Mankato-based Winland Electronics, Inc., announced Monday that it has agreed to sell its electronics manufacturing services (EMS) business to Wayzata-based Nortech Systems, Inc., for an undisclosed amount of money.

Winland's EMS operation designs and manufactures printed circuit board assemblies and higher-level complete box build assemblies, primarily for original equipment manufacturers in the medical, industrial, transportation, and scientific instrumentation sectors.

Nortech will purchase the assets and intellectual property associated with Winland's EMS operation, including taking over the lease of Winland's 58,000-square-foot facility.

Winland will continue to operate and retain its proprietary products business unit, which includes environmental monitoring products for the security industry.

The acquisition, which is expected to close by January 1, 2011, is subject to customary closing conditions.

Nortech President and CEO Mike Degan said that the company intends to continue operations in Mankato and anticipates this acquisition will be accretive starting in the second half of fiscal 2011.

“Winland's existing customer base nicely complements ours, offering further diversification and additional growth opportunities,” Curt Steichen, senior vice president of Nortech Systems' commercial operations, said in a statement. Steichen added that the acquisition will provide needed EMS capacity to support the growth that Nortech is experiencing in its industrial and medical markets.

Nortech-which designs, manufactures, and tests printed circuit board assemblies and wire and cable assemblies for the medical device industry-is among Minnesota's 70-largest public companies based on revenue, which totaled $79.9 million in 2009.