Employees of a leading farm equipment manufacturer near Malmesbury are celebrating after winning a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Alvan Blanch Development Co Ltd, a manufacturer of post- harvest crop processing equipment in Chelworth, received the award after increasing its overseas sales by 160 per cent in three years, boosting its turnover to more than £10 million.

The award comes at a time when the firm, which has 90 staff, is celebrating its 60th year in business.

It also won the accolade in 2005.

Managing director Andrew Blanch said: “The Queen’s Award carries recognition worldwide because it is clearly something that is not handed out liberally.

“After our success seven years ago, we have been anxious to win it again.”

Alvan Blanch exports machines, such as grain dryers, to more than 90 countries, with exports accounting for 80 per cent of sales.

Mr Blanch admits the firm had considered outsourcing some of the production to overseas suppliers to reduce costs, but avoided redundancies by bringing in new technology locally.

He said: “Managing the huge and diverse product line needed to offer this range of solutions to such a diversity of clients is our greatest challenge and our greatest strength.

“Our design team has trebled in size over the past three years and we have invested over £1.5 million in new computer-controlled manufacturing equipment.”

The company has increased its sales team in terms of languages spoken to take advantage of emerging markets. Its website pages are available in Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic.

The company’s founder, Alvan Blanch, was awarded an OBE in 1969 to recognise his success in international trade.

Andrew Blanch said: “The foundations of what we do today were set by my father. It is as a result of his commitment to exporting that the business is not only still here but is growing through a period of general recession.”