TYCOON James Dyson was due to attend a glittering reception at Buckingham Palace last night in recognition of his company receiving the Queen's Award for enterprise innovation.

The entrepreneur, who was due to meet the Queen, was accompanied by Pete Gammack, Dyson's new product design director, and research and design engineer Ricardo Gomiciaga.

Both have been at Dyson for more than five years and are among the 350 scientists and engineers that make up the Malmesbury-based research design and development department, working on new technology and new products for the home.

The Queen's Award was presented in recognition of Dyson's development of vacuum cleaner cyclone technology.

Mr Dyson said: "This award is a fantastic achievement for everyone at Dyson. We are committed to developing new technologies and investing in R and D to make products that work better."

The award will be presented officially to the whole company on August 20 by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sir Maurice Johnston, on a visit to the factory on Tetbury Hill.

There will be a presentation in the reception area and Sir Maurice will pay tribute to the company's achievements and the contribution that Dyson has made to the region.

In total Dyson employs 1,200 people in Malmesbury. Last year Dyson announced production of its vacuum cleaners would stop in Wiltshire when production moved to Malaysia, with the loss of hundreds of jobs in the county.

The award was announced in the Queen's birthday honours list on April 21. It is the first time Dyson has been awarded.