Over the past three years, the Company’s net revenues and net income have increased substantially as a result of both internal growth and several significant acquisitions. In 1999, the Company made three acquisitions – two defense contractors and an injection molded plastics operation. Effective February 22, 1999, the Company acquired substantially all of the net assets of the Fermont Division of Dynamics Corporation of America (Fermont), a manufacturer of electrical generator sets primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), for approximately $10.1 million. Effective July 1, 1999, the Company acquired the inventory, fixed assets and existing injection-molded plastics operations of the Bossier City Division of Engineered Products, Inc. (Bossier City) for approximately $3.1 million. Effective September 30, 1999, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of the Systems & Electronics Inc. (SEI) defense subsidiary of ESCO Electronics Corporation, a manufacturer of military support and electronics equipment, for approximately $81.7 million. Each of these acquisitions was accounted for as a purchase. After allocating the respective purchase prices to the fair value of all identifiable tangible and intangible assets, good-will of $54.2 million was recorded and is being amortized over an estimated life of 25 years. On a pro forma basis, the Company’s net revenues and net income for 1999 were $352.2 million and $10.0 million, respectively, compared to actual net revenues and net income for 1999 of $165.3 million and $7.3 million, respectively.

     The discussion set forth below analyzes certain factors and trends related to the financial results for each of the three years ended October 31, 2001, 2000 and 1999. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
      The Company operates in four business segments: Light Military Support Equipment, Heavy Military Support Equipment, Electronics and Automation Systems, and Plastic Products. The Light Military Support Equipment segment engineers and manu-factures a broad range of military support equipment primarily for the DoD, as well as related heat transfer and air handling equipment for domestic commercial and industrial users. Segment products include environmental control systems, generator sets, chemical and biological defense systems, petroleum and water systems and other multipurpose military support equipment. The Heavy Military Support Equipment segment engineers and manufactures aircraft load management and transport systems primarily for the DoD. The Electronics and Automation Systems segment engineers and manufactures airborne radar systems, reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition systems and avionics test equipment primarily for the DoD. The segment also engineers and manufactures material handling equipment primarily for the U.S. Postal Service and the domestic pharmaceutical industry. The Plastic Products segment manufactures a broad range of injection-molded resin products, as well as a proprietary line of plastic faucets, primarily for commercial customers in the south-central United States. Prior to the acquisition of SEI in 1999, the Company did not operate in the Heavy Military Support Equipment or the Electronics and Automation Systems business segments.

Results by Business Segment
The following table sets forth net revenues and income from operations for the years ended October 31, 2001, 2000 and 1999 for each of the Company’s business segments.