North Carolina remains the state with the “Top Business Climate,” according to Site Selection magazine.

It is the sixth year in a row and the ninth time in 10 years that the state has taken the top honor in the annual ranking by Site Selection, one of the nation’s premier economic development magazines.

As part of the ranking, the magazine surveys corporate executives that help businesses select new locations. This year, those executives ranked the Tar Heel state as the top for ease of doing business.

“There’s nothing I love more than convincing a corporate executive of what a great place this is to do business,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “This shows that the hard work of the past two years continues to pay off — our investments in education to build the workforce of tomorrow, policies that create a more business-friendly climate and our aggressive recruiting. I intend for us to remain as competitive and innovative as any state — both nationally and internationally.”

Over the past year, executives from some of the world’s most respected corporations that chose to locate or expand in North Carolina identified the following competitive advantages found in the state:

n A wealth of talented and skilled labor

n Outstanding custom training programs

n Solid transportation infrastructure

n Low cost of doing business

n High quality of life

“All states face economic and budgetary challenges these days, but this ranking reminds us that there are significant success stories, too,” says Site Selection Editor in Chief Mark Arend. “North Carolina’s first-place finish underscores its success across a wide spectrum of industries, from aerospace to life sciences to energy. We commend the governor and her economic development team for their focus on making and keeping their state business-friendly.”

Site Selection magazine’s annual “Top Business Climate” rankings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors that corporate site-seekers — those who help companies expand or relocate — say they consider most important.

Fifty percent of the ranking comes from a survey of corporate site selection executives who were asked to rank their top 10 states, and 50 percent is based on four measures of new plant activity as tracked by Site Selection in its “New Plant Database.” The magazine describes the ranking process as “a blend of objective, actual new or expansion project announcements, and subjective input from corporate site seekers.”

Caterpillar Inc. is among the companies expanding in North Carolina.

“We look forward to establishing our new facility in Winston-Salem, which will allow us to substantially increase our capacity, improve process capability, flexibility and flow of our operations. This location will improve our supply chain efficiency and as a result, allows us to better serve our customers while reducing operating costs,” said Hans Haefeli, vice president of Caterpillar’s advanced components and systems division. “We appreciate the support we received from our local partners and from the state of North Carolina for our growth strategy.”

Caterpillar Inc., the largest maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines in the world, will build a new manufacturing plant in Forsyth County where they plan to create 392 jobs and invest $426 million as well as expand its manufacturing facilities in neighboring Lee County, where it plans to create 485 jobs and invest $28.3 million.