BEVERLY — Politicians often visit businesses to give away money. Yesterday, two of the Massachusetts Senate's top Democrats came to the offices of surgical equipment company Microline Inc. to receive money.

Microline President Hughes de Laforcade gave Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-Boston, and Senate Majority Leader Frederick Berry, D-Peabody, a $3.8 million check to pay back loans and credit lines that the state extended the company when it started during the 1990s.

"If you weren't a software or computer-related product, it was hard to get capital. The state took a chance on us," said de Laforcade, who was one of the co-founders of the company, which employs 141 people at its offices in the Cummings Center. He said the company could add as many as 25 more employees within the next year.

In December, the Japanese camera company Pentax Corp. bought Microline for $48 million but plans to keep its operations in Beverly. Microline's products include micro-scissors for surgical procedures inside the eyeball as well as scissors and forceps used during laparoscopic surgeries.

The state made loans and investments totaling $670,000 through the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corp., a 30-year-old agency that provides funding for companies that are starting up or expanding. Milton F. Benjamin Jr., the agency's president, estimated that it helps between 15 and 30 companies each year.

Travaglini said the project shows how public-private partnerships can be effective to stimulate the economy.

"The recovery of the economy is predicated on job creation," he said. "Until that pace is stronger in the eyes of the economists, we're not going to get better."

Berry said it was appropriate that the ceremony was taking place at a site that once housed the United Shoe Machinery Corp., a factory that had been one of the region's largest employers. He praised Travaglini's support for programs that help companies such as Microline.

"Too many of our industries and jobs are going elsewhere ... Without his vision and courage, we wouldn't be here today," Berry said.

Travaglini was one of the key backers of a $2.5 million economic stimulus package that the Legislature passed in 2003 that provided additional funds to help spur job creation.

The Salem Harbor Community Development Corp. was the project's local sponsor. It did not provide any direct funding but acted as a conduit between Microline and the state. The company gave the Salem agency a $292,415 check, 10 percent of the proceeds of the sale of company stock to Pentax.

"I am happy that by just providing a few signatures, we could play a part," said James Haskell, executive director of the Salem development corporation.

Though the check-presentation ceremony was mostly serious, Travaglini joked that the only reason Berry praised him was because he wants money for more projects on the North Shore.

"You're looking for something; I know all your tricks," the Senate president said at the beginning of his remarks.

He ended his talk by turning to Berry and saying, "You're capped out now. You've maxed out, Freddie."