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                                                                    Exhibit 99.2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                        CONTACT:
                                                              Nancy J. Sterling,
                                                              ML Strategies, LLC
                                                              (617) 348-1811


                     ACT MANUFACTURING, INC. PROVIDES UPDATE
                          ON REORGANIZATION PROCEEDINGS

Hudson, Massachusetts, April 2, 2002 -- ACT Manufacturing, Inc., which currently
is a debtor in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding, today announced that it is
continuing a process to sell all or substantially all of the Company's assets as
it operates under reorganization proceedings. As previously announced, the
Company filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy
Code on December 21, 2001, and obtained a $20 million debtor-in-possession
("DIP") financing facility in January 2002 pursuant to a Revolving Credit and
Guaranty Agreement dated January 25, 2002 among the Company and its DIP lenders
(the "DIP Credit Agreement"). The DIP Credit Agreement provides for the DIP
lenders' total commitment to be reduced over a period of time, and for the
Company to operate under an agreed-upon budget and in compliance with various
operating covenants.

Since the third quarter of 2001, the Company has continued to reduce the scale
of its operations. Due to the Company's limited liquidity, the Company has not
engaged an independent accounting firm to prepare an audit for the year ended
December 31, 2001 or for any subsequent period, and presently has no plans to do
so. The Company did not file its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2001, and presently does not expect to make such filing.

As part of the DIP Credit Agreement, the Company agreed to diligently and in
good faith engage in a process reasonably designed to promptly conclude a sale
of all or substantially all of the Company's assets by way of a Bankruptcy Court
auction or auctions occurring on or before June 30, 2002. Although the Company
is pursuing the sale and auction process contemplated in the DIP Credit
Agreement, the Company can provide no assurances as to the value or recovery
resulting from this process, if completed, to be realized by the holders of the
Company's debt or equity securities. Given the level of pre-petition creditor
claims, however, the Company currently believes that it is unlikely that a sale
of all or substantially all of the Company's business and assets will satisfy
all outstanding creditor claims that arose prior to the bankruptcy or provide
any return to equity holders. The Company currently believes that the holders of
its common stock likely will retain or recover no equity or other value as a
result or upon the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceeding with respect to the
Company's common stock. The Company cannot predict, however, the outcome of any
sales process.

The Company, 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.

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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 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.

