REPRESENTATIVES from the Queen's Award scheme visited winners yesterday to encourage more North-East companies to enter.

Stephen Brice, secretary of the Queen's Awards office and David Moore, secretary to the Prime Minister's advisory committee on the Queen's awards, visited DuPont Teijin films in Wilton, Elementis Chromium in Eaglescliffe, Teesside, and Bede plc, in Belmont Durham.

All three companies have won the awards in the past five years.

The Queen's Awards for enterprise are internationally-recognised and are among the most prestigious business awards in the country.

Mr Brice said: "We're keen to encourage more entries from the North-East, particularly in the Wearside area, where entries have been historically low. We also want small businesses to realise that the awards are not just for big corporations - many of this year's winners were companies with less than 15 employees.

"I think that winning a Queen's award can improve companies' profiles internationally, increasing trade links, and also be a useful marketing tool.

"And from what I've seen today, winning the award certainly improves staff morale and can give companies a competitive edge when they are recruiting."

This year, more than 700 entries were received across the UK and more than 130 awards granted - with three companies winning in the North-East, prompting organisers to call for more entries from this region.