NEWS UPDATE                                         [LABARGE INC LOGO]

                                                    CONTACT:
                                                    Colleen Clements
                                                    LaBarge, Inc.
                                                    314-997-0800, EXT. 409
                                                    colleen.clements@labarge.com




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                  LABARGE, INC. ADOPTS SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 8, 2001--LaBarge, Inc. (AMEX: LB) announced today that its board
of directors has adopted a shareholder rights plan. The plan is designed to help
ensure that all LaBarge shareholders receive fair treatment in the event of an
unsolicited attempt to gain control of the Company and to discourage certain
abusive takeover tactics. The plan has not been adopted in response to any
specific takeover threat, and the board of directors is unaware of any effort by
a third party to acquire control of the Company.

Under the rights plan, LaBarge's board declared a dividend distribution of one
preferred share purchase right for each share of LaBarge common stock
outstanding at the close of business on Nov. 19, 2001. Each right will entitle
its holder to buy, under certain circumstances, one one-thousandth of a share of
a new preferred stock for an exercise price of $21 per right. The rights
generally will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 15 percent or
more of the Company's common stock or commences a tender or exchange offer for
15 percent or more of the Company's common stock.

If a person or group were to acquire 15 percent or more of the Company's common
stock without the prior approval of the board of directors, each right will
entitle the holder -- other than the unsolicited third-party acquirer -- to buy
at the right's then-current exercise price shares of LaBarge common stock,
preferred stock or other securities of LaBarge equivalent to its common stock
having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the right or, in effect,
at a 50 percent discount to the market price. If, after a person or group
acquired 15 percent or more of LaBarge's common stock without board approval,
the Company was acquired in a merger or similar transaction, each right would
enable a LaBarge shareholder to buy shares of the acquiring company having a
market value of twice the right's exercise price or, in effect, at a 50 percent
discount to the market price.

                                     -MORE-




LaBarge, Inc.
Shareholder Rights Plan - 2 of 2
LaBarge's board of directors may redeem the rights in whole, but not in part, at
a price of $0.001 per right, at any time up to and including the 10th day after
the time that a person or group has acquired 15 percent or more of the Company's
common stock or announced a tender offer to purchase at least 15 percent of the
outstanding common stock, subject to extension of the redemption period by the
board of directors. Unless earlier redeemed, the rights will expire on Nov. 7,
2011.

Shareholders do not need to take any action to receive the rights. Certificates
representing the rights will not be issued at this time, and the rights will
trade with, and will not be detachable from, LaBarge common stock until the
rights become exercisable.

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 and services through contract electronics
design and manufacturing services, and proprietary wireless data communications
products and network 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. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. Future events and LaBarge, Inc.'s actual results could differ
materially from those contemplated by those 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; unexpected 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.

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