EXHIBIT 99.1

CONTACT:

Peter J. Murphy
President & CEO
(978) 946-2564

NASDAQ SYMBOL "PRLX"

                            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


               PARLEX CORPORATION SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE
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                POLY-FLEX CIRCUITS, A COOKSON GROUP plc UNIT
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METHUEN, MASSACHUSETTS, January 24, 2000 - Parlex Corporation and Cookson
Electronics today jointly announce the execution of a Stock Purchase
Agreement in which Parlex will purchase the stock of two Cookson Group plc
wholly owned subsidiaries, Poly-Flex Circuits Limited (a United Kingdom
company) and Poly-Flex Circuits, Inc. (a Rhode Island corporation).  The
consummation of the $19 million purchase is subject to certain conditions,
including government anti-trust approval.  The parties anticipate that the
transaction will close during the current quarter.

Poly-Flex is a world leader in the design and manufacture of Polymer Thick
Film (PTF), flexible circuits and flexible interconnect assemblies.  Under
the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement, Parlex will acquire the rights
to intellectual property, including Polysolder, which is an enabling
chemistry for the surface mount assembly of polyester based flexible
circuits. The combined sales of Parlex and Poly-Flex exceeded $100 million
for the most recent calendar year.

Peter J. Murphy, President and CEO of Parlex stated, "We consider Poly-Flex
to be the ideal acquisition for Parlex.  Their technology broadens our
product offering as well as providing a significant assembly capability for
our current line of flexible interconnects.  This transaction meets our
acquisition criteria of expanding our product lines, strengthening our
management team and accretion to earnings in the first year.  The
transaction also satisfies our strategic objective of establishing a full
service facility in Europe."

Parlex Corporation is a world leader in the design and manufacture of
flexible interconnect products.  Parlex produces custom flexible circuits
and laminated cables utilizing proprietary processes and patented
technologies which are designed to satisfy the unique requirements of a
wide range of customers.  Its manufacturing facilities are located in
Methuen, Massachusetts, Salem, New Hampshire, Shanghai, China, San Jose,
California, and Emplame, Mexico.

Parlex's capabilities include the manufacture of adhesiveless materials
(PALFlex[REGISTERED MARK]) for flexible circuits, multilayer and rigid-flex
circuits including the ultra thin PALCore[REGISTERED MARK] HP multilayer
process, and laminated cables such as U-Flex[REGISTERED MARK], with
connectors integral to the circuit.  Parlex provides its products and
engineering services to a variety of markets including automotive,
computer, telecommunications, industrial controls, medical, consumer and
military-aerospace.

The foregoing contains certain forward-looking statements.  The Company's
actual results of operations may differ significantly from those
contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various
factors beyond its control, including economic conditions in the
electronics industry, particularly in the principal industry sectors served
by the Company, changes in customer requirements and in the volume of sales
to principal customers, competition and technological change.  For a
detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer
to Parlex's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.