The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh held a reception at Buckingham Palace last night for the winners of The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2003, two of which are Wiltshire-based.

Omitec Group Ltd of Devizes scooped an award in the International Trade category, while Dyson Ltd of Malmesbury scored in the Innovation category.

The two companies were among 123 winners honoured for outstanding contributions in international trade, innovation and sustainable development.

Omitec, which employs 200 staff on its Hopton Estate plant, designs and manufactures test systems for automotive design engineers and vehicle manufacturers.

Chairman John Watkins said before last night's event: "It's a wonderful honour. Three members of our staff are attending a director, a middle manager and someone from the shop floor. They're all looking forward to it tremendously and have been instructed not to come back with any souvenirs."

Dyson's success has been achieved in the innovation and development of vacuum cleaner cyclone technology.

Before the event, James Dyson CBE, chairman of the company, said: "We are looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace and receiving recognition on behalf of the whole company.

"This award is a fantastic achievement for everyone at Dyson."

Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions Jacqui Smith were both at the event.

Ms Smith said: "I want to congratulate all of this year's winners on their outstanding achievement in receiving this highly acclaimed award.

"Previous winners have seen their reputation improve both at home and overseas."

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise differ from personal honours because they recognise the achievement of the successful business unit

as a whole management and employees as a team.