NEWARK, NY -- IEC Electronics today acquired EMS firm General Technology Corp. for $14.2 million in cash. GTC serves a number of leading customers in the military and defense markets. The combination will be accretive to IEC shareholders.

Albuquerque-based GTC was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crane. It has annual sales of about $25 million.

IEC said the deal would be accretive to shareholders, although it did not give a timeframe. The contract electronics assembler financed the deal through  a credit facility from Manufacturers and Traders Bank.

The deal marks a considerable undertaking both financially and logistically for IEC, which has rebounded in recent years. For its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the company reported sales of $67.8 million and pre-tax income of $4.7 million. It operates a single plant in New York.

In a statement, IEC chairman W. Barry Gilbert said, "We have been searching for a company with a strong quality culture, complementary technologies and serving similar markets. GTC is a well-run company with strong margins that occupies an important niche in the military and defense market. This is a unique niche market for which we envision continued growth."