The awards are open to any business based in the UK with two or more people. This year, 145 companies - large and small - won a Queen's Award, including a number from the marine sector.

The main benefits of winning are recognition, publicity, staff motivation and use of The Queen's Award emblem for five years - benefits that Halyard will enjoy after taking the 2005 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

And an astonishing 92% of the 137 award winners last year said they thought winning a Queen's Award had brought added commercial value to their firm, with 22% noticing a significant increase in new business since winning the award.

"This is a chance for a company to be recognised as a leader in its market and one of the top businesses in the UK, " says Stephen Brice, secretary to The Queen's Awards Office.

"There is no limit to the number of awards available each year - if a company's achievements are deemed truly outstanding for its sector, then it stands a good chance of winning an award."

Over the next few months, officials from The Queen's Awards Office will be touring the country to promote the awards, supported by talks and presentations from past winners.

They will also be inviting nominations for The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion - a special award for individuals designed to recognise and reward those that help and inspire tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

The deadline for applications for this year's awards is October 31. For more information, visit the website at queensawards. org. uk