COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Dec. 28, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 14. 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: 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.

A summary of minimum lease obligations through the remainder of the lease terms follows:

	Contractual
	Lease
Future Rental Obligations	Payments
	(thousands)
Twelve months ending December 28,
2013	$	728
2014		189
2015		9
2016		3

Rent expense during the three month periods follows:

	Three Months Ended
	December 28,		December 30,
Rent Expense	2012		2011
	(thousands)
Rent expense	$	357	$	329

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. As of the date of this Report, the company expects to exceed minimum purchase requirements under the agreement, thereby avoiding any termination fee.