Plexus Wins at Next Level

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Faced with increasing demand for its bundled service access equipment, Next Level Communications (Nasdaq: NXTV - News) today announced that it has selected Plexus Corp. (Nasdaq: PLXS - News) as its primary provider of Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS). Plexus will manufacture, and assist in engineering and design support of the company's network access equipment, including the broadband digital terminal, access multiplexers and set-top boxes that telephone companies use to bundle digital TV, high-speed Internet and telephone services for their customers. "We're experiencing a significant increase in the demand for our products and services," said Ken St. Cyr, senior vice president of operations for Next Level. "As we grow we require a specialized supply chain partner that has the right skills and experience with advanced technologies to scale with us. We're confident that Plexus has the resources, quality standards and capability to cost-effectively support our business as we grow through 2003 and beyond." Next Level conducted a thorough evaluation of EMS vendors and selected Plexus based on its strong technical and operational talent for design support and manufacture of high-end networking equipment, the strength of its management team and its ability to quickly scale operations. "Our engineers are raving about Next Level's technology," said Tom Sabol, chief operating officer for Plexus. "We believe Next Level will need to ramp up its operations as never before. Our streamlined manufacturing process will scale easily to match Next Level's growth while enhancing the already high level of quality to which its customers have grown accustomed. Plexus will help Next Level deliver the same quality of service for digital TV and Internet services that is associated with telephone services today." Plexus will manufacture Next Level's products in its Nampa, Idaho, facility. Plexus will support Next Level with its "product realization" model, which supports customers in taking products from initial engineering and thorough testing, through volume manufacture and delivery. Next Level CommunicationsPlexus Corp.