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                                                                    Exhibit 10.2

                   [Letterhead of A C T Manufacturing, Inc.]

May 4, 2001

Mr. Kenneth Owens
25 Overlook Drive East
Framingham, MA 01701

Dear Ken:

I am pleased to offer you the position of Chief Operating Officer -- North
America for ACT Manufacturing Incorporated. In this position you will report
directly to me, and be accountable for the P&L, balance sheet, and customer
service levels of all North American operations. Your start date in this
position will be 2-July-2001, and your office will be located in our corporate
headquarters in Hudson, Massachusetts.

By virtue of signing this letter we both commit to the completion of an
employment contract prior to your start date. The employment contract will
contain the appropriate legal language that documents our agreement. The
"significant content" of our agreement that will be documented in the employment
contract is:

Contract Term

      o     Contract will have a two-year term, and will automatically renew
            every year on July 2nd.

Compensation

      o     Annual base salary of $300,000 per year.

      o     Annual incentive pay targeted at 50% of annual base salary, which
            will be paid no later than March 15th for the results of the prior
            year. The incentive amount paid will be based upon three separate
            and distinct elements that are calculated based on the following
            formulas:

                  o     40% of the target incentive is based on achieving the
                        North American annual working capital goal established
                        in the internal operating plan of the company. Payout
                        starts at 80% performance to plan and scales in a linear
                        fashion to a maximum of 150% performance to plan.

                  o     40% of the target incentive is based on achieving the
                        North American annual PBT goal established in the
                        internal operating plan of the company. Payout starts at
                        80% performance to plan and scales in a linear fashion
                        to a maximum of 150% performance to plan.

                  o     20% of the target incentive is based on achieving the
                        North American annual sales goal established in the
                        internal operating plan for the company. Payout starts
                        at 80% performance to plan and scales in a linear
                        fashion to a maximum of 150% performance to plan.

      o     You will receive a stock option of 100,000 shares of ACTM stock at a
            strike price established by the share price of ACTM as of the close
            of business for the NASDAQ exchange on July 2, 2001. The option will
            vest over 5 years in 5 equal installments, and the exercise period
            will be 10 years. The first vesting date will be July 2, 2002, and
            the last vesting date will be July 2, 2006.

      o     You will have a leased company car of your selection. The negotiated
            purchase price of the vehicle to be put under lease is not to exceed
            $65,000.

Benefits

      o     Your medical/dental health benefit package will be commensurate with
            the executive package currently in place for other senior executives
            at ACT.

      o     You will receive three weeks paid vacation per year.


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Termination

      o     If the company terminates your contract for any reason other than
            the conviction of a felony that is materially harmful to ACT
            Manufacturing, you will receive a one year severance plan. The
            salary that will be used to determine this payment will be your
            current annual salary. In addition, your health benefits will
            continue to be covered by the company through the last day of your
            severance period.

      o     If you terminate your contract, you must provide ACT notice of your
            intent to terminate your employment contract. This notice period
            must be six months in advance.

Change of Scope

      o     If your job function and/or scope changes as a result of a change in
            control then you may voluntarily terminate your employment contract.
            Termination under this "change in scope" clause will not be
            governed by the obligations listed in the "termination" clause
            above. Termination under this "change of scope" clause will result
            in a one year severance package.

            For the purposes of this clause "change in control" will be defined
            as:

                  o     John A. Pino being replaced as Chairman of the Board

                  o     John A. Pino being replaced as CEO.

                  o     A change in the ownership of the company whether through
                        hostile or friendly takeover, merger, or
                        recapitilization activities.

The "contract term", "compensation", "benefits", "termination", and "change of
scope" sections of this letter represent the "significant content" of your
employment contract. No "significant content" items will be changed other than
being restated in the appropriate legal verbiage. Other mutually acceptable
minor content items may be added to the contract such as "governing law",
"disputes", "non-compete" etc.

Please indicate your acceptance of this offer by signing and returning this
document.

Sincerely,


/s/ John A. Pino                5/4/2001
--------------------------------------------
John A. Pino
Chairman, CEO, President
ACT Manufacturing Inc.


Accepted:


/s/ Kenneth M. Owens            5/7/01
--------------------------------------------
Kenneth M. Owens


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