SWITCHCRAFT, INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF
CONXALL CORPORATION

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS., October 18, 1999 - Switchcraft announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Conxall Corporation located in Villa Park, Illinois. Conxall was founded in 1971 as a manufacturer of sealed connectors for the marine industry. Today the company offers a broad line of custom cable assemblies and connectors used in marine, industrial, sensor, communications and transportation applications.

"The acquisition of Conxall expands the offering of our successful line of weathertight connectors with four additional connector sizes. The shielded and unshielded line of Sensor link cables expands our presence in the industrial and sensor markets," said Keith A. Bandolik, President of Switchcraft. "Conxall's custom molded cable assemblies complements the Switchcraft line of standard and custom molded cables. Conxall has enjoyed excellent growth over the last five years as the company developed new product lines designed to meet exacting needs of its customers. Needless to say, the management teams of both Switchcraft and Conxall are excited about where we can take the business by working closely together." Conxall's shielded product meets International EMI/RFI shielding requirements.

Conxall manufactures a wide range of products such as circular sealed plastic connectors in a wide variety of sizes with up to 37 contacts, Mil-E-Qual connectors that are intermateable, intermountable and interchangeable equivalents to the Mil-C-5015 connector series, sensor link molded cable assemblies consisting of unshielded and shielded Mini, AC Micro, and DC Micro, as well as custom products and custom molded cable assemblies.

Switchcraft, Inc. manufactures a wide range of electronic components such as jacks, plugs, jackfields, connectors, switches and cable assemblies. The company's products are used in applications such as audio, broadcast, telecommunications, instrumentation, communications, appliance, and medical. These products are sold direct to customers and through an international and national network of stocking distributors.

Switchcraft, founded in 1946, is owned by Cortec Group Inc. and Switchcraft management. Founded in 1984, Cortec Group Inc. is a private equity investment firm which partners with management to make controlling investments in middle-market manufacturing and distribution businesses.

Keith Bandolik states that "Switchcraft and Cortec are actively seeking other acquisition opportunities that complement our connector and cable assembly businesses."

NEWS RELEASE

SWITCHCRAFT, INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CONXALL CORPORATION

SWITCHCRAFT, INC. COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF
CONXALL CORPORATION