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Malmesbury inventor to be knighted today
10:06am Thursday 12th July 2007
Vacuum cleaner king Sir James Dyson will be knighted for services to business today at Buckingham Palace.
The 60-year-old billionaire inventor from Malmesbury revolutionised the domestic appliances market with the bagless vacuum cleaner.
The Dyson Dual Cyclone became the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the UK within 18 months of its launch.
Union leaders who attacked Sir James when he downgraded a Malmesbury factory in 2002 and switched production of vacuum cleaners to Malaysia with the loss of hundreds of jobs, criticised the knighthood when it was announced.
Dyson vacuum cleaners are sold in more than 40 countries. One in three UK households now owns one, the firm says.
Norfolk-born Sir James studied industrial design at the Royal College of Art before starting his career at engineering company Rotork where he designed a high-speed landing craft called the Sea Truck.
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Sir James Dyson
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