The Economic Development Corporation of Jefferson County (EDCJC) has acknowledged that the Strong Manufacturing Company has fulfilled its obligations under an agreement reached between the company and the corporation.

The EDCJC, commonly called the tax board, administers funds from a three-eighths cent sales tax approved by Jefferson County voters in 2011 to promote economic development.

Its purpose is to help qualified businesses located in Jefferson County or looking to locate in Jefferson County offset the costs of capital expansion projects.

Strong Manufacturing entered into an agreement with EDCJC to offset some of the costs of an expansion project. Strong, a local company that has been in Pine Bluff since 1964, created 14 new jobs, retained 30 other jobs, and included $1.8 million in capital investment.

The incentives contract between companies and the EDCJC are structured as a performance agreement with the number of full-time primary jobs created or retained, average wage, capital investment and/or other specific performance measures.

The use of the funds is governed by Arkansas law.