Queen's Award for 134 firms

Companies responsible for Dr Martens boots, for selling quality chocolates to Belgium and for developing a machine that counts bank notes and coins by weighing them are among the 134 being honoured with Queen's Awards for Export, Technological and Environmental Achievement today.

The list - published to mark the Queen's birthday - includes 110 awards, for export, 16 for technological and eight for environmental achievement. Several companies - including the business that developed the Tellermate bank note weigher, Gwent-based Percell Group and and European Gas Turbines won awards in more than one category. There were more than 1,700 applications for this year's awards. Special report, pages 22-23