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                                                                 EXHIBIT 23(a)



                        INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


The Board of Directors
LaBarge, Inc.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement No.
____________ on Form S-8 of LaBarge, Inc. of our report dated August 8, 1997,
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of LaBarge, Inc. and subsidiaries
as of June 29, 1997 and June 30, 1996, and the related consolidated statements
of operations, stockholders' equity and cash flows, and related schedule for
each of the years in the three-year period ended June 29, 1997, which report
appears in the June 29, 1997 Annual Report on Form 10-K of LaBarge, Inc.


                                                /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick



St. Louis, Missouri
May 26, 1998