CARY - Garmin, the country's largest maker of satellite navigation devices, has become the latest technology company to choose Cary for its first Triangle office.

The Olathe, Kan., company plans to move to a building near U.S. 1 and U.S.64 by April 1. Garmin is on track to have about 40 engineers and other employees in the research center, said Ted Gartner, a Garmin spokesman.

And there are signs the company may be plotting further expansion. The Cary Town Council on Thursday discussed a $60,000 economic incentives deal for the company.

Rules governing economic development limit offers of incentives to companies that have already committed to a location. The rules also encourage new construction.

Garmin committed to space at Duke Realty's Regency Forest II building. Duke's Regency Forest buildings were 94 percent occupied at the end of December. And Duke has land to build more.

Scott Fogleman, Cary's budget director, declined to offer specifics. As did Gartner: "We don't discuss whether or not we're in negotiations to receive incentives," he said.

In December, Cary declined to grant an incentives package to British electronics manufacturing company ACW Technology. Town officials cited concerns over a slower financial payback and a lower-than-desired average salary.

That came four months after the town agreed to give a $75,000 cash incentive to Deutsche Bank, which promised to create 319 jobs in Cary.

Garmin - which reported a fourth-quarter profit of $278 million, up 77 percent from the period a year earlier - is one of several tech companies to hatch recent plans to open shop in the Triangle.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion also plans to come to the region.

The companies hope to scoop up some of the hundreds of local engineers who have been laid of by Nortel Networks and Sony Ericsson.

Staff writer Jack Hagel contributed to this report.