EFTC To Buy Agfa Circuit Card Unit Used In Prepress

Electronic News, July 20, 1998

EFTC will offer employment to all Agfa employees currently associated with the circuit card operation, which includes an internal raw board fabrication capability.

Under the letter of intent, Agfa and EFTC will enter into a long-term strategic supply agreement, whereby EFTC will continue to produce and supply Agfa with circuit card assemblies used in their EPS products. EFTC will produce approximately 125 different assemblies for Agfa.

It is anticipated that EFTC will supply Agfa with approximately $20 million worth of circuit cards annually. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter and be accretive to earnings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"After an extensive search for potential strategic suppliers, we selected EFTC because of their exclusive focus on providing innovative, high-mix manufacturing solutions," said Michael Paige, senior vice president of Agfa Division, Bayer Corp.

Meanwhile, "EFTC is extremely pleased to be selected by Agfa as a strategic supplier," said Jack Calderon, EFTC's chairman and CEO. "We believe there are excellent growth opportunities with Agfa both domestically and abroad."

The Wilmington plant will serve as EFTC's Northeast Manufacturing Operation. Additionally, the capability will be augmented with the prototype capabilities of EFTCexpress located in Manchester, N.H. EFTC intends on marketing its manufacturing capabilities to third party customers located in the Northeast.

The Agfa-Gevaert Group is a leading worldwide manufacturer of imaging products and systems, with annual sales of over $4.5 billion. Agfa-Gevaert manufactures and markets products and systems for the electronic and photographic prepress, medical and technical diagnostic, and amateur and professional photographic markets.

Headquartered in Europe, Agfa-Gevaert is wholly owned by Bayer AG. In the United States, Agfa operates as a division of Bayer Corp., with headquarters in Ridgefield Park, N.J. Bayer, headquartered in Pittsburgh, has major businesses in chemicals, health care, and imaging technologies.

EFTC is a provider of electronic manufacturing services exclusively focusing on high-mix manufacturing, including circuit card assembly, quick-turn manufacturing, prototype services, build-to-order, and repair and warranty services. Additionally, EFTC provides design for manufacturing (DFM), design for test (DFT), and design for serviceability (DFS) engineering services. The company's facilities are located in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington State. EFTC employs approximately 2,000 people at these facilities.