Lord Corp. plans to expand its Cary headquarters and add 117 jobs during the next five years.

State officials this morning approved giving the company a grant worth as much as $1.3 million if it meets hiring and investment goals. Cary also will provide $50,000.

Lord Corp. CEO Rick McNeel announced expansion plans in March, and said he would seek incentives to help foot the bill. The company also considered sites in Ohio and Pennsylvania, which allowed it to qualify for North Carolina financial aid.

The new jobs will average annual salaries of $81,487. Lord Corp. already employs 329 people in Cary and more than 2,600 worldwide.

Lord Corp. is running out of room on its Cary campus.

The board of the private company recently approved adding a new 51,000 square-foot office building. But executives first plan to discuss with Cary and state officials about potential incentives to help foot the bill.

"It's the right thing to do for our shareholders," CEO Rick McNeel said.

But he declined to comment on specifics, or whether incentives are a key factor in Lord Corp.'s decision to expand in Cary or somewhere else.

A Cary company founded before the Great Depression "took a big hit" during the latest global recession.

Lord Corp. makes adhesives, coatings and other products that help other manufacturers control noise and vibration in vehicles, heavy equipment, airplanes and more.

Monthly sales peaked at $70 million in June 2008, and then fell to $43 million in February 2009, CEO Rick McNeel said during a break at the N.C. CEO Forum in downtown Raleigh on Tuesday.

Sales to customers such as Caterpillar, Deere and Harley-Davidson "just went plunk," he said. Sales have since rebounded, but "we're still not where we were," added McNeel, who joined Lord as CEO in December 2002.