NEWARK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 21, 2011) - IEC Electronics Corp. (NYSE Amex: [ IEC ]) a leading full service EMS provider specializing in complex electronics, today announced that it was ranked No. 3 on the Forbes 100 Best Small Companies in America. The list can be accessed online at [ http://www.forbes.com/best-small-companies/ ].

To qualify for the Forbes Best Small Companies List, companies must have sales between $5 million and $1 billion, be publicly traded for at least one year, and a stock price no lower than $5. Rankings are based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over five years. Additionally Forbes compares the stock performance of each company with that of its peers.

Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum, President, stated, "We are honored to have achieved such a high ranking on the Forbes 100 Best Small Companies list. This is a testament to our employees who deliver the unique capabilities our company offers its customers."

About IEC Electronics
IEC Electronics Corporation is a premier provider of electronic manufacturing services ("EMS") to advanced technology companies primarily in the military and aerospace, medical, industrial and computing sectors. The Company specializes in the custom manufacture of high reliability, complex circuit cards, system level assemblies, a wide array of custom cable and wire harness assemblies, and precision sheet metal products. As a full service EMS provider, IEC is a world-class ISO 9001:2008, AS9100 and ISO13485 certified company. The AS9100 certification enables IEC to serve the military and commercial aerospace markets. The ISO13485 certification supports the quality requirements of medical device markets. The Company is also AC7120 Nadcap accredited for electronics manufacturing to support the most stringent quality requirements of the aerospace industry, as well as ITAR registered and NSA approved under the COMSEC standard. IEC Electronics is headquartered in Newark, NY (outside of Rochester) and also has operations in Victor, NY, Rochester, NY, Albuquerque, NM and Bell Gardens, CA. Additional information about IEC can be found on its web site at [ www.iec-electronics.com ].

The foregoing, including any discussion regarding the Company's future prospects, contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the electronics industry, particularly in the principal industry sectors served by the Company, changes in customer requirements and in the volume of sales to principal customers, competition and technological change, the ability of the Company to control manufacturing and operating costs, the ability of the Company to develop and maintain satisfactory relationships with vendors, and the ability of the Company to efficiently integrate acquired companies into its business. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by any forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors, including factors set forth in the Company's 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.