COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

6 Months Ended

Mar. 30, 2012

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 15. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Company is obligated under non-cancelable operating leases, primarily for manufacturing equipment, buildings and office equipment. Leases for buildings occupied by IEC's businesses expire as follows: Wire and Cable in December 2012, Celmet in July 2014, and SCB primarily in September 2013. These operating leases generally contain renewal options and require the Company to pay executory costs such as taxes, insurance and maintenance. Approximate minimum lease obligations for the next five years, together with rent expense incurred, are as follows:

	Obligation
Future Rental Obligations	to pay rent
	(thousands)
Twelve months ending March 30,
2013	$	1,307
2014		1,276
2015		540
2016		120
2017		5
Total rent expense for six months ended
March 30, 2012	$	644
April 1, 2011		682

During August 2011, one of IEC's operating units entered into a five-year agreement with one of its suppliers to purchase a minimum volume of materials in exchange for receiving favorable pricing on the unit's purchases. In the event the unit's cumulative purchases do not equal or exceed stated minimums, the supplier has a right to terminate the agreement and the IEC unit would be obligated to pay an early termination fee that declines from $365 thousand to zero over the term of the agreement. The company expects to exceed minimum purchase requirements under the agreement, thereby avoiding any termination fee.