The Citrus County Commission on Tuesday approved an economic incentive grant to Sibex, Inc. that will result in 20 new jobs in an expansion project by the company.

Sibex will get a $40,000 incentive to help fund its expansion into the former Scotty’s Building on U.S. 19 at the south end of Crystal River.

The company has invested more than $500,000 in the expansion. The incentive funds come from the county’s occupational license fee, known as the business tax, which has been partly earmarked by the commission for such incentive programs.

The CEO of the Safety Harbor-based company, Mike McCarthy, said he expects to continue expanding and adding more jobs. This will be the company’s second manufacturing site in Citrus. The other is in Homosassa Springs.

Sibex manufactures electronic components like custom circuit boards and LED lighting. County Commissioner Joe Meek said the business was exactly the kind of business the county wants to see set up or expand in Citrus – light, clean, high tech industry with good paying jobs.

He said such businesses will help diversify the county’s economy, which was hit very hard in the current recession because of it being so heavily dependant on the construction industry.

Each commissioner echoed Meek’s remarks and praised the efforts of the Citrus County Economic Council and the Chamber of Commerce for the project, which is similar to a previous recent success in expansion and job creation with another electronics firm, TCG. , noting that this is just one of a number of recent such projects.

The commission recently reorganized the council with one of its primary goals being creating jobs through concentrating more on helping local businesses expand.