Peter Marchbank (CEO) and Dr Tim Monks (founder and CTO) of Third Dimension, the leading supplier of handheld precision measurement solutions, received the Queen's Award for Enterprise at a reception in Buckingham Palace - photos attached.

The Bristol-based company secured the award - the UK's highest accolade for business success - in the International Trade category.

Approximately 140 Queen's Awards have been announced this year for outstanding business achievement in the fields of International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development. The awards are made annually by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and are only given for the highest levels of excellence demonstrated in each category.

The awards recognises Third's increase in overseas sales in recent years. In 2012 exports accounted for 64% of total sales, and this has increased to 84% this year; and exports have grown five-fold in the past 6 years.

Third Dimension exports to over 25 countries worldwide with local support provided by its network of distributors. They also work with leading multinational companies such as Airbus, Volkswagen, Lockheed, Mitsubishi and Embraer.

Peter Marchbank said: “Receiving this award at Buckingham Palace is a fantastic tribute to our staff and partners around the world. It recognises the progress we have made in turning this technology into a global leader.”

Dr Monks added: “This is the culmination of years of hard work, years of innovation and a relentless focus on delivering effective measurement solutions for our customers in the aerospace, automotive and energy industries. We will build on this to increase our exports still further, and to continue to recruit highly skilled engineers and business specialists.”