LaBarge Receives $1.3 million Contract to Produce Flexible Circuit Assemblies for Dade Behring

ST. LOUIS, May 13, 2003�.LaBarge, Inc. (AMEX: LB) has been awarded a $1.3 million contract by Dade Behring Holdings, Inc., the world�s largest company dedicated solely to clinical diagnostics, to continue to produce flexible printed circuit assemblies for highly sensitive laboratory equipment. LaBarge has manufactured the assemblies for more than a decade. LaBarge will continue to perform the work at its Joplin, Mo., facility.

The flexible printed circuit assemblies produced by LaBarge will be integrated into Dade Behring�s Dimension� family of products. The highly conductive copper layer and thin substrate material that compose flexible printed circuits are ideal for creating test tube pouches in the laboratory. The heated flexible circuits automatically cut and weld sheets of thin, plastic film inside the Dimension equipment to create sterile pouches. These sterile pouches receive samples such as blood or plasma, which are analyzed by the laboratory device. Dimension analyzers are used in hospitals and reference laboratories around the world.

With 2002 revenues of nearly $1.3 billion, Dade Behring is the world�s largest company dedicated solely to clinical diagnostics. It offers a wide range of products and systems designed to meet the day-to-day needs of medical laboratories, making it today�s best resource in this field. The company is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and has operations in 43 countries. Additional company information is available on the Internet at http://www.dadebehring.com.

LaBarge, Inc. is a broad-based provider of electronics to technology-driven companies in diverse industrial markets. The Company provides its customers with sophisticated electronic products through contract design and manufacturing services. Headquartered in St. Louis, LaBarge has operations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The Company�s Web site address is http://www.labarge.com.

Statements contained in this release relating to LaBarge, Inc. that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Matters subject to forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including economic, competitive and other factors that may cause LaBarge or its industry�s actual results, levels of activity, performance and achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause LaBarge�s actual results to differ materially from those projected in, or inferred by, forward-looking statements are (but are not necessarily limited to) the following: the impact of increasing competition or deterioration of economic conditions in LaBarge�s markets; cutbacks in defense spending by the U.S. Government; loss of one or more large customers; LaBarge�s ability to replace completed and expired contracts on a timely basis; the outcome of litigation the Company is party to; increases in the cost of raw materials, labor and other resources necessary to operate LaBarge�s business; the availability, amount, type and cost of financing for LaBarge and any changes to that financing; and other factors summarized in our reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by law, LaBarge disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to publicly announce any revisions thereto to reflect future events or developments.