Following is information regarding the nominees:

        Mr. Kunin has served from 1983 to 2004 as chairman, and from 2004 to October 2008, as vice chairman, of the boardBoard of directorsDirectors of Regis Corporation, the world's largest owner, operator and franchisor of hair care salons. At certain times during the past five years, he served as a director of Regis Corporation. He has been a director of the Company since 1990. Mr. Kunin's extensive business experience as the founder, long timelong-time chief executive officer and director of Regis Corporation has given him a deep insight into the issues faced by publicly owned corporations. He holds more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Company and therefore is in a unique position to represent the interests of the Company's shareholders.

        Mr. Degen has served as president and CEO of Nortech Systems Inc., since May 2002. Mr. Degen's experience includes 17 years with the Toro Company, a leader in the lawnLawn & garden industry,Garden Industry, from 1983 to 2000. As managing director of Toro's Worldwide Parts and Operations, Mr. Degen gained first-handfirsthand knowledge and experience in complex multi-plant operations, customer service and organization management. Mr. Degen has been a director of the Company since May 1998. Mr. Degen brings to our boardBoard his experience and knowledge of our business derived from his current position as president and CEO.

        Mr. Larson is currently the chairman of the board of directorsClassic Space and was chairman of the board for Restaurant Technologies, Inc., an installer of automated cooking oil systems for the fast food restaurant industry, servingfrom 1999 until the company was sold in this capacity since 1999.June 2011. Mr. Larson was president and chief operating officer of Polaris Industries, a leader in sales and service to the ATV and snowmobile industries, from 1988 to 1998. Mr. Larson has gained first-handfirsthand experience onin corporate financial performance and all aspects of manufacturing within multidivisional operations. He has been a director of the Company since 2002 and is chairman of the Compensation Committee. He served on the boardBoard of Featherlite,Feather Lite, Inc., a publicly held company until it was acquired in 2006. Mr. Larson brings to our boardBoard his experience and knowledge from both his current and past executive positions and strong manufacturing background.

        Mr. Perkins has served since 1985 as president, chief executive officer and a director of Perkins Capital Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor. He has been a director of the Company since 1993 and is currently the chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Perkins is also a member of the boardBoard of directorsDirectors for threetwo other public companies: China Nuvo Solar Energy, Inc., Synovis Life Technologies, Inc., and Vital Images, Inc. In addition, Mr. Perkins serves as a director for several privately held companies. At certain times during the past five years he served as a director for CNS, Inc., PW Eagle, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Teledigital, Inc., Synovis Life Technologies, Inc., and Two Way TV (US), Inc. With his varied experiences as a director and investment manager working in the financial markets, Mr. Perkins has gained first-handfirsthand knowledge and experience in audit and internal controls over financial control onreporting and related matters dealing with shareholders and governance issues.

        Mr. Riley was president of Riley Dettman & Kelsey LLC, management consultants, from 1996 until his retirement in 2009. Mr. Riley has gained insight in all compensation matters through his wide variety of consulting engagements with public, private and non-profit organizations. Mr. Riley has been a director of the Company since 2001 and is chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and his background adds valuable assistance to Compensation Committee issues. Mr. Riley

brings to our boardBoard his past leadership and project management experienceexperiences and his overall knowledge of our Company.

DIRECTORS MEETINGS

        There were five meetings of the boardBoard of directorsDirectors during the last fiscal year. All directors except Mr. Kunin attended all meetings of the boardBoard and committees of the boardBoard on which such director served. Mr. Kunin attended three of the five board meetings.

        The boardBoard of directorsDirectors has established a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, a Compensation Committee, and an Audit Committee. The members of each committee are Messrs. Larson, Perkins and Riley. The boardBoard of directorsDirectors has determined that Messrs. Larson, Perkins and Riley are independent directors under the rules established by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Marketplace Rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market ("NASDAQ"). Further, the boardBoard has determined that Mr. Perkins is an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by applicable regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the last fiscal year the Audit Committee met four times, the Compensation Committee met fourfive times, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee met twice. The charters of all committees are posted on the Company's website at www.nortechsys.com.

We encourage boardBoard members to attend the annual meeting of shareholders. All members of the boardBoard attended the 20092011 annual meeting.

BOARD LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

        The boardBoard has determined that the positions of chairmanChairman of the boardBoard and chief executive officerChief Executive Officer should be held by different persons. The boardBoard believes that this leadership structure has enhanced the board'sBoard's oversight of, and independence from, the Company's management and the board'sBoard's ability to carry out its roles and responsibilities on behalf of the shareholders.

RISK OVERSIGHT

        Management and the Company's general counselGeneral Counsel and secretarySecretary discuss risks, both during board meetings and in direct discussions with boardBoard members. These discussions identify companyCompany risks which are prioritized and assigned to the appropriate boardBoard committee or the full boardBoard for oversight. Internal control and financial risks are overseen by the Audit Committee; compensation risks are overseen by the Compensation Committee; CEO succession planning is overseen by the Governance and Nominating Committee; and compliance risks are typically overseen by the full board.Board. Management regularly reports on each such risk to the relevant committee or the board,Board, and material risks identified by a relevant committee are then presented to the full board.Board. The company'sCompany's risk management program as a whole is reviewed annually at a meeting of the board.Board. Additional review or reporting on companyCompany risks is conducted as needed or as requested by the boardBoard or committees.committee. Coordination of management's review of these risks is performed by the Company's general counselGeneral Counsel and secretary,Secretary, who reports to the CEO and who is a member of the Company's leadership team.leadership.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

        The Executive Officers of the Company are as follows:

        Mr. Degen has been presidentPresident and chief executive officerChief Executive Officer of the Company since May 2002.

        Mr. Wasielewski has been chief financial officerSenior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since April 15, 2004. From 2000 until his employment by2004 when he joined the Company, he was controller/senior director, planning, wholesale and operations of Select Comfort Corporation, a manufacturer and retailer of premium air mattresses.

        Mr. Pieper has been the senior vice president, Aerospace, since November 1, 2008. From November 1, 2004 until October 31, 2008, he was the principal operating officer of the Company. From September 2003 until October 31, 2004, he was director of manufacturing of the Landoll Corporation, a manufacturer of material handling and transportation equipment.

        Mr. Anderly has been senior vice president, corporate financeSenior Vice President, Corporate Finance and treasurerTreasurer of the Company since May 1996. Mr. Anderly held the position of Vice President, Corporate Finance and Administration from November 1989 to April 1996.

        Mr. Kucera has been vice president, corporate qualityVice President, Corporate Quality of the Company since 1991. He assumed the additional responsibility of directing the Company's FOCUS lean management program on December 1, 2006.2006.He will retire on April 30, 2012.

        Mr. Steichen has been the senior vice president, CommercialSenior Vice President since November 1, 2008. FromMr. Steichen has held senior marketing and operational positions with the Company since May 18,2005. In January 2012 he assumed the position of Chief Marketing and Sales Officer.

        Ms. Yantes has been Vice President, Human Resources since July 2010. Ms. Yantes held the position of Corporate Director of Human Resources from December 2005 until October 31, 2008, heJune 2010.

        Ms. Hesselroth was appointed Vice President of Global Supply Chain on June 6, 2011, and was given the vice president, salesadditional responsibility over the Company's Electronic and marketing.Medical Products facilities on January 2, 2012. From August 2007 to June 2011 she held the position of Vice President of Global Operations and Logistics with Zimmer Spine, a division of Zimmer, Inc. From June 2003 until August 2007 she was employed by the Andersen Corp. as Fulfillment, Supermarket and Manufacturing Value Stream Manager.

February 2002 to May 2005, Mr. Steichen held sales and marketing positions with Graco, Inc., a manufacturer of fluid-handling systems and components, and was director of sales and marketing in the Protective Coatings Division of that company from July 2003 to May 2005.

        Mr. Horne has been vice president, global supply chain management of the Company since February 2003.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

        The Compensation Committee is composed of the independent outside directors whose names appear below. The Committee has a charter which is available on the Company's Web site (www.nortechsys.com)website (www.nortechsys.com). The Committee determines the compensation of executive officers of the Company. Compensation for executive officers includes three elements: base salaries, bonuses, and options to acquire Common Stock.share-based compensation and stock appreciation rights. Salaries are based on factors such as the individual's level of responsibility and the amount of salary paid to executives with similar responsibilities in comparable companies. Bonuses are awarded based on a combination of the executive's success in meeting certain pre-established individual goals and the Company's performance in meeting certain financial goals. Stock optionsAll share-based compensation and stock appreciation rights plans are designed to increase the incentive for an executive's interest in the Company's success as measured by the market value of its stock or other financial-related measures and to align the interests of the executives with those of the Company's shareholders.

        The chief executive officer's base compensation for 20092011 was established under an employment agreement executed in 2005, which was renewed in 2008 for an additional three years. Further, it was determined that the total compensation of the chief executive officer was comparable to compensation of chief executive officers of comparable companies. The base compensation of the other executive officers was set at the level necessary to attract and retain executives performing the functions being performed by such executives.

20092011 SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

        The table below shows the compensation of the Company's Chief Executive Officer and each of the other two most highly compensated executive officers for services to the Company in 2009.2011 and 2010.

OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT 20092011 FISCAL YEAR-END

(1)

Stock options granted on 11/1/06 vestvested and became exercisable in one-third increments on 1/1/08, 1/1/09, and 1/1/10.

(2)

Stock options granted on 3/7/07/06 vested and became 100% exercisable on 12/31/08.

POTENTIAL PAYMENTS UPON TERMINATION OR CHANGE-IN-CONTROL

        In the event of an involuntary termination of any of the Named Executive Officers after a change in control of the Company, each officer would receive for 36 months (or in a lump sum, at the officer's option) his base salary, annual bonus at time of termination, and continued participation in the Company's health, disability and life insurance plans, and additionally up to $10,000 for professional outplacement services. Assuming that the triggering event took place on December 31, 2009,2011, the amounts payable to the Named Executive Officers would be as follows:

20092011 DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

(1)

The aggregate number of restricted stock awards and the aggregate number of option awards outstanding on December 31, 2009,2011, for each of the above-named directors are as follows:

NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

        The Company has established a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the boardBoard of directors.Directors. All the members of this Committee are independent as defined in the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.

Shareholder Nominees

        The Committee has adopted a policy of considering director candidates recommended by shareholders. Any shareholder desiring to submit such a recommendation should transmit the candidate's name and qualifications in a letter addressed to:

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Nortech Systems Incorporated
1120 Wayzata Boulevard East, Suite 201
Wayzata, MN 55391

Director Qualifications

        The Company's directorsDirectors play a critical role in overseeing the management of the Company and its strategic direction. Qualifications for director candidates are based on various criteria, such as broad business and professional skills and experiences as management or directors of other companies. Director candidates are expected to have the necessary time available to perform their duties and responsibilities to the Company.

        The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the boardBoard of directorsDirectors have established minimum requirements for attracting qualified director candidates as follows: at least 10 years of relevant business experience, ability to read and understand financial statements, no conflict of interest with the Company, and meet Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the boardBoard of directorsDirectors retain the right to modify these minimum requirements from time to time.

        The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the boardBoard of directorsDirectors seek directors with diversity of skills and experiences. To determine whether the boardBoard has the appropriate diversity or whether a new member could improve the diversity the following issues are considered:

•

Skills and experiences that are currently represented on the boardBoard



•

Desired size of the boardBoard

To determine whether the boardBoard has the appropriate diversity or a new member could improve the diversity the following skills and experiences are considered:

•

Mergers and acquisitions experience



•

Financial and compliance expertise



•

Leadership of a company that has sustained growth



•

Contract manufacturing expertise

For new candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the boardBoard of directorsDirectors also consider whether the person will provide gender or racial diversity.

Identifying and Evaluating Nominees for Directors

        The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee uses a variety of methods for identifying and evaluating qualified nominees for directors. The Committee periodically assesses the appropriate

size and needs of the boardBoard and whether any vacancies are anticipated. If vacancies are anticipated or if the Committee determines that the number of directors should be increased, the Committee considers possible director candidates and follows the Directordirector qualification guidelines. Candidates may come to the Committee's attention through present boardBoard members, shareholders or other persons. All candidates will be evaluated by the Committee and the Committee's recommendations will then be transmitted to the entire board.Board. Assessment of candidates will include a variety of issues, including diversity, skills and experience in the fields of finance and banking, accounting, sales and marketing, technology, international manufacturing, and an understanding of contactcontract manufacturing and the Company's industry.

SECURITY HOLDERS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BOARD

        Security holders may send communications to the Company's boardBoard of directors,Directors, or to any individual boardBoard member, by means of a letter to such individual boardBoard member or the entire boardBoard addressed to:

Board of directorsDirectors (or named boardBoard member)
Nortech Systems Incorporated
1120 Wayzata Boulevard East, Suite 201
Wayzata, MN 55391

REPORT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE

        The boardBoard of directorsDirectors of the Company has adopted a charter for the Audit Committee. The charter charges the Committee with the responsibility for, among other things, reviewing the Company's audited financial statements and the financial reporting process. The Company's management is responsible for the Company's internal controls and the financial reporting process, including the system of internal controls. The Company's independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of the Company's audited consolidated financial statements with U.S. generally accepted U.S. accounting principles. In carrying out their responsibility, the Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Company's audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2009.2011. The Committee has also discussed the audited financial statements with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, including the matters required to be discussed by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board AU Section 380, "Communications with Audit Committees," and received the written disclosures and the letter from McGladrey & Pullen, LLP required by Rule 3526 of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, "Communications With Audit Committees Concerning Independence", and has discussed with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP their independence. The Committee has also considered whether McGladrey & Pullen, LLP provided non-audit services which could impact their independence. No such services were provided by McGladrey & Pullen, LLP.

        Based on these reviews and discussions, the Committee recommended to the boardBoard of directorsDirectors that the Company's audited financial statements be included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Company's fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.2011.

        The members of the Audit Committee are "independent" under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the NASDAQ listing standards.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

        The following table sets forth as of March 18, 2010,14, 2012, the ownership of Common Stock of the Company by each shareholder who is known by the Company to own beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the Company, by each director and by each executive officer identified in the Summary Compensation Table, and by all executive officers and directors as a group. The parties listed in the table have the voting and investment powers with respect to the shares indicated.

(1)

Includes the following shares not currently outstanding but deemed beneficially owned because of the right to acquire such shares pursuant to options exercisable within sixty (60) days: 24,000 shares by Mr. Perkins, 15,00021,000 shares by Mr. Kunin, 85,000 shares by Mr. Degen, 30,000 shares by Mr. Perkins, 37,500 shares by Mr. Wasielewski, 17,50037,500 shares by Mr. Pieper, 18,000Steichen, 26,000 shares by Mr. Larson,Riley, and 20,00024,000 shares by Mr. Riley.Larson.

(2)

Mr. Kunin has pledged 1,313,335 shares to two banks as partial collateral for loans aggregating $5,250,000.

(3)

Includes 288,250285,250 shares subject to options exercisable within sixty (60) days.

*

Less than one percent (1%).

(4)(3)

Based solely upon the most recent report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 13d-1c13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

20092011 ANNUAL REPORT

        The Company will mail itsCompany's annual report on Form 10K for the year 20092011 is available on or about April 2, 2010,the Company's website at www.nortechsys.com. The Company will upon written request provide without charge a paper copy of this report, including the financial statements and financial statement schedules. Such written request shall be directed to all shareholders of the Company of record on March 18, 2010.Richard G. Wasielewski, Chief Financial Officer, at 1120 Wayzata Boulevard East, Suite 201, Wayzata, MN 55391.

NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS

The Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement, and the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.com

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Appointment of Principal Accountants

        The Audit Committee of the boardBoard of directorsDirectors has engaged McGladrey & Pullen, LLP ("McGladrey"), as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company for 2010.2012. Members of the firm are expected to be present at the annual meeting of shareholders and available to respond to appropriate questions and will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so.

Fees incurred by the Company for services of Principal Accountants

        The following table shows the fees billed to the Company for the audit and other services provided by McGladrey and its affiliate RSM McGladrey, Inc. for fiscal years 20092011 and 2008,2010, including the estimated fees remaining to be billed by McGladrey for the 20092011 audit.

        The Audit Committee has established a policy for pre-approving the services provided by the Company's independent registered public accounting firm in accordance with the auditor independence rules of the SEC. This policy requires the review and pre-approval by the Audit Committee of all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm and an annual review of the financial plan for audit fees.

QUORUM AND VOTE REQUIRED

        The presence in person or by proxy of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares of Common Stock issued, outstanding and entitled to vote at a meeting for the transaction of business is required to constitute a quorum. The election of each director will be decided by plurality votes. As a result, any shares not voted for a director (whether by withholding authority, broker non-vote or otherwise) have no impact on the election of directors except to the extent the failure to vote for an individual results in another individual receiving a larger number of votes. If your shares are held by a broker or nominee, you should contact such holder to determine if you may vote your shares electronically and, if so, the method and deadline for voting electronically. The deadline for voting electronically is 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 8, 2012, for all holders—registered or beneficial. If your shares are held directly and you decide to vote electronically, please follow the directions on your proxy card.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS

        Any proposal by a shareholder for the annual shareholders' meeting to be held in May 2011,2013 must be received by the secretary of the Company at 1120 Wayzata Boulevard East, Suite 201, Wayzata, Minnesota 55391, not later than the close of business on January 2, 2011.9, 2013. Proposals received by that date will be included in the 20112013 proxy statement if the proposals are proper for consideration at an annual meeting and are required for inclusion in the proxy statement by, and conform to, the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        The Company's bylaws provide that a shareholder may nominate a director for election at the annual meeting or may present from the floor a proposal that is not included in the proxy statement if proper written notice is received by the secretary of the Company at its principal offices in Wayzata, Minnesota, at least 120 days in advance of the date of the proxy statement for the prior year's annual meeting. For the 20112013 annual meeting, director nominations and shareholder proposals must be received on or before January 2, 2011.9, 2013. Shareholder proposals that are received by the Company after that date may not be presented in any manner at the 20112013 annual meeting.

OTHER MATTERS

        The management does not know of any other matters that may be presented for consideration at the annual meeting of shareholders. If any other matters are properly presented at the meeting, the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote upon them in accordance with their best judgment.

QuickLinks