November 2019. Consistent with insurance industry practices, Tall Pines receives commissions from reinsurance underwriters and/or assesses fees for certain of the policies that it underwrites, and prior to November 2019 EWI received commissions from the insurance and reinsurance underwriters for the policies that it brokered. The aggregate amounts we paid under the group insurance program (including amounts attributable to Kronos for all periods, including its Louisiana Pigment Company joint venture) were $12.6 million in 2018 and $14.9 million through the date of the sale in 2019. These amounts principally represent insurance premiums paid to Tall Pines or EWI, including amounts paid to EWI that EWI then remitted, net of brokerage commissions, to insurers. Following the sale of EWI’s insurance and risk management business, Contran engaged the third-party insurance broker that purchased the business to provide many of the services previously provided by EWI, and we continue to utilize Tall Pines to underwrite certain insurance risks. The aggregate amount paid under the group insurance program by us (including amounts attributable to Kronos for all periods, including its Louisiana Pigment Company joint venture) in 2020 was $22.2 million, which amount principally represents insurance premiums, including $15.6 million for policies written by Tall Pines. Amounts paid under the group insurance program also include payments to insurers or reinsurers (which prior to the sale were made through EWI) for the reimbursement of claims within our applicable deductible or retention ranges that such insurers and reinsurers paid to third parties on our behalf, as well as amounts for claims and risk management services and various other third-party fees and expenses incurred by the program. We expect these relationships will continue in 2021.

With respect to certain of such jointly-owned policies, it is possible that unusually large losses incurred by one or more insured party during a given policy period could leave the other participating companies without adequate coverage under that policy for the balance of the policy period. As a result, and in the event that the available coverage under a particular policy would become exhausted by one or more claims, Contran and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, including us, have entered into a loss sharing agreement under which any uninsured loss arising because the available coverage had been exhausted by one or more claims will be shared ratably by those entities that had submitted claims under the relevant policy. We believe the benefits in the form of reduced premiums and broader coverage associated with the group coverage for such policies justifies the risk associated with the potential for any uninsured loss.

Contran and certain of its subsidiaries, including us, participate in a combined information technology data recovery program that Contran provides from a data recovery center that it established. Pursuant to the program, Contran and certain of its subsidiaries, including us, as a group share information technology data recovery services. The program apportions its costs among the participating companies. The aggregate amount we paid to Contran for such services (including amounts attributable to Kronos for all periods) was $.3 million in 2018, $.2 million in 2019 and $.3 million in 2020. Under the terms of a sublease agreement between Contran and Kronos, Kronos leases certain office space from Contran. Kronos paid Contran $.1 million in 2019 and $.4 million in 2020 for such rent and related ancillary services. We expect that these relationships with Contran will continue in 2021.

Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and contingencies

Note 17 - Commitments and contingencies:

Lead pigment litigation

Our former operations included the manufacture of lead pigments for use in paint and lead-based paint. We, other former manufacturers of lead pigments for use in paint and lead-based paint (together, the “former pigment manufacturers”), and the Lead Industries Association (LIA), which discontinued business operations in 2002, have been named as defendants in various legal proceedings seeking damages for personal injury, property damage and governmental expenditures allegedly caused by the use of lead-based paints. Certain of these actions have been filed by or on behalf of states, counties, cities or their public housing authorities and school districts, and certain others have been asserted as class actions. These lawsuits seek recovery under a variety of theories, including public and private nuisance, negligent product design, negligent failure to warn, strict liability, breach of warranty, conspiracy/concert of action, aiding and abetting, enterprise liability, market share or risk contribution liability, intentional tort, fraud and misrepresentation, violations of state consumer protection statutes, supplier negligence and similar claims.

The plaintiffs in these actions generally seek to impose on the defendants responsibility for lead paint abatement and health concerns associated with the use of lead-based paints, including damages for personal injury, contribution and/or indemnification for medical expenses, medical monitoring expenses and costs for educational programs. To the extent the plaintiffs seek compensatory or punitive damages in these actions, such damages are generally unspecified. In some cases, the damages are unspecified pursuant to the requirements of applicable state law. A number of cases are inactive or have been dismissed or withdrawn. Most of the remaining cases are in various pre-trial stages. Some are on appeal following dismissal or summary judgment rulings or a trial verdict in favor of either the defendants or the plaintiffs.

We believe these actions are without merit, and we intend to continue to deny all allegations of wrongdoing and liability and to defend against all actions vigorously. Other than with respect to the Santa Clara, California public nuisance case discussed below, we do not believe it is probable we have incurred any liability with respect to all of the lead pigment litigation cases to which we are a party, and with respect to all such lead pigment litigation cases to which we are a party, other than with respect to the Santa Clara case discussed below, we believe liability to us that may result, if any, in this regard cannot be reasonably estimated, because:

•

we have never settled any of the market share, intentional tort, fraud, nuisance, supplier negligence, breach of warranty, conspiracy, misrepresentation, aiding and abetting, enterprise liability, or statutory cases (other than the Santa Clara case discussed below),

•

no final, non-appealable adverse judgements have ever been entered against us, and

•

we have never ultimately been found liable with respect to any such litigation matters, including over 100 cases over a thirty-year period for which we were previously a party and for which we have been dismissed without any finding of liability.

Accordingly, other than with respect to the Santa Clara case discussed below, we have not accrued any amounts for any of the pending lead pigment and lead-based paint litigation cases filed by or on behalf of states, counties, cities or their public housing authorities and school districts, or those asserted as class actions. In addition, we have determined that liability to us which may result, if any, cannot be reasonably estimated at this time because there is no prior history of a loss of this nature on which an estimate could be made and there is no substantive information available upon which an estimate could be based.

In the matter titled County of Santa Clara v. Atlantic Richfield Company, et al. (Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara, Case No. 1-00-CV-788657) on July 24, 2019, an order approving a global settlement agreement entered into among all of the plaintiffs and the three defendants remaining in the case (the Sherwin Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products and us) was entered by the court and the case was dismissed with prejudice. The global settlement agreement provides that an aggregate $305 million will be paid collectively by the three co-defendants in full satisfaction of all claims resulting in a dismissal of the case with prejudice and the resolution of (i) all pending and future claims by the plaintiffs in the case, and (ii) all potential claims for contribution or indemnity between us and our co-defendants in respect to the case. In the agreement, we

expressly deny any and all liability and the dismissal of the case with prejudice was entered by the court without a final judgment of liability entered against us. The settlement agreement fully concludes this matter.

Under the terms of the global settlement agreement, each defendant must pay an aggregate $101.7 million to the plaintiffs as follows: $25.0 million within sixty days of the court’s approval of the settlement and dismissal of the case, and the remaining $76.7 million in six annual installments beginning on the first anniversary of the initial payment ($12.0 million for the first five installments and $16.7 million for the sixth installment). Our sixth installment will be made with funds already on deposit at the court, which is included in noncurrent restricted cash on our Consolidated Balance Sheets, that are committed to the settlement, including all accrued interest at the date of payment, with any remaining balance to be paid by us (and any amounts on deposit in excess of the final payment would be returned to us). Pursuant to the settlement agreement, also during the third quarter of 2019 we placed an additional $9.0 million into an escrow account which is included in noncurrent restricted cash on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

As previously disclosed during the second quarter of 2018 and based on the terms of a May 2018 settlement agreement between us and the plaintiffs which had an aggregate cost of $80 million to us, we determined that the loss to us could be reasonably estimated and recognized a net $62 million pre-tax charge with respect to this matter ($45 million for the amount to be paid by us upon approval of the terms of the settlement and $17 million for the net present value of the five payments aggregating $20 million to be paid by us in installments beginning four years from such approval). The May 2018 settlement was never approved by the court and was superseded in July 2019 by the global settlement agreement discussed above.

At June 30, 2019, based on the terms of the global settlement agreement approved by the court in July 2019 we increased the amount accrued for the litigation settlement and a final immaterial adjustment was made to the litigation settlement accrual in the third quarter of 2019. For financial reporting purposes, using a discount rate of 1.9% per annum, we discounted the aggregate $101.7 million settlement to the estimated net present value of $96.3 million. We recognized litigation settlement expense of $19.3 million ($19.6 million expense in the second quarter of 2019 and $.3 million credit in the third quarter of 2019). We made the initial $25.0 million payment in September 2019 and the first annual installment payment of $12.0 million in September 2020. We recognized an aggregate of $.6 million in accretion expense in the second half of 2019 and an aggregate of $1.3 million in 2020.

New cases may continue to be filed against us. We cannot assure you that we will not incur liability in the future in respect of any of the pending or possible litigation in view of the inherent uncertainties involved in court and jury rulings. In the future, if new information regarding such matters becomes available to us (such as a final, non-appealable adverse verdict against us or otherwise ultimately being found liable with respect to such matters), at that time we would consider such information in evaluating any remaining cases then-pending against us as to whether it might then have become probable we have incurred liability with respect to these matters, and whether such liability, if any, could have become reasonably estimable. The resolution of any of these cases could result in the recognition of a loss contingency accrual that could have a material adverse impact on our net income for the interim or annual period during which such liability is recognized and a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition and liquidity.

Environmental matters and litigation

Our operations are governed by various environmental laws and regulations. Certain of our businesses are and have been engaged in the handling, manufacture or use of substances or compounds that may be considered toxic or hazardous within the meaning of applicable environmental laws and regulations. As with other companies engaged in similar businesses, certain of our past and current operations and products have the potential to cause environmental or other damage. We have implemented and continue to implement various policies and programs in an effort to minimize these risks. Our policy is to maintain compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations at all of our plants and to strive to improve environmental performance. From time to time, we may be subject to environmental regulatory enforcement under U.S. statutes, the resolution of which typically involves the establishment of compliance programs. It is possible that future developments, such as stricter requirements of environmental laws and enforcement policies, could adversely affect our production, handling, use, storage, transportation, sale or disposal of such substances. We believe all of our facilities are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws.

Certain properties and facilities used in our former operations, including divested primary and secondary lead smelters and former mining locations, are the subject of civil litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations arising under federal and state environmental laws and common law. Additionally, in connection with past operating practices, we are currently involved as a defendant, potentially responsible party (PRP) or both, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (CERCLA), and similar state laws in various governmental and private actions associated with waste disposal sites, mining locations, and facilities that we or our predecessors, our subsidiaries or their predecessors currently or previously owned, operated or used, certain of which are on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund National Priorities List or similar state lists. These proceedings seek cleanup costs, damages for personal injury or property damage and/or damages for injury to natural resources. Certain of these proceedings involve claims for substantial amounts. Although we may be jointly and severally liable for these costs, in most cases we are only one of a number of PRPs who may also be jointly and severally liable, and among whom costs may be shared or allocated. In addition, we are occasionally named as a party in a number of personal injury lawsuits filed in various jurisdictions alleging claims related to environmental conditions alleged to have resulted from our operations.

Obligations associated with environmental remediation and related matters are difficult to assess and estimate for numerous reasons including the:

•

complexity and differing interpretations of governmental regulations,

•

number of PRPs and their ability or willingness to fund such allocation of costs,

•

financial capabilities of the PRPs and the allocation of costs among them,

•

solvency of other PRPs,

•

multiplicity of possible solutions,

•

number of years of investigatory, remedial and monitoring activity required,

•

uncertainty over the extent, if any, to which our former operations might have contributed to the conditions allegedly giving rise to such personal injury, property damage, natural resource and related claims, and

•

number of years between former operations and notice of claims and lack of information and documents about the former operations.

In addition, the imposition of more stringent standards or requirements under environmental laws or regulations, new developments or changes regarding site cleanup costs or the allocation of costs among PRPs, solvency of other PRPs, the results of future testing and analysis undertaken with respect to certain sites or a determination that we are potentially responsible for the release of hazardous substances at other sites, could cause our expenditures to exceed our current estimates. We cannot assure you that actual costs will not exceed accrued amounts or the upper end of the range for sites for which estimates have been made, and we cannot assure you that costs will not be incurred for sites where no estimates presently can be made. Further, additional environmental and related matters may arise in the future. If we were to incur any future liability, this could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements, results of operations and liquidity.

We record liabilities related to environmental remediation and related matters (including costs associated with damages for personal injury or property damage and/or damages for injury to natural resources) when estimated future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust such accruals as further information becomes available to us or as circumstances change. Unless the amounts and timing of such estimated future expenditures are fixed and reasonably determinable, we generally do not discount estimated future expenditures to their present value due to the uncertainty of the timing of the payout. We recognize recoveries of costs from other parties, if any, as assets when their receipt is deemed probable. At December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, we had not recognized any receivables for recoveries.

We do not know and cannot estimate the exact time frame over which we will make payments for our accrued environmental and related costs. The timing of payments depends upon a number of factors, including but not limited to the timing of the actual remediation process; which in turn depends on factors outside of our control. At each balance sheet date, we estimate the amount of our accrued environmental and related costs which we expect to pay within the next twelve months, and we classify this estimate as a current liability. We classify the remaining accrued environmental costs as a noncurrent liability.

The table below presents a summary of the activity in our accrued environmental costs during the past three years. The amount charged to expense is included in corporate expense on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	111,909		$	98,211		$	94,508
Additions charged (credited) to expense, net		2,735			(579	)		82
Payments, net		(16,433	)		(3,124	)		(1,174	)

Balance at the end of the year	$	98,211		$	94,508		$	93,416

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Current liability	$	5,027		$	3,065		$	2,027
Noncurrent liability		93,184			91,443			91,389

Balance at the end of the year	$	98,211		$	94,508		$	93,416

On a quarterly basis, we evaluate the potential range of our liability for environmental remediation and related costs at sites where we have been named as a PRP or defendant, including sites for which our wholly-owned environmental management subsidiary, NL Environmental Management Services, Inc., (EMS), has contractually assumed our obligations. At December 31, 2020, we had accrued approximately $93 million related to approximately 32 sites associated with remediation and related matters we believe are at the present time and/or in their current phase reasonably estimable. The upper end of the range of reasonably possible costs to us for remediation and related matters for which we believe it is possible to estimate costs is approximately $114 million, including the amount currently accrued. These accruals have not been discounted to present value.

We believe it is not reasonably possible to estimate the range of costs for certain sites. At December 31, 2020, there were approximately five sites for which we are not currently able to reasonably estimate a range of costs. For these sites, generally the investigation is in the early stages, and we are unable to determine whether or not we actually had any association with the site, the nature of our responsibility, if any, for the contamination at the site, if any, and the extent of contamination at and cost to remediate the site. The timing and availability of information on these sites is dependent on events outside of our control, such as when the party alleging liability provides information to us. At certain of these previously inactive sites, we have received general and special notices of liability from the EPA and/or state agencies alleging that we, sometimes with other PRPs, are liable for past and future costs of remediating environmental contamination allegedly caused by former operations. These notifications may assert that we, along with any other alleged PRPs, are liable for past and/or future clean-up costs. As further information becomes available to us for any of these sites which would allow us to estimate a range of costs, we would at that time adjust our accruals. Any such adjustment could result in the recognition of an accrual that would have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements, results of operations and liquidity.

Insurance coverage claims

We are involved in certain legal proceedings with a number of our former insurance carriers regarding the nature and extent of the carriers’ obligations to us under insurance policies with respect to certain lead pigment and asbestos lawsuits. The issue of whether insurance coverage for defense costs or indemnity or both will be found to exist for our lead pigment and asbestos litigation depends upon a variety of factors and we cannot assure you that such insurance coverage will be available.

We have agreements with certain of our former insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers reimburse us for a portion of our future lead pigment litigation defense costs, and one such carrier reimburses us for a portion of our future asbestos litigation defense costs. We are not able to determine how much we will ultimately recover from these carriers for defense costs incurred by us because of certain issues that arise regarding which defense costs qualify for reimbursement. While we continue to seek additional insurance recoveries, we do not know if we will be

successful in obtaining reimbursement for either defense costs or indemnity. Accordingly, we recognize insurance recoveries in income only when receipt of the recovery is probable and we are able to reasonably estimate the amount of the recovery.

Other litigation

In addition to the litigation described above, we and our affiliates are also involved in various other environmental, contractual, product liability, patent (or intellectual property), employment and other claims and disputes incidental to present and former businesses. In certain cases, we have insurance coverage for these items, although we do not expect additional material insurance coverage for environmental matters. We currently believe the disposition of all of these various other claims and disputes (including asbestos-related claims), individually and in the aggregate, should not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity beyond the accruals already provided.

Concentrations of credit risk

Component products are sold primarily in North America to original equipment manufacturers. The ten largest customers related to our Component Products operations accounted for approximately 44% of total sales in 2018, 47% in 2019 and 48% in 2020. One customer of CompX’s Security Products business accounted for 13% of total sales in 2018, 14% in 2019 and 17% in 2020.

Income taxes

We are a party to a tax sharing agreement with Contran and Valhi providing for the allocation of tax liabilities and tax payments as described in Note 1. Under applicable law, we, as well as every other member of the Contran Tax Group, are each jointly and severally liable for the aggregate federal income tax liability of Contran and the other companies included in the Contran Tax Group for all periods in which we are included in the Contran Tax Group. Valhi has agreed, however, to indemnify us for any liability for income taxes of the Contran Tax Group in excess of our tax liability computed in accordance with the tax sharing agreement.

Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Financial instruments

Note 18 - Financial instruments:

See Note 5 for information on how we determine fair value of our marketable securities.

The following table presents the financial instruments that are not carried at fair value but which require fair value disclosure as of December 31, 2019 and 2020:

	December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
	Carrying amount		Fair value		Carrying amount		Fair value
	(In thousands)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	157,870	$	157,870	$	165,272	$	165,272

Due to their near-term maturities, the carrying amounts of accounts receivable and accounts payable are considered equivalent to fair value.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]

Recent accounting pronouncements

Note 19 - Recent accounting pronouncement:

In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) ASU 2019-12, Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which changes the accounting for certain income tax transactions and reduces complexity in accounting for income taxes in certain areas. The ASU introduces new guidance including providing a policy election for an entity to not allocate consolidated current and deferred tax expense when a member of a consolidated tax return is not subject to income tax in its separate financial statements and is a disregarded entity by the taxing authority; and providing guidance to evaluate whether a step-up in tax basis of goodwill relates to a business combination in which book goodwill was recognized or a separate transaction. The

ASU also changes existing guidance in a number of areas, including: the method of making an intraperiod allocation of total income tax expense if there is a loss in continuing operations and gains outside of continuing operations; determining when a deferred tax liability is recognized after an investor in a non-U.S. entity transitions to or from the equity method of accounting; accounting for tax law changes and year-to-date losses in interim periods; and determining how to apply the income tax guidance to franchise taxes that are partially based on income. We adopted this ASU as of January 1, 2020. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for change in accounting principle. Includes, but is not limited to, nature, reason, and method of adopting amendment to accounting standards or other change in accounting principle.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 65
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (g)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=113356391&loc=SL49131195-203048

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 250
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122394

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 65
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (i)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=113356391&loc=SL49131195-203048

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 250
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 6
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=112272810&loc=SL108384541-122693

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
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+ Details

Quarterly Results of Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Quarterly results of operations

Note 20 - Quarterly results of operations (unaudited):

	Quarter ended
	March 31		June 30		September 30			December 31
	(In millions, except per share data)
Year ended December 31, 2019
Net sales	$	31.2	$	33.7	$	29.7		$	29.6
Gross margin		9.6		11.0		9.4			9.0
Net income (loss)		15.7		6.6		(1.0	)		6.7
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Net income (loss)	$	15.2	$	5.9	$	(1.6	)	$	6.3
Income (loss) per common share	$	.31	$	.12	$	(.03	)	$	.13

Year ended December 31, 2020
Net sales	$	32.3	$	23.8	$	28.4		$	30.0
Gross margin		10.4		7.4		7.3			7.7
Net income		2.5		4.9		4.1			4.6
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Net income	$	1.9	$	4.6	$	3.9		$	4.3
Income per common share	$	.04	$	.09	$	.08		$	.09

We recognized the following amounts during 2019:

•

loss of $15.2 million, net of income tax expense, mainly in the second quarter related to the litigation settlement expense (see Note 17);

•

income of $3.5 million, net of income tax expense, in the third quarter related to a gain from a sale of excess property (see Note 13);

•

income of $2.4 million, net of income tax expense, in the fourth quarter related to a gain from the sale of our insurance and risk management business (see Note 13);

•

income of $4.1 million, net of income tax expense, ($.2 million, $3.7 million and $.2 million in the first, second and third quarters, respectively) related to insurance recoveries (see Note 17);

•

loss of $1.3 million included in our equity in earnings of Kronos related to Kronos’ fourth quarter recognition of a non-cash deferred income tax expense primarily related to the revaluation of Kronos’ net deferred income tax asset in Germany as a result of a decrease in the German trade tax rate (see Note 14);

•

income of $.7 million included in our equity in earnings of Kronos related to Kronos’ fourth quarter recognition of an income tax benefit related to the favorable settlement of a prior year tax matter in Germany (see Note 14); and

•

income of $.5 million, included in our equity in earnings of Kronos, related to Kronos’ insurance settlement gain recognized in the fourth quarter.

We recognized the following amounts during 2020:

•

income of $.3 million, included in our equity in earnings of Kronos, related to Kronos’ insurance settlement gain recognized in the first quarter; and

•

income of $.1 million, net of income tax expense related to insurance recoveries in the second quarter (see Note 17).

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Operations

Organization

Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we,” “us” or “our” refer to NL Industries, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliate, Kronos, taken as a whole.

Management's estimates

Principles of consolidation

Currency translation

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents - We classify bank time deposits and highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less as cash equivalents.

Restricted cash and cash equivalents

Marketable securities and securities transactions

•

Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;

•

Level 2 - Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs which are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the assets or liability; and

•

Level 3 - Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.

Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable - We provide an allowance for doubtful accounts for known and estimated potential losses arising from sales to customers based on a periodic review of these accounts. See Note 3.

Inventories and cost of sales

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.

Goodwill

Leases

Property and equipment; depreciation expense

Employee benefit plans

Income taxes

Environmental remediation costs

Net sales

Selling, general and administrative expenses; advertising costs; research and development costs

Corporate expenses

Corporate expenses - Corporate expenses include environmental, legal and other costs attributable to formerly-owned business units.

Business and Geographic Information (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Segments Geographical Areas [Abstract]

Schedule of Disaggregates Net Sales By Reporting Unit

	Years ended December 31,
	2018		2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Net sales:
Security Products	$	98,383	$	99,328	$	87,863
Marine Components		19,834		24,915		26,674
Total	$	118,217	$	124,243	$	114,537

Geographical Information Attributable to Net Sales

For geographic information, the point of origin (place of manufacture) for all net sales is the U.S., the point of destination for net sales is based on the location of the customer.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018		2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Net sales - point of destination:
United States	$	108,773	$	114,186	$	107,712
Canada		6,436		7,257		4,423
Mexico		1,438		922		431
Other		1,570		1,878		1,971
Total	$	118,217	$	124,243	$	114,537

Accounts and Other Receivables, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Receivables [Abstract]

Schedule of Accounts Notes Loans and Financing Receivable

	December 31,
	2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Trade receivables - CompX	$	11,940		$	10,801
Accrued insurance recoveries		28			18
Other receivables		31			393
Allowance for doubtful accounts		(70	)		(70	)
Total	$	11,929		$	11,142

Inventories, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Inventories, Net

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Raw materials	$	2,941	$	3,220
Work in process		11,771		11,668
Finished products		3,636		3,449
Total	$	18,348	$	18,337

Marketable Securities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]

Schedule of Marketable Securities

	Fair value
	measurement	Market		Cost		Unrealized
	level	value		basis		gain (loss)
		(In thousands)
December 31, 2019
Noncurrent assets
Valhi common stock	1	$	26,877	$	24,347	$	2,530

December 31, 2020
Noncurrent assets
Valhi common stock	1	$	18,206	$	24,347	$	(6,141	)

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Equity Method Investments And Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Changes in Carrying Value of Investment

The change in the carrying value of our investment in Kronos during the past three years is summarized below:

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In millions)
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	229.5		$	255.5		$	248.4
Equity in earnings of Kronos		62.3			26.5			19.4
Dividends received from Kronos		(23.9	)		(25.4	)		(25.4	)
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation		(10.1	)		(.5	)		4.1
Defined benefit pension plans		(2.2	)		(6.7	)		(3.7	)
Other postretirement benefit plans		(.1	)		(.1	)		(.1	)
Other		-			(.9	)		(.3	)
Balance at the end of the year	$	255.5		$	248.4		$	242.4

Selected Financial Information of Kronos Balance Sheet

Selected financial information of Kronos is summarized below:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In millions)
Current assets	$	1,219.7	$	1,218.3
Property and equipment, net		490.6		524.6
Investment in TiO₂ joint venture		90.2		103.3
Other noncurrent assets		165.3		190.5
Total assets	$	1,965.8	$	2,036.7

Current liabilities	$	270.6	$	260.2
Long-term debt		444.0		486.7
Accrued pension costs		307.4		372.6
Other noncurrent liabilities		127.7		120.7
Stockholders' equity		816.1		796.5
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	1,965.8	$	2,036.7

Other Assets, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Deferred Costs Capitalized Prepaid And Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Other Assets, Net

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Pension asset	$	4,294	$	3,881
Other		1,566		1,381
Total	$	5,860	$	5,262

Accrued and Other Current Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Schedule of Accrued and Other Current Liabilities

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Employee benefits	$	8,917	$	9,000
Other		1,684		1,253
Total	$	10,601	$	10,253

Employee Benefit Plans (Tables) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Expected Benefit Payments

We expect to contribute approximately $1.2 million to our defined benefit pension plans during 2021. Benefit payments to all plan participants out of plan assets are expected to be the equivalent of:

Years ending December 31,	Amount
	(In thousands)
2021	$	3,623
2022		3,625
2023		3,581
2024		3,501
2025		3,420
Next 5 years		15,913

Funded Status of Defined Benefit Plans

The funded status of our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the table below.

	December 31,
	2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Change in projected benefit obligations (PBO):
Benefit obligations at beginning of the year	$	49,249		$	50,350
Interest cost		1,884			1,483
Participant contributions		1			-
Actuarial losses		2,582			4,353
Change in currency exchange rates		260			307
Benefits paid		(3,626	)		(3,620	)
Benefit obligations at end of the year		50,350			52,873

Change in plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of the year		40,626			46,313
Actual return on plan assets		5,752			5,308
Employer contributions		3,173			1,841
Participant contributions		1			-
Change in currency exchange rates		387			418
Benefits paid		(3,626	)		(3,620	)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year		46,313			50,260
Funded status	$	(4,037	)	$	(2,613	)

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Noncurrent pension asset	$	4,294		$	3,881
Accrued pension costs:
Current		(101	)		(102	)
Noncurrent		(8,230	)		(6,392	)
Total		(4,037	)		(2,613	)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss - actuarial losses, net		28,687			28,209
Total	$	24,650		$	25,596

Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	$	50,350		$	52,873

Changes in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

income taxes, are recognized in our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2019 and 2020.

The table below details the changes in other comprehensive income (loss) during 2018, 2019 and 2020.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive income (loss):
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year	$	(2,709	)	$	1,330	$	(934	)
Amortization of unrecognized net actuarial loss		1,937			1,584		1,412
Total	$	(772	)	$	2,914	$	478

Components of Net Periodic Defined Benefit Cost (Income)

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Net periodic pension cost:
Interest cost on PBO	$	1,808		$	1,884		$	1,483
Expected return on plan assets		(3,043	)		(1,899	)		(1,850	)
Recognized actuarial losses		1,937			1,584			1,412
Total	$	702		$	1,569		$	1,045

Information Concerning Defined Benefit Pension Plans (Including Certain Plans for Which ABO Exceeds Fair Value of Plan Assets)

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
PBO at end of the year:
U.S. plan	$	42,198	$	43,754
U.K. plan		8,152		9,119
Total	$	50,350	$	52,873
Fair value of plan assets at end of the year:
U.S. plan	$	33,867	$	37,260
U.K. plan		12,446		13,000
Total	$	46,313	$	50,260

Plans for which the ABO exceeds plan assets (only our U.S. plan):
PBO	$	42,198	$	43,754
ABO		42,198		43,754
Fair value of plan assets		33,867		37,260

Summary of Assumptions Used to Determine Net Benefit Obligation

	Years ended December 31,
Rate	2018			2019			2020
Discount rate		3.4	%		3.9	%		2.9	%
Long-term rate of return on plan assets		7.2	%		4.7	%		4.2	%

Schedule of composition of our pension plan assets by fair value level

The composition of our pension plan assets by fair value level at December 31, 2019 and 2020 is shown in the table below.

	Fair Value Measurements
	Total		Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Assets measured at NAV
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2019:
U.S.
Equities	$	13,439	$	3,789	$	-	$	439	$	9,211
Fixed income		16,290		16,290		-		-		-
Cash and other		4,138		3,197		-		-		941
U.K. - Other		12,446		12,446		-		-		-
Total	$	46,313	$	35,722	$	-	$	439	$	10,152

	Fair Value Measurements
	Total		Quoted prices in active markets (Level 1)		Significant other observable inputs (Level 2)		Significant unobservable inputs (Level 3)		Assets measured at NAV
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2020:
U.S.
Equities	$	14,636	$	2,158	$	-	$	538	$	11,940
Fixed income		18,747		18,747		-		-		-
Cash and other		3,877		3,052		-		-		825
U.K. - Other		13,000		13,000		-		-		-
Total	$	50,260	$	36,957	$	-	$	538	$	12,765

Other Noncurrent Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

Summary of Other Noncurrent Liabilities

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Reserve for uncertain tax positions	$	4,053	$	1,717
OPEB		1,129		985
Insurance claims and expenses		665		653
Other		413		425
Total	$	6,260	$	3,780

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Component of Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes and the difference between such provision for income taxes and the amount that would be expected using the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate are presented below.

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In millions)
Expected tax expense (benefit), at U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21%	$	(11.4	)	$	6.0		$	2.9
Rate differences on equity in earnings of Kronos, net of dividends		(5.0	)		(5.3	)		(5.3	)
Change in federal tax rate, net		.8			-			-
U.S. state income taxes and other, net		.2			(.1	)		(.1	)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)

Components of income tax expense (benefit):
Currently payable (receivable)	$	(.2	)	$	.2		$	-
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)		(15.2	)		.4			(2.5	)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)

Comprehensive provision for income taxes (benefit) allocable to:
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$	(15.4	)	$	.6		$	(2.5	)
Additional paid-in capital		-			(.2	)		(.1	)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation		(2.1	)		(.1	)		.9
Pension plans		(.6	)		(.8	)		(.7	)
OPEB plans		-			-			(.1	)
Total	$	(18.1	)	$	(.5	)	$	(2.5	)

Components of Net Deferred Tax Liability

The components of the net deferred tax liability at December 31, 2019 and 2020 are summarized in the following table.

	December 31,
	2019						2020
	Assets			Liabilities			Assets			Liabilities
	(In millions)
Tax effect of temporary differences related to:
Inventories	$	.4		$	-		$	.4		$	-
Marketable securities		-			(5.4	)		-			(3.6	)
Property and equipment		-			(2.8	)		-			(2.6	)
Accrued OPEB costs		.3			-			.3			-
Accrued pension costs		.7			-			.5			-
Accrued employee benefits		1.2			-			1.1			-
Accrued environmental liabilities		31.7			-			29.1			-
Goodwill		-			(1.7	)		-			(1.7	)
Other accrued liabilities and deductible differences		.2			-			-			-
Other taxable differences		-			(2.3	)		-			(2.3	)
Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.		-			(56.3	)		-			(55.0	)
Adjusted gross deferred tax assets (liabilities)		34.5			(68.5	)		31.4			(65.2	)
Netting of items by tax jurisdiction		(34.5	)		34.5			(31.4	)		31.4
Net noncurrent deferred tax liability	$	-		$	(34.0	)	$	-		$	(33.8	)

Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Stockholders Equity Note [Abstract]

Schedule of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Currency translation:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(164,467	)	$	(172,434	)	$	(172,843	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(7,967	)		(409	)		3,268
Balance at end of year	$	(172,434	)	$	(172,843	)	$	(169,575	)

Defined benefit pension plans:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(72,951	)	$	(75,286	)	$	(78,257	)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Amortization of prior service cost and net losses included in net periodic pension cost		(2,335	)		3,539			4,330
Net actuarial loss arising during the year		-			(6,510	)		(6,777	)
Balance at end of year	$	(75,286	)	$	(78,257	)	$	(80,704	)

Marketable securities:
Balance at beginning of year	$	46,069		$	-		$	-
Change in accounting principle		(46,069	)		-			-
Balance at beginning of year, as adjusted		-			-			-
Other comprehensive income:
Unrealized gain arising during the year		-			-			-
Balance at end of year	$	-		$	-		$	-

Other postretirement benefit plans:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(388	)	$	(550	)	$	(590	)
Other comprehensive loss		(162	)		(40	)		(320	)
Balance at end of year	$	(550	)	$	(590	)	$	(910	)

Total accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Balance at beginning of year	$	(191,737	)	$	(248,270	)	$	(251,690	)
Change in accounting principle		(46,069	)		-			-
Balance at beginning of year, as adjusted		(237,806	)		(248,270	)		(251,690	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(10,464	)		(3,420	)		501
Balance at end of year	$	(248,270	)	$	(251,690	)	$	(251,189	)

Related Party Transactions (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Current Receivables and Payables to Affiliates

Current receivables and payables to affiliates are summarized in the table below:

	December 31,
	2019		2020
	(In thousands)
Current receivables from affiliates:
Other - trade items	$	565	$	313
Refundable income taxes from Valhi		16		-
Total	$	581	$	313

Current payables to affiliates:
Other - trade items	$	801	$	696
Income taxes payable to Valhi		-		29
Total	$	801	$	725

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Changes in Accrued Environmental Remediation and Related Costs

	Years ended December 31,
	2018			2019			2020
	(In thousands)
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	111,909		$	98,211		$	94,508
Additions charged (credited) to expense, net		2,735			(579	)		82
Payments, net		(16,433	)		(3,124	)		(1,174	)

Balance at the end of the year	$	98,211		$	94,508		$	93,416

Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Current liability	$	5,027		$	3,065		$	2,027
Noncurrent liability		93,184			91,443			91,389

Balance at the end of the year	$	98,211		$	94,508		$	93,416

Financial Instruments (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Summary of Financial Instruments Not Carried at Fair Value

The following table presents the financial instruments that are not carried at fair value but which require fair value disclosure as of December 31, 2019 and 2020:

	December 31, 2019				December 31, 2020
	Carrying amount		Fair value		Carrying amount		Fair value
	(In thousands)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	157,870	$	157,870	$	165,272	$	165,272

Quarterly Results of Operations (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Quarterly Results of Operations

	Quarter ended
	March 31		June 30		September 30			December 31
	(In millions, except per share data)
Year ended December 31, 2019
Net sales	$	31.2	$	33.7	$	29.7		$	29.6
Gross margin		9.6		11.0		9.4			9.0
Net income (loss)		15.7		6.6		(1.0	)		6.7
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Net income (loss)	$	15.2	$	5.9	$	(1.6	)	$	6.3
Income (loss) per common share	$	.31	$	.12	$	(.03	)	$	.13

Year ended December 31, 2020
Net sales	$	32.3	$	23.8	$	28.4		$	30.0
Gross margin		10.4		7.4		7.3			7.7
Net income		2.5		4.9		4.1			4.6
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Net income	$	1.9	$	4.6	$	3.9		$	4.3
Income per common share	$	.04	$	.09	$	.08		$	.09

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Received net refunds for income taxes		$ 200,000	$ 1,700,000
Uncertain tax positions	50.00%
Advertising costs	$ 0	0	0
Research, development and certain sales technical support costs	0	0	$ 0
Environmental Remediation Litigation
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Recoveries receivable	$ 0	$ 0
Minimum \| Building
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives	15 years
Minimum \| Equipment and Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives	3 years
Maximum \| Building
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives	40 years
Maximum \| Equipment and Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property and equipment, estimated useful lives	20 years
Kronos
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Parent company ownership interest	30.00%
CompX
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of controlling interest owned	14.00%
Parent Company \| Valhi Inc
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Parent company ownership interest	83.00%
Parent Company \| Valhi Inc \| Contran Corporation
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Parent company ownership interest	92.00%

Business and Geographic Information - Schedule of Disaggregates Net Sales By Reporting Unit (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Total net sales	$ 30,000	$ 28,400	$ 23,800	$ 32,300	$ 29,600	$ 29,700	$ 33,700	$ 31,200	$ 114,537	$ 124,243	$ 118,217
Security Products
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Total net sales									87,863	99,328	98,383
Marine Components
Disaggregation Of Revenue [Line Items]
Total net sales									$ 26,674	$ 24,915	$ 19,834

- Definition

Amount, excluding tax collected from customer, of revenue from satisfaction of performance obligation by transferring promised good or service to customer. Tax collected from customer is tax assessed by governmental authority that is both imposed on and concurrent with specific revenue-producing transaction, including, but not limited to, sales, use, value added and excise.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 30
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8906-108599

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 40
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e9031-108599

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 41
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e9038-108599

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 32
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8933-108599

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 32
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8933-108599

Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130543-203045

Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 42
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e9054-108599

Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 606
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121604090&loc=SL49130545-203045

Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 924
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 11.L)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6472922&loc=d3e499488-122856

+ Details

Business and Geographic Information - Geographical Information Attributable to Net Sales (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 30,000	$ 28,400	$ 23,800	$ 32,300	$ 29,600	$ 29,700	$ 33,700	$ 31,200	$ 114,537	$ 124,243	$ 118,217
Point of destination
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales									114,537	124,243	118,217
United States \| Point of destination
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales									107,712	114,186	108,773
Canada \| Point of destination
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales									4,423	7,257	6,436
Mexico \| Point of destination
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales									431	922	1,438
Other \| Point of destination
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Net sales									$ 1,971	$ 1,878	$ 1,570

- Definition

+ References

+ Details

Accounts and Other Receivables, Net - Schedule of Accounts Notes Loans and Financing Receivable (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accounts Notes And Loans Receivable [Line Items]
Accrued insurance recoveries	$ 18	$ 28
Other receivables	393	31
Total	11,142	11,929
CompX
Accounts Notes And Loans Receivable [Line Items]
Trade receivables	10,801	11,940
Allowance for doubtful accounts	$ (70)	$ (70)

Inventories, Net - Schedule of Inventories, Net (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Raw materials	$ 3,220	$ 2,941
Work in process	11,668	11,771
Finished products	3,449	3,636
Total	$ 18,337	$ 18,348

Marketable Securities - Schedule of Marketable Securities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Market value	$ 18,206	$ 26,877
Level 1 \| Valhi Inc \| Common stock
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Market value	18,206	26,877
Cost basis	24,347	24,347
Unrealized gain (loss)	$ (6,141)	$ 2,530

Marketable Securities - Additional Information (Detail) - Valhi Inc - Common stock shares in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2019 $ / shares shares
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Number of shares owned \| shares	1.2	1.2
Quoted marked price per share \| $ / shares	$ 15.20	$ 22.44
Reverse stock split description	1-for-12
Reverse stock split ratio	0.083

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. - Additional Information (Detail) - Kronos - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of shares owned	35.2	35.2
Aggregate market value	$ 525.1	$ 471.9
Quoted market price per share	$ 14.91	$ 13.40

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. - Changes in Carrying Value of Investment (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Balance at the beginning of the year	$ 248,355
Equity in earnings of Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	19,437	$ 26,470	$ 62,316
Dividends received from Kronos	(25,356)	(25,356)	(23,948)
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Balance at the end of the year	242,374	248,355
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Defined benefit pension plans/ Other postretirement benefit plans	478	2,914	(772)
Kronos
Balance at the beginning of the year	248,400	255,500	229,500
Equity in earnings of Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	19,400	26,500	62,300
Dividends received from Kronos	(25,400)	(25,400)	(23,900)
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation	4,100	(500)	(10,100)
Other	(300)	(900)
Balance at the end of the year	242,400	248,400	255,500
Kronos \| Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Defined benefit pension plans/ Other postretirement benefit plans	(3,700)	(6,700)	(2,200)
Kronos \| OPEB
Equity in Kronos' other comprehensive income (loss):
Defined benefit pension plans/ Other postretirement benefit plans	$ (100)	$ (100)	$ (100)

Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc. - Selected Financial Information of Kronos Balance Sheet (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Current assets	$ 171,164	$ 164,684
Property and equipment, net	28,950	31,015
Other noncurrent assets	5,262	5,860
Total assets	548,150	557,492
Current liabilities	27,507	29,808
Accrued pension costs	6,392	8,230
Other noncurrent liabilities	3,780	6,260
Stockholders' equity	311,877	304,506
Total liabilities and equity	548,150	557,492
Kronos
Schedule Of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Current assets	1,218,300	1,219,700
Property and equipment, net	524,600	490,600
Investment in TiO2 joint venture	103,300	90,200
Other noncurrent assets	190,500	165,300
Total assets	2,036,700	1,965,800
Current liabilities	260,200	270,600
Long-term debt	486,700	444,000
Accrued pension costs	372,600	307,400
Other noncurrent liabilities	120,700	127,700
Stockholders' equity	796,500	816,100
Total liabilities and equity	$ 2,036,700	$ 1,965,800

Goodwill - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Goodwill - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2016
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Gross goodwill	$ 43,700,000
CompX
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment				$ 10,100,000
EWI Re, Inc.
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment				$ 6,400,000

Other Assets, Net - Summary of Other Assets, Net (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Deferred Costs Capitalized Prepaid And Other Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Pension asset	$ 3,881	$ 4,294
Other	1,381	1,566
Total	$ 5,262	$ 5,860

- Definition

Amount of asset, recognized in statement of financial position, for overfunded defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans.

+ References + Details

Accrued and Other Current Liabilities - Schedule of Accrued and Other Current Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Payables And Accruals [Abstract]
Employee benefits	$ 9,000	$ 8,917
Other	1,253	1,684
Total	$ 10,253	$ 10,601

Long-Term Debt - Additional Information (Detail) - NLKW Holding, LLC - USD ($) shares in Millions	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Nov. 14, 2016
Kronos
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Asset contribution, equity security shares	35.2
Back-To-Back Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing under credit facility	$ 50,000,000
Percentage of membership interest in subsidiary	100.00%
Valhi \| Valhi Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing under credit facility	$ 50,000,000			$ 50,000,000
Variable rate basis spread above reference rate	1.875%
Line of credit facility frequency of payment of interest		quarterly
Line of credit facility expiration date		Dec. 31, 2023
Maximum principle outstanding, percentage of collateral value	50.00%
Debt instrument collateral		100% of the membership interest in NLKW held by us
Percentage of membership interest in subsidiary	100.00%
Outstanding borrowing		$ 500,000	$ 500,000
Debt instrument average interest rate		5.13%
Debt instrument average interest rate, during period		5.42%
Valhi \| Stock Repurchase Rights [Member] \| Valhi Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Variable rate basis spread above reference rate	2.75%
Stock repurchase, maximum debt percentage	50.00%
Debt instrument maturity period		5 years

Employee Benefit Plans - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined contribution pension plans	$ 3,000	$ 3,200	$ 3,100
Equity Securities \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Long-term return on plan assets	9.00%
Plan asset target allocation	38.00%
Fixed Income \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Long-term return on plan assets	3.00%
Plan asset target allocation	54.00%
Funds \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined benefit plan assets	34.00%
Multi-asset Strategies and CMRT \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Long-term return on plan assets	2.00%
UK Pension Plan
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	$ 9,100
Plan assets	13,000
Pension plan assets	3,900
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	52,873	50,350
Expected contributions to Defined Benefit Plans in Next Fiscal Year	1,200
Net underfunded status of defined benefit pension plans	$ 2,613	$ 4,037
Weighted-average rate determining the actuarial present value of benefit obligation	2.10%	2.90%
Long-term return on plan assets	4.20%	4.70%	7.20%
Defined Benefit Pension Plans \| CMRT
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Long-term return on plan assets			7.50%

Employee Benefit Plans - Expected Benefit Payments (Detail) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
2021	$ 3,623
2022	3,625
2023	3,581
2024	3,501
2025	3,420
Next 5 years	$ 15,913

Employee Benefit Plans - Funded Status of Defined Benefit Plans (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Noncurrent pension asset	$ 3,881	$ 4,294
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of the year	50,350	49,249
Interest cost	1,483	1,884	$ 1,808
Participant contributions		1
Actuarial losses	4,353	2,582
Change in currency exchange rates	307	260
Benefits paid	(3,620)	(3,626)
Benefit obligations at end of the year	52,873	50,350	49,249
Fair value at beginning of the year	46,313	40,626
Actual return on plan assets	5,308	5,752
Employer contributions	1,841	3,173
Participant contributions		1
Change in currency exchange rates	418	387
Benefits paid	(3,620)	(3,626)
Fair value of plan assets at end of year	50,260	46,313	$ 40,626
Funded status	(2,613)	(4,037)
Noncurrent pension asset	3,881	4,294
Current	(102)	(101)
Noncurrent	(6,392)	(8,230)
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets	(2,613)	(4,037)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss - actuarial losses, net	28,209	28,687
Total	25,596	24,650
Accumulated benefit obligations (ABO)	$ 52,873	$ 50,350

Employee Benefit Plans - Changes in Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Detail) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year	$ (934)	$ 1,330	$ (2,709)
Amortization of actuarial (gain) loss	1,412	1,584	1,937
Total	$ 478	$ 2,914	$ (772)

Employee Benefit Plans - Components of Net Periodic Defined Benefit Cost (Income) (Detail) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Interest cost	$ 1,483	$ 1,884	$ 1,808
Expected return on plan assets	(1,850)	(1,899)	(3,043)
Recognized actuarial losses	1,412	1,584	1,937
Total	$ 1,045	$ 1,569	$ 702

Employee Benefit Plans - Information Concerning Defined Benefit Pension Plans (Including Certain Plans for Which ABO Exceeds Fair Value of Plan Assets) (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
PBO	$ 52,873	$ 50,350	$ 49,249
Fair value of plan assets	50,260	46,313	$ 40,626
U.S.
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
PBO for plans for which ABO exceeds plan assets	43,754	42,198
ABO for plans for which ABO exceeds plan assets	43,754	42,198
Fair value of plan assets for plans for which ABO exceeds plan assets	37,260	33,867
U.S. \| Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
PBO	43,754	42,198
Fair value of plan assets	37,260	33,867
U.K. \| Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
PBO	9,119	8,152
Fair value of plan assets	$ 13,000	$ 12,446

- Definition

Amount of asset segregated and restricted to provide benefit under defined benefit plan. Asset includes, but is not limited to, stock, bond, other investment, earning from investment, and contribution by employer and employee.

+ References + Details

Employee Benefit Plans - Summary of Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Determine Net Benefit Obligation (Detail) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Discount rate	2.90%	3.90%	3.40%
Long-term rate of return on plan assets	4.20%	4.70%	7.20%

Employee Benefit Plans - Composition of Pension Plan Assets by Fair Value Level (Detail) - Defined Benefit Pension Plans - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	$ 50,260	$ 46,313	$ 40,626
United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	37,260	33,867
U.K.
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	13,000	12,446
Equities \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	14,636	13,439
Fixed Income \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	18,747	16,290
Cash and Other \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	3,877	4,138
Other \| U.K.
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	13,000	12,446
Level 1
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	36,957	35,722
Level 1 \| Equities \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	2,158	3,789
Level 1 \| Fixed Income \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	18,747	16,290
Level 1 \| Cash and Other \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	3,052	3,197
Level 1 \| Other \| U.K.
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	13,000	12,446
Level 3
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	538	439
Level 3 \| Equities \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	538	439
Assets Measured at NAV
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	12,765	10,152
Assets Measured at NAV \| Equities \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	11,940	9,211
Assets Measured at NAV \| Cash and Other \| United States
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Total	$ 825	$ 941

Other Noncurrent Liabilities - Summary of Other Noncurrent Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Reserve for uncertain tax positions	$ 1,717	$ 4,053
OPEB	985	1,129
Insurance claims and expenses	653	665
Other	425	413
Total	$ 3,780	$ 6,260

Other Operating Income (Expense) - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) InsuranceCarrier	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Component Of Other Income And Expense [Line Items]
Number of insurance carriers for which agreed to reimburse litigation costs \| InsuranceCarrier			1
Other income, net			$ 18	$ 7,444	$ 644
Proceeds from sale of business				2,925
Gain from sale of business				$ 3,000
Insurance and Risk Management Business
Component Of Other Income And Expense [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of business	$ 3,250
Gain from sale of business	$ 3,000
Sale of Excess Property
Component Of Other Income And Expense [Line Items]
Other income, net		$ 4,400

Income Taxes - Component of Income Taxes (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Expected tax expense (benefit), at U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21%	$ 2,900	$ 6,000	$ (11,400)
Rate differences on equity in earnings of Kronos, net of dividends	(5,300)	(5,300)	(5,000)
Change in federal tax rate, net			800
U.S. state income taxes and other, net	(100)	(100)	200
Income tax expense (benefit)	$ (2,515)	$ 579	$ (15,361)

- Definition

Amount of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.

+ References + Details

Income Taxes - Component of Income Taxes Expenses (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Components of income tax expense (benefit):
Currently payable (receivable)		$ 200	$ (200)
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)	$ (2,500)	400	(15,200)
Income tax expense (benefit)	$ (2,515)	$ 579	$ (15,361)

- Definition

Amount of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.

+ References + Details

Income Taxes - Components of Comprehensive Provision for Income Taxes Allocation (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Comprehensive provision for income taxes (benefit) allocable to:
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$ (2,515)	$ 579	$ (15,361)
Additional paid-in capital	(100)	(200)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Currency translation	900	(100)	(2,100)
Total	(2,500)	(500)	(18,100)
Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Defined benefit plans	(700)	$ (800)	$ (600)
OPEB
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Defined benefit plans	$ (100)

- Definition

Amount of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.

+ References + Details

Income Taxes - Component of Income Taxes (Parenthetical) (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate	21.00%	21.00%	21.00%

Income Taxes - Components of Net Deferred Tax Liability (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Tax effect of temporary differences related to:
Inventories	$ 0.4	$ 0.4
Accrued OPEB costs	0.3	0.3
Accrued pension costs	0.5	0.7
Accrued employee benefits	1.1	1.2
Accrued environmental liabilities	29.1	31.7
Other accrued liabilities and deductible differences		0.2
Adjusted gross deferred tax assets (liabilities)	31.4	34.5
Netting of items by tax jurisdiction	(31.4)	(34.5)
Marketable securities	(3.6)	(5.4)
Property and equipment	(2.6)	(2.8)
Goodwill	(1.7)	(1.7)
Other taxable differences	(2.3)	(2.3)
Investment in Kronos Worldwide, Inc.	(55.0)	(56.3)
Adjusted gross deferred tax assets (liabilities)	(65.2)	(68.5)
Netting of items by tax jurisdiction	31.4	34.5
Net noncurrent deferred tax liability	$ (33.8)	$ (34.0)

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Dividends received from Kronos Worldwide, Inc.						$ 25,356	$ 25,356	$ 23,948
Gross unrecognized tax benefits		$ 7,300				7,300	7,300	7,300
Uncertain tax position		4,053				1,717	4,053
Unrecognized tax benefits, if recognize which would affect effective tax rate						7,300
Currently payable (receivable)							200	(200)
Income tax expense (benefit)						2,515	(579)	15,361
Current payable to affiliate		801				725	801
Valhi
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Current payable to affiliate						29
Federal Income Tax Purposes
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards						$ 26,600
Annual usage limitation						80.00%
Net operating loss carryforwards expiration description						an indefinite carryforward period subject to an 80% annual usage limitation
Kronos
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Dividends received from Kronos Worldwide, Inc.						$ 25,400	$ 25,400	$ 23,900
Kronos \| CARES Act
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Cash tax benefit due to reversal of valuation allowance	$ 500
Percentage of adjusted taxable income						50.00%	30.00%
Kronos \| Germany
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Income tax benefit		3,000
Current cash tax benefit		1,500
Non-cash deferred income tax benefit		1,500
Deferred income tax expense resulting from decrease in trade tax rate		$ 5,500
Kronos \| Deferred Tax Liability Non Current
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Uncertain tax position						$ 5,600
Kronos \| Corporate Tax Purposes \| German
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards						531,000
Kronos \| Corporate Tax Purposes \| Belgium
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Net operating loss carryforwards						$ 20,000
Kronos European Subsidiaries \| Transition Tax
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Currently payable (receivable)					$ 76,200
Income tax expense (benefit)			$ 1,700
Current income tax expense payment period					8 years
Kronos European Subsidiaries \| Valhi
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Income tax liability payable period						8 years
Kronos European Subsidiaries \| Valhi \| Income Tax Payable
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Payable to affiliate						$ 56,600
Noncurrent payable to affiliate						50,600
Current payable to affiliate						$ 6,000
Kronos German Subsidiary \| Germany Revenue Agency \| Germany- Canada APA \| Earliest Tax Year
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Effective tax year				2005
Kronos German Subsidiary \| Germany Revenue Agency \| Germany- Canada APA \| Latest Tax Year
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Effective tax year				2017
Kronos Canadian And German Subsidiaries \| Germany- Canada APA
Income Tax Disclosure [Line Items]
Non-cash income tax benefit				$ 1,400

Stockholder's Equity - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Payments of dividends	$ 7,800,000	$ 0	$ 0
Quaterly dividends payable, amount per share	$ 0.04
NL
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock awarded to board of directors	33,250	28,250	12,600
Shares available for award	79,900
NL \| Maximum
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Aggregate of common stock awarded to directors	200,000
CompX
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Shares available for award	140,950
CompX \| Maximum
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Aggregate of common stock awarded to directors	200,000
Kronos
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Shares available for award	127,400
Kronos \| Maximum
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Aggregate of common stock awarded to directors	200,000

Stockholder's Equity - Schedule of Changes in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year	$ 304,506
Balance at end of year	311,877	$ 304,506
Currency Translation
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year	(172,843)	(172,434)	$ (164,467)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	3,268	(409)	(7,967)
Balance at end of year	(169,575)	(172,843)	(172,434)
Accumulated Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment \| Defined Benefit Pension Plans
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year	(78,257)	(75,286)	(72,951)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	4,330	3,539	(2,335)
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during year	(6,777)	(6,510)
Balance at end of year	(80,704)	(78,257)	(75,286)
Marketable Securities
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year			46,069
Marketable Securities \| Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year			(46,069)
Other \| OPEB
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year	(590)	(550)	(388)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	(320)	(40)	(162)
Balance at end of year	(910)	(590)	(550)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year	(251,690)	(248,270)	(191,737)
Balance at beginning of year, as adjusted	(251,690)	(248,270)	(237,806)
Other comprehensive income (loss)	501	(3,420)	(10,464)
Balance at end of year	$ (251,189)	$ (251,690)	(248,270)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) \| Cumulative Effect, Period of Adoption, Adjustment
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss [Line Items]
Balance at beginning of year			$ (46,069)

Related Party Transactions - Current Receivables and Payables to Affiliates (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Current receivables from affiliates:
Receivables from affiliates	$ 313	$ 581
Current payables to affiliates:
Payable to affiliates	725	801
Other - Trade Items
Current receivables from affiliates:
Receivables from affiliates	313	565
Current payables to affiliates:
Payable to affiliates	696	801
Valhi
Current payables to affiliates:
Payable to affiliates	$ 29
Valhi \| Income Taxes
Current receivables from affiliates:
Receivables from affiliates		$ 16

Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Nov. 30, 2016	Nov. 14, 2016
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Notes receivable from affiliate	$ 29,500,000	$ 28,100,000
Contran \| Kronos
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Rent and related ancillary service	400,000	100,000
Contran \| Intercorporate Services Agreement Fees
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expense transaction with affiliate	33,400,000	36,100,000	$ 32,000,000.0
Contran \| Combined Information Technology Data Recovery Program
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expense transaction with affiliate	300,000	200,000	300,000
Tall Pines and EWI \| Insurance Premiums
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expense transaction with affiliate	22,200,000	14,900,000	12,600,000
Tall Pines
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expense transaction with affiliate	15,600,000
NLKW Holding, LLC \| Valhi \| Valhi Credit Facility
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Borrowing under credit facility				$ 50,000,000	$ 50,000,000
Outstanding borrowings	500,000	500,000
CompX \| Valhi Inc \| Unsecured Revolving Promissory Note Receivable
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Maximum loan amount	$ 40,000,000
Interest rate on loans repayment	1.00%
Interest rate on loans basis	prime plus 1.00%
Notes receivable from affiliate	$ 29,500,000	28,100,000
Interest income including unused commitment fees	$ 1,500,000	$ 2,400,000	$ 2,100,000

Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail)		1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jul. 24, 2019 USD ($) Defendant Installment	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($) Installment	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) Cases site	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Recognized accretion expense								$ 1,321,000	$ 646,000
Long-term litigation settlement							$ 60,081,000	49,403,000	60,081,000
Litigation settlement expense									19,266,000	$ 62,000,000
Accrual for reasonably estimable environmental remediation and related matters							94,508,000	$ 93,416,000	$ 94,508,000	$ 98,211,000	$ 111,909,000
Customer Concentration Risk \| Top Ten Customers \| Sales Revenue
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage								48.00%	47.00%	44.00%
Component Products \| Customer Concentration Risk \| Customer Two \| Sales Revenue \| CompX Security Products Business
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage								17.00%	14.00%	13.00%
Environmental Remediation Sites NL Named As PRP Or Defendant
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Accrual for reasonably estimable environmental remediation and related matters								$ 93,000,000
Number of sites associated with remediation and related costs \| site								32
Number of sites currently not able to reasonably estimate a range of costs \| site								5
Maximum \| Environmental Remediation Sites NL Named As PRP Or Defendant
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Upper end range, estimate costs for remediation and related matters								$ 114,000,000
Environmental Remediation Litigation
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Recoveries receivable							0	$ 0	$ 0
Lead Pigment Litigation
Commitments and Contingent Liabilities [Line Items]
Number of cases settled and dismissed and found not liable \| Cases								100
Period by which loss contingency claims settled and dismissed								30 years
Description of defendants								on July 24, 2019, an order approving a global settlement agreement entered into among all of the plaintiffs and the three defendants remaining in the case (the Sherwin Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products and us) was entered by the court and the case was dismissed with prejudice. The global settlement agreement provides that an aggregate $305 million will be paid collectively by the three co-defendants in full satisfaction of all claims resulting in a dismissal of the case with prejudice and the resolution of (i) all pending and future claims by the plaintiffs in the case, and (ii) all potential claims for contribution or indemnity between us and our co-defendants in respect to the case
Number of defendants \| Defendant	3
Litigation settlement amount	$ 305,000,000
NL's portion of global settlement amount, gross value	101,700,000					$ 62,000,000
Litigation initial payment made 60 days after litigation settlement	25,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement charge	$ 76,700,000					$ 20,000,000
Number of annual installments \| Installment	6					5
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in first year	$ 12,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in second year	12,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in third year	12,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in fourth year	12,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in fifth year	12,000,000.0
Remaining litigation settlement payment due in sixth year	16,700,000
Escrow deposit	$ 9,000,000.0
Litigation initial payment		$ 12,000,000.0	$ 25,000,000.0
Recognized accretion expense							$ 600,000	$ 1,300,000
Litigation settlement, current						$ 80,000,000
Litigation settlement charge upon approval of settlement terms						45,000,000
Long-term litigation settlement						$ 17,000,000
Litigation settlement installments payment beginning term from approval						4 years
Discounted rate for estimated present value of remaining litigation amount							1.90%		1.90%
Litigation settlement expense					$ 19,600,000				$ 19,300,000
Litigation settlement credit				$ 300,000
Litigation settlement estimated net present value							$ 96,300,000		$ 96,300,000

Commitments and Contingencies - Changes in Accrued Environmental Remediation and Related Costs (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Balance at the beginning of the year	$ 94,508	$ 98,211	$ 111,909
Additions charged (credited) to expense, net	82	(579)	2,735
Payments, net	(1,174)	(3,124)	(16,433)
Balance at the end of the year	93,416	94,508	98,211
Amounts recognized in the balance sheet:
Current liability	2,027	3,065	5,027
Noncurrent liability	$ 91,389	$ 91,443	$ 93,184

Financial Instruments - Summary of Financial Instruments Not Carried at Fair Value (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Carrying Amount
Fair Value Balance Sheet Grouping Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, Carrying amount	$ 165,272	$ 157,870
Fair Value
Fair Value Balance Sheet Grouping Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, Fair value	$ 165,272	$ 157,870

Quarterly Results of Operations - Quarterly Financial Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Quarterly results of operations
Net sales	$ 30,000	$ 28,400	$ 23,800	$ 32,300	$ 29,600	$ 29,700	$ 33,700	$ 31,200	$ 114,537	$ 124,243	$ 118,217
Gross margin	7,700	7,300	7,400	10,400	9,000	9,400	11,000	9,600	32,848	38,963	38,271
Net income (loss)	4,600	4,100	4,900	2,500	6,700	(1,000)	6,600	15,700	16,103	28,035	(39,013)
Amounts attributable to NL stockholders:
Net income (loss)	$ 4,300	$ 3,900	$ 4,600	$ 1,900	$ 6,300	$ (1,600)	$ 5,900	$ 15,200	$ 14,680	$ 25,844	$ (41,017)
Income (loss) per common share	$ 0.09	$ 0.08	$ 0.09	$ 0.04	$ 0.13	$ (0.03)	$ 0.12	$ 0.31	$ 0.30	$ 0.53	$ (0.84)

- Definition

Aggregate revenue less cost of goods and services sold or operating expenses directly attributable to the revenue generation activity.

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The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

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+ Details

- Definition

The consolidated profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, including the portion attributable to the noncontrolling interest.

Quarterly Results of Operations - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes	$ 4,300	$ 3,900	$ 4,600	$ 1,900	$ 6,300	$ (1,600)	$ 5,900	$ 15,200	$ 14,680	$ 25,844	$ (41,017)
Litigation Settlement Expense
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes							(15,200)
Gain From a Sale of Excess Property
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes						3,500
Gain From the Sale of Insurance And Risk Management
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes					2,400
Insurance Recoveries
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes			$ 100	$ 300		$ 200	$ 3,700	$ 200		$ 4,100
Decrease In German Trade Tax Rate \| Kronos
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes					(1,300)
Favorable Settlement Of Prior Year Tax Matter \| Kronos
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes					700
Insurance Settlement Gains \| Kronos
Effect Of Fourth Quarter Events [Line Items]
Income (loss), net of income taxes					$ 500