BEING recognised by the Queen is not an everyday occurrence, but for one Great Chesterford electronic design company it has not only happened once, but twice. Staff at Plextek Ltd, which is based at London Road, have been awarded with two of the most pres

BEING recognised by the Queen is not an everyday occurrence, but for one Great Chesterford electronic design company it has not only happened once, but twice.

Staff at Plextek Ltd, which is based at London Road, have been awarded with two of the most prestigious awards in business following a bumper and innovative year of sales which have nearly trebled the company's profits.

Co-founders Colin Smithers, Ian Murphy and Tim Jackson led the celebrations at a party last week as they were awarded with the Queen's Award for Enterprise in two categories, international trade and innovation.

A company spokesman said that they were delighted with the awards and thanked all the employees for their hard work.

"Plextek has shown superb growth in its international sales, having nearly trebled exports over the last three years to an aggregate of �48m," added the spokesman. "The company has also been a constant innovator, particularly in the field of wireless technologies, as illustrated by the success of its Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) radio devices and its Blighter electronic scanning radar technology."

Local dignitaries got in on the celebrations which took place at the Chesterford Research Park last Tuesday morning including MP Sir Alan Haselhurst and the Lord Lieutenant of Essex Lord Petre.

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise recognise and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies and are presented in three separate categories: International trade - recognising companies that have demonstrated growth in overseas earnings, Innovation - recognising companies that have demonstrated commercial success through innovative products or services, and sustainable development - recognising companies that have integrated environmental, social, economic and management aspects of sustainable development into their business.

They are based on the advice of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is assisted by an advisory committee including representatives of the Government, industry and commerce, and the trade unions.