Hundreds of jobs are on their way to a county hard hit by the recession.

Talecris Biotherapeutics announced its Clayton plant in Johnston County beat out another location for an expansion.

The expansion is a $268 million investment that will create 259 jobs over 7 years. Currently, about 1,800 hundred people work for Talecris in Johnston County.

Jobs won't be immediate. Talecris will break ground for the expansion in the second quarter of 2010 and expects the project to take several years to complete.

Governor Bev Perdue made the announcement about the expansion Friday morning, and said the investment is important for the county and the state.

"The bottom line is, North Carolina is on the right track unlike other states and we're moving forward," Perdue said.

According to the Governor's Office, new jobs will pay an average salary of $51,066, not including benefits, which is higher than the Johnston County average of $33,800. That's good news for a county where top employers like Caterpillar and ConAgra Foods have cut way back.

The excitement is spreading to the Johnston Community College Workforce Development Center next to Talecris, where people are trained in biotech. It serves as a continuing education center for current Talecris employees, but Johnston Community College President David Johnson said people who hope to work at the company one day are also trained at the facility.

"They're very excited and this is a great opportunity for us to continue with our economic development opportunities here in Clayton," Johnson said.

As long as certain targets like job creation are met, Talecris will receive a $3.66 million Job Development Investment Grant from the state. It will also receive a $250,000 dollar grant from the "One North Carolina Fund" as long as it's matched by local government incentives.

Talecris Executive Vice President of Operations Mary Kuhn said the decision was close between expanding in Clayton and another location.

"The incentives were certainly helpful in supporting the investment but as well the rich biotechnology support that we have in the region," Kuhn said.

Computer company Dell recently left North Carolina despite a huge incentive deal, but Perdue said incentives are still a helpful tool to help keep companies like Talecris investing in the state.

"Incentives are part of every single recruitment job I do," Perdue said.

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