EAI Launches Tanon Express With Boston Acquisition.

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1998--EA Industries, Inc. (NYSE: EA) announced today the agreement to acquire Boston Area based Service Assembly Inc. (SAI). In a stock swap deal, SAI becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of EA Industries, Inc. and the first TANON EXPRESS facility. SAI earned approximately $750,000 prior to distributions last year on $3,700,000 of sales.

TANON EXPRESS facilities are dedicated to quick turn and prototype electronics manufacturing services located in close proximity to customer engineering and manufacturing operations. TANON EXPRESS engages the customer early in the product cycle and provides unparalleled quick turn and short lot runs indicative of the customer's needs during the final stages of product design and the early stages of product start up.

As the product matures and the volume increases, production can be transferred to one of Tanon Manufacturing, Inc. volume manufacturing facilities. It is planned to have several TANON EXPRESS facilities established as satellites around each of the Tanon volume manufacturing factories.

The advantage to our customers of adding Tanon EXPRESS is the broadening of the services we offer. We offer the customer what they need when they need it and where they need it over the life of their product. We offer the customer quicker time to market which is critical in the highly competitive, fast paced electronics industry. The advantage to EA Industries of adding TANON EXPRESS is wider geographic presence, improved operational efficiencies, faster growth and greater profitability.

"Our market research indicated the overwhelming appeal of the concept of TANON EXPRESS," said Frank G. Brandenberg, EAI President and CEO. "We chose SAI as our initial acquisition due to the extraordinary customer satisfaction of SAI's clients, their New England location, their excellent process controls, their profitability, and the owners appreciation of the synergy gained by the acquisition. We expect the deal to be formally closed in early January, with financial performance fully consolidated for the first quarter of 1998."

EA Industries, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Tanon Manufacturing, Inc. is a diversified contract manufacturer serving the electronics industry from manufacturing facilities in West Long Branch, NJ and Fremont, CA. EAI's stock has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1962. -0- Except for historical matters contained in this press release, statements made in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties which may affect EA's business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward looking statements, including loss of current customers, reductions in orders from current customers, or delays in ordering by current customers, failure to obtain anticipated contracts or orders from new customers, or expected order volume from such customers, failure to obtain financing, higher material or labor costs, unfavorable results in litigation against EA, economic, competitive, technological, governmental, and other factors discussed in EA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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