<PAGE>

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
                                                                    ------------

NEWS RELEASE:                                   Contact:  Nancy J. Sterling, APR
January 3, 2002                                           ML Strategies, LLC
                                                          617-348-1811


                 ACT MANUFACTURING, INC. RECEIVES DIP FINANCING


HUDSON, MASSACHUSETTS, JANUARY 3, 2002 - ACT Manufacturing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACTM)
today announced it has received $9.5 million in Debtor in Possession (DIP)
financing pursuant to a hearing held yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Worcester, Massachusetts.  ACT filed for Chapter 11 in the same court on
December 21, 2001.  The Company's overseas operations are unaffected by the
filing.

The DIP financing involved is short-term financing and is stage one of a two-
part process with the Company's lenders.  Stage two, for which negotiations are
already in progress, involves longer-term financing for a substantially greater
amount.  Given the varied availabilities of all the parties involved during the
holiday season, this two-step process seemed to be the most appropriate to allow
the Company to continue manufacturing operations, maintain a strong work force,
and continue to serve its customers effectively.

The Company has been adversely impacted by the extremely negative conditions in
the telecommunications and high-end computing sectors.  Numerous steps have been
taken in attempts to restore the Company to profitability, including work force
reductions.  The filing of the bankruptcy petition was necessary because the
Company's banks would only continue to fund operations under the provisions of
Chapter 11.

ACT Manufacturing, Inc., headquartered in Hudson, Massachusetts, provides value-
added electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers in
the networking and telecommunications, computer and industrial and medical
equipment markets.  The Company provides OEMs with complex printed circuit board
assembly primarily utilizing advanced surface mount technology, electro-
mechanical subassembly, total system assembly and integration, mechanical and
molded cable and harness assembly and other value-added services.  The Company
has operations in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, France,
England, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

ACT is represented by Richard Mikels and the commercial law group from Mintz,
Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and a team from Zolofo Cooper.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are neither guarantees nor
promises, but which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those

<PAGE>

anticipated. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements
relate, among other things, to ACT's role in the electronics manufacturing
services market, the results of actions taken by management, the strength of our
customers' markets and the outsourcing model in the electronics industry,
expected operating and financial results, sources of liquidity and capital
resources, effects of our cash management plan, negotiations with lenders and
other parties, anticipated results of restructuring efforts, developments within
the customer base and market opportunities, future customer shipments, and the
plans and objectives of management. Those risks and uncertainties include, among
others: changes or anticipated changes in economic conditions; trends in the
electronics industry; the strength of our customers' markets and future customer
demands; the financial condition of our customers; the inability to achieve
satisfactory financial arrangements with bank lenders and other financial
sources; the inability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, the
inability to achieve expected synergies and cost associated with acquisitions;
the effectiveness of managing manufacturing processes; increased competition and
its effects on pricing, revenues and gross margins, and our customer base; our
ability to timely complete, configure and ship products; and changes,
reductions, delays or cancellations of customer orders. In addition, our
business and results of operations are subject to numerous additional risks and
uncertainties, including the short-term nature of customer orders, customers'
announcements and introductions of new products or new generations of products,
evolutions in the life cycles of customers' products, inventory obsolescence and
currency exchange rate movements. For a more detailed discussion of the risks
and uncertainties of our business, please refer to our periodic reports filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the period ended December 31, 2000 and our Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2001, June 30, 2001 and September 30, 2001.


