September 08, 2003    Circuit Check Inc. Opens Direct Office in Southeast Asia

Maple Grove, MN - Circuit Check Inc. today announced the establishment of its first regional support center in Southeast Asia. Mr. JJ Ong has joined Circuit Check as Director of Asian Sales and Customer Support and will be based in Penang, Malaysia. This direct office is the first strategic move by Circuit Check to build a support infrastructure for current and future customers using company products throughout Southeast Asia. “Mr. Ong, formerly with Testel, comes to Circuit Check with over nine years of fixture experience and a deep understanding of the Asian market,” said Circuit Check President and CEO Greg Michalko. “We are very excited to have Mr. Ong on our team given his technical expertise, multiple language skills, and knowledge of the market in Southeast Asia. Circuit Check will now provide the type of support our North American customers have come to expect, as well as grow our market share through direct sales to customers there.” The Penang, Malaysia sales/support center will be fully operational, along with satellite support centers in China before the end of 2003. “We have chosen Penang as our center for Asian support for several reasons,” noted Mr. Michalko. “There is a solid base of technical experience, along with many major EMS providers in the immediate area. We want to be where our customers need us, with the right capabilities and people. We intend to use this base to further expand sales, support and production into China and other major market areas. This will be the first of several strategic initiatives throughout the region.” In February of this year Circuit Check Inc. acquired Southwest Test. Circuit Check is a leader in the market for highly engineered customized test fixtures for PCBs and electronics devices. Southwest Test is a leading provider of a broad array of test fixtures and related technology. This strategic combination created the largest fixture manufacturer in North America offering electronics test solutions to multiple end markets. “Our customers in North America have clearly told us of their need for support where they use our products,” noted Scott White, VP of Sales and Marketing forCircuit Check. “Circuit Check and Southwest Test customers need the quality and response they have come to expect from our North American operations. Our goal is to provide consistency and reassurance wherever our products are sold and used.” “I am very excited to be joining the leader in the test fixture market,” said Mr. JJ Ong, CCI’s Director of Asian Sales and Customer Support. “Circuit Check fixtures are widely used in Asia, and their reputation for quality is second to none. I am confident we can rapidly build on this reputation with both sales and support.” “Southeast Asia is the most rapidly growing electronics region in the world,” added Mr. Michalko. “We are excited to directly be a part of it. Asian sales, support and manufacturing operations directly fit our strategic plans for growth. We look forward to promoting our brand of quality and support to the test needs in the region.” About Circuit Check Inc.: Based in Maple Grove, Minnesota, Circuit Check is a leader in the manufacture of custom test fixtures to verify the functionality of electronic circuitry and complex printed circuit boards and assemblies. Circuit Check was founded in 1978, and became majority-owned by Baird Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm affiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, in January 2002. For more information on CCI products and services, please visit our website at www.circuitcheck.com. About Baird Private Equity: With more than 40 professionals in the United States and Europe, Baird's global private equity business has raised and managed nearly $1 billion in capital. Baird Capital Partners (BCP) provides late-stage growth capital or change-of-control capital to U.S.-based, middle-market companies in the areas of Business Services, Industrial Products and Technology, Communications, Consumer and Life Sciences/Health Care. Baird Venture Partners (BVP) makes private equity investments in early-to-late stage high-growth companies in three industry sectors: Business Services, Applied Technology and Life Sciences/Health Care. Granville Baird Capital Partners (GBCP) seeks private equity investment opportunities in high growth mid-sized companies in the UK and continental Europe with a particular interest in IT, Business Services, Industrial Products and Services and Health Care. The group's investments are supported by Baird's full range of industry advice, counsel and research, providing a unique full-service approach to the entire equity capital process. For more information, please visit Baird's Private Equity website at www.bairdprivateequity.com. Baird, established in 1919, is an international investment banking, wealth management, asset management and private equity firm with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. Baird's principal operating subsidiaries are Robert W. Baird & Co. in the U.S. and Robert W. Baird Group Ltd. in Europe. Robert W. Baird & Co. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and other principal exchanges and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Robert W. Baird Ltd., a member of the London Stock Exchange, and Granville Baird Capital Partners Ltd. are regulated in the U.K. by the FSA. Baird is part of the Northwestern Mutual family of companies. For more information, please visit Baird's Web site at www.rwbaird.com.