James Halstead, the Manchester-based parent company of Polyflor, has been awarded the Queen’s Award for International Trade.

The prestigious Queen's Awards for Enterprise recognise outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of Innovation, International Trade and Sustainable Development.

James Halstead has traded for nearly a century and manufactures commercial flooring that is sold globally. The Polyflor brand is well known to contractors, architects, distributors and end users in the UK and this domestic success has been the cornerstone for growth in overseas markets.

James Halstead chairman, Mr Geoffrey Halstead, commented: “This is our third Queen's Award and is based on our international sales achievements. It is recognition of our success in sending our products across the UK and to the global marketplace.

“Whether we supply a floor to a school in Manchester or to a school in Peru, or whether we are supplying Manchester Airport or Dunedin Airport in New Zealand, I think we can all take pride in our success.”

James Halstead last won the Queen’s Award in 2007, for Innovation, and the International Trade Award in 2006 - since then international sales have increased by £55 million, a growth of 90%. The company’s export and UK success is based around superior products, dedicated customer service and customer confidence.