Meade Instruments to close Thomasville, Ga., plant

Meade Instruments Corp., a leading designer and manufacturer of consumer optical products including telescopes, riflescopes, binoculars and accessories for the amateur astronomy and sporting goods markets, on December 5 announced it has commenced the final stage of its U.S. facilities consolidation with the planned closure and consolidation of its Thomasville, Ga., plant. The company’s U.S. operations will now be run out of its headquarters in Irvine, Calif.

The consolidation of the Thomasville facility will eliminate 20 employees by February 28, 2007 and is expected to result in approximately $500,000 in annualized savings in calendar 2007 with an additional $300,000 in decreased facilities related expenses expected to begin in calendar 2008. Meade expects to continue to employ more than 300 full-time employees worldwide for the manufacturing and distribution of its products.

Steve Muellner, president and CEO of Meade stated, “The consolidation of the Thomasville operations and the workforce reductions is another step in our efforts to align our operating expenses with current revenues to increase Meade’s operational efficiency. The completion of the consolidation of our U.S. based operations combined with the continued efforts in our operating and growth strategies are key to our goals of returning to profitability and delivering long-term value to our stockholders.”