ATLANTA -- East West Manufacturing today announced the acquisition of Universal Electronics in a deal between privately held contract electronics manufacturers.

Terms were not disclosed.

Whitewater, WI-based Universal Electronics builds printed circuit board assemblies, box-build assemblies, and performs testing and new product introduction. It was founded in 1980. It has nine SMT lines across its 87,000 sq. ft. plant in Whitewater and 40,000 sq. ft. plant in East Troy. It has estimated sales of more than $60 million, according to the CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Directory of EMS Companies.

UEI advances East West’s strategic focus on growing its domestic electronics manufacturing capabilities and expanding its US manufacturing operations, the company said in a press release. The acquisition extends East West's geographical reach in the Midwest, where the site is close to many current customers.

The purchase of UEI continues an acquisition plan by East West that includes prior buys of Team Manufacturing in 2018 and General Microcircuits and Adcotron in 2019. 

“We are excited to partner with UEI to expand our manufacturing operations to the Midwest,” said Scott Ellyson, cofounder and CEO, East West. “UEI has an incredible reputation for putting its customers first and has an established presence in a variety of high-growth sectors such as medical, industrial, telecommunications and defense. This acquisition allows us to offer our customers even greater domestic, higher mix, lower volume, quickturn electronic manufacturing services. Our collective design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities will enable us to provide even greater levels of service and support to customers on a global basis.”

“The leadership team and associates here at UEI are excited about becoming part of the East West family. Our culture, capabilities and customer first focus align perfectly," said Rick Jensen, owner and president, UEI. "We expect the new combined company to help our customers continue to grow.”

Register now for PCB West Virtual 2020, the leading conference and exhibition for the printed circuit board industry, coming next week.  pcbwest.com  

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