Note 1 - Nature of Operations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Nature of Operations [Text Block]

( 1 ) NATURE OF OPERATIONS

We are a global supplier of precision-engineered thermal, mechanical and electronic solutions for use in manufacturing and testing. Our products are used by semiconductor manufacturers to perform development, qualifying and final testing of integrated circuits (“ICs”) and wafers, and for other electronic testing across a range of markets including the automotive, defense/aerospace, energy, industrial and telecommunications markets. We also offer induction heating products for joining and forming metals in a variety of industrial markets, including automotive, aerospace, machinery, wire & fasteners, medical, semiconductor, food & beverage, and packaging. We manufacture our products in the U.S. Marketing and support activities are conducted worldwide from our facilities in the U.S., Germany, Singapore, the Netherlands and the U.K. The consolidated entity is comprised of inTEST Corporation and our wholly owned subsidiaries. We have

two

reportable segments, which are also our reporting units, Thermal Products ("Thermal") and Electromechanical Semiconductor Products ("EMS").

The automated test equipment ("ATE") market, which is the principal market in which we operate, is characterized by rapid technological change, competitive pricing pressures and cyclical as well as seasonal market patterns. This market is subject to significant economic downturns at various times. Our financial results are affected by a wide variety of factors, including, but

not

limited to, general economic conditions worldwide and in the markets in which we operate, economic conditions specific to the ATE market and the other markets we serve, our ability to safeguard patented technology and intellectual property in a rapidly evolving market, downward pricing pressures from customers, and our reliance on a relatively few number of customers for a significant portion of our sales. In addition, we are exposed to the risk of obsolescence of our inventory depending on the mix of future business and technological changes within the markets that we serve. We also continue to implement an acquisition strategy that

may

cause us to incur substantial expense in reviewing and evaluating potential transactions. We

may

or

may

not

be successful in locating suitable businesses to acquire. In addition, we

may

not

be able to successfully integrate any business we do acquire with our existing business and we

may

not

be able to operate the acquired business profitably. As a result of these or other factors, we

may

experience significant period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results.