Maryland-based  defense contractor Gryphon Technologies plans to expand its operations in Bloomington, creating as many as 60 jobs by 2013.

The engineering and technical services company will invest $800,000 to lease and equip a larger office in the Indiana city. It now has a staff of about 20 and plans to hire engineers and logistics professionals, state economic development officials said early Wednesday.

In July, the firm won a $26.6 million contract to provide logistics and technical support for the nearby Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center.

Gryphon has been recognized as one of America's fastest-growing private companies by Inc. magazine for the past seven consecutive years.

Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered the firm as much as $525,000 in performance-based tax credits based on the company's job creation plans.

"These good-paying, highly skilled jobs will have an immediate impact on our economy,” Bloomington Economic Development Corp. President Ron Walker said in a prepared statement. “But Gryphon's presence in Bloomington also bolsters our growing national recognition as an emerging technology center."

IEDC said Indiana is home to a $6.6 billion defense contracting industry that employs thousands.