Talecris Biotherapeutics plans to add 259 jobs over the next seven years as part of a $268.7 million expansion of its Clayton drug-manufacturing plant.

To convince the Research Triangle Park company, which recently raised about $1.7 billion on Wall Street, to expand in this region, state and local officials promised a package of tax breaks and other financial aid that could be worth nearly $20 million.

The practice of using such incentives to lure jobs is drawing increasing criticism, especially with the recent news that Dell plans to shut its factory in Winston-Salem, a project subsidized by a record assistance package.

Government officials say they need to use incentives because North Carolina must attract and keep solid employers to bolster its ailing economy.

"The goal is pretty simple: jobs, jobs and more jobs," Gov. Bev Perdue said at a news conference this morning in downtown Clayton.

An expanding biotech company a bright spot for North Carolina in a bad economy and the incentives are important "so that some other state doesn't lure Talecris away," she added.

Talecris' new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $51,066, state officials said. That's above the Johnston County average of $33,800.

A yarn company based in Richmond County plans to expand its operations and add 135 jobs during the next three years.

Richmond Specialty Yarns will produce specialized yarn for the military, medical and furniture markets. The company already employs 140 people at its operations in Ellerbe, about 90 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The company is eligible to receive a $150,000 state grant if it creates the new jobs and retains the existing ones, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced today.

The news is a rare example of a textile company expanding in this state during the recession. The company's manufacturing capacity and the stability of its workforce were among the factors that led to the planned expansion, said Jean Parenteau, president of FilSpec. The Canadian yarn company recently bought a controlling interest in Richmond Specialty Yarns.

The new jobs will pay average annual wages of $25,931.

Dell will save about $66,000 by repaying early the $26.5 million it received in incentives from Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that because Dell will pay back the money this week, local officials will give the company the discount.

Dell announced last month that it will shutter its Winston-Salem PC manufacturing plant in January, and lay off about 900 workers. The plant opened in 2004 after state and local officials promised a record incentives package.

The company could have waited to pay the money back next year.

"They want to get the thing cleared up and paid off," Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines told the newspaper. He added that the city won't lose anything by offering a discount because it can re-invest the money sooner.

Dell has already repaid $1.5 million it received from the state for meeting hiring goals in 2006 and 2007.

Read the full Winston-Salem Journal report here.

North Carolina kept the top spot in Site Selection magazine's ranking of states with the best business climate.

It was the fifth year in a row the magazine ranked North Carolina No. 1. Texas was No. 2, followed by Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee and South Carolina.

The ranking comes as North Carolina is about to lose a major economic development project: Dell announced it plans to close its Winston-Salem factory in January and lay off 900 workers.

Such lists, while routine for the Tar Heel state, are still helpful in luring new business and jobs by painting North Carolina in a positive light, economic development officials say.

An Israeli foam maker plans to open a North American headquarters and manufacturing facility in Louisburg, creating 72 jobs.

State officials promised Palziv North America a grant worth up to $250,000 if it meets its hiring goals. The company is owned by Palziv Ltd., which has manufacturing facilities in Israel, Romania, Ohio and Canada.

The company was drawn to Franklin County partly by an empty building it will use as a base to serve customers in North and South America. This region's educated workforce was also a lure, said Gregory Brooker, Palziv North America's CEO.

The site, located about 35 miles northeast of Raleigh, will produce polyethylene foam blocks and pellets used in vehicle insulation, construction materials and other applications.

The project's 72 jobs will pay average annual salaries of $34,167, higher than the Franklin County average of $33,176, Gov. Bev Perdue's office wrote in a prepared statement.

Dell has repaid the state $1.51 million in grants it received for creating jobs at its soon-to-close Winston-Salem computer plant in 2006 and 2007, a Commerce Department official said today.

Dell also qualified for a jobs grant for 2008, but never received that money from the state, said Katharine Neal, an assistant secretary at Commerce.

The company announced that it plans to close the plant in January because of weak PC demand and lay off 900 workers.

The factory opened in 2004 after state and local officials promised a record incentives package worth more than $280 million. While seen by supporters as a symbol of North Carolina's evolving manufacturing base, critics attacked the incentives as a government handout to a wealthy corporation.

Dell has agreed to repay more than $26 million in incentives from Winston-Salem and Forsyth County as it prepares to close its PC manufacturing plant.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines sent a letter this week confirming that Dell will pay back $15.5 million to the city within 30 days, the Associated Press reported. Dell also will repay $11 million in grants and county costs.

Dell announced this month it plans to close the plant, which opened in 2004, by the end of January. About 600 workers will be let go next month and 300 more early next year.

The company blamed the slump in PC sales amid the recession. Some of the production work will be shifted to Mexico.

Dell built the plant in North Carolina largely because state and local officials promised the company a record incentives package worth more than $280 million in tax breaks and other incentives. N.C. Commerce Department officials have said they expect Dell will repay $1.5 million to the state, but not $3.6 million the state spent on workforce training.

Washington officials are bringing in some big business guns in their efforts to convince Boeing to build a new assembly plant in that state.

On Tuesday, the day that N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue visited Kinston's Global TransPark, more than two dozen executives from Costco, Alaska Airlines and other large employers in Washington released a letter to Jim Albaugh. In the letter, they practically begged the head of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit not to abandon their state.

"We pledge our support to you and your entire company in working to ensure Washington remains the single best place for you to design, build and market commercial airplanes," they wrote.

Meanwhile, officials in North Carolina, which is reported to be a competitor for a new Boeing factory, remain mum. Unlike their vocal counterparts in Washington, Tar Heel leaders, economic development officials and others still won't even confirm that they are actively wooing Boeing.

Dell plans to repay much of the incentives money it received since opening a computer production plant in Winston-Salem four years ago.

The company shocked state and local officials Wednesday when it announced that it will close the factory in January, and lay off the remaining 905 workers.

Dell was lured to Winston-Salem by the promise of an incentives package worth as much as $280 million. But most of that money hinged on the company meeting hiring goals and keeping the factory open.

Winston-Salem issued a statement saying that Dell has promised to repay $15.6 million it has received so far from the city. And the company will give back $1.5 million it got from the state for meeting hiring goals in 2006 and 2007, N.C. Commerce Department spokeswoman Katharine Neal said today.

The company was eligible to receive another $1 million for meeting 2008 targets, but won't get that money, Neal said.

Dell has received a total of about $8.5 million from the state, but $3.6 million went toward workforce training that won't be repaid, Neal said. That money is "an investment that will continue to benefit individuals and employers," she wrote in an e-mail.

Dell officials also have pledged to provide workers with severance packages and help them find others jobs. About 600 workers will be laid off next month and the rest will lose their jobs early next year.

A Roxboro company that makes parachutes plans to expand its Person County operations to meet increasing demand and create 375 jobs.

North American Aerodynamics will expand and renovate two existing buildings near its headquarters, about 30 miles north of Durham. The company, founded in 1964, currently has 45 employees and 55 seasonally furloughed workers.

The company makes parachutes for the sports and military markets.

The new jobs will pay average annual salaries of $23,834, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced today.

The state will provide a $300,000 grant from its One North Carolina Fund to help pay for the expansion.