COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Jun. 29, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

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 June 29,
2013	$	1,321
2014		1,167
2015		385
2016		49
2017		4
Total rent expense for nine months ended
June 29, 2012	$	995
July 1, 2011		1,057

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.