Last year when Framed Picture Enterprise sought  a $500,000 loan from the city after having received a loan of $150,000 the year before, there were few who could have expected to see such large returns on the investment so soon.

A story that starts on page one in this edition reports that more than 250 people are employed there this week, up from a low of 80 people when foreign competition and an economic downturn drastically reduced the company’s business.

The loans from the city’s revolving economic development fund helped the company bridge a cash flow gap created as the banking crisis dried up funds that would formerly have been available as loans for working capital. With that problem solved, business owners could concentrate on creating new products, reducing production costs and expanding the markets in which to sell those products.

With the success that the Brucker family has found now that the family members have been freed up to do what they do so well, Framed Picture Enterprise is thriving again.

That’s the purpose of the city’s revolving EDA fund — to provide financing for worthwhile projects that will pay off in jobs as well as in repayment of principal plus a small amount of interest.

And the pay off in jobs? The city set as a condition for the loan that Framed Picture Enterprise hire at least 100 additional workers.

“We blew past that pretty quickly,” the company’s human resources director said.

And that was in January.