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                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                        CONTACT:
                                                              George Snell
                                                              ML Strategies, LLC
                                                              (617) 348-1872

                  ACT MANUFACTURING, INC. ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL
                       INFORMATION CONCERNING SALE PROCESS

HUDSON, Mass. (April 4, 2002) -- In response to inquiries about its sales
process, ACT Manufacturing, Inc. today announced that the company remains
committed to continuing to operate in the ordinary course of its business and
has no plans to auction off the plant, equipment and inventory of the company in
a piecemeal fashion.

ACT has hired Lazard Freres, a New York investment banker with offices
throughout the world, to manage the sale of the company. Lazard has provided
information to and has received bids from several qualified buyers. As a result
of the level of interest demonstrated by the potential buyers to date, ACT
continues to believe that the sale of the company as a going concern to a buyer
who will continue the company's operations will best maximize value for its
creditors and ensure ongoing service to our valued customers. ACT remains
committed to its customers and will continue to meet its customers'
requirements.

The sale procedures will be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Worcester
and these procedures will be similar to those used in other major Chapter 11
cases. The procedures will be designed to assure fairness in the process and the
best possible return for creditors. ACT expects the sale process to be
substantially completed by the end of June 2002.

ACT believes that its strategy will produce the best results for its employees,
for its customers and for its creditors. However, the company regrets that it is
unlikely that stockholders will recover any value from the sale of the company's
businesses.

ACT, with headquarters in Hudson, Massachusetts, provides electronics
manufacturing services to equipment manufacturers in networking and
telecommunications, computer and industrial and medical equipment markets. ACT
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.

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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 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
Company's agreement to engage in a process designed to sell all or substantially
all of its assets; the sale and auction process that is contemplated within the
Company's bankruptcy

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proceeding; the prospects that the Company's debt and equity security holders
will receive any value or recovery in connection with such sale and auction
process or with respect to such securities; to the Company'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 effects of our reorganization proceedings; the effects of our reductions in
operations, including facility closures; the willingness of vendors and
customers to continue to do business with us, and the terms on which any such
business takes place; 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 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.

