A COMPANY in Fence has won the Queen's Award for Export Achievement.

The furnishings firm Panaz was on Monday named in an elite group of companies which have enjoyed outstanding success in selling their products abroad.

Just 11 North-West firms won the award. Panaz, which employs 46 people at its Spring Mill factory in Wheatley Lane Road, designs and makes flame-retardant fabrics mainly for curtains, wall-coverings, upholstery and bedspreads in hotels and hospitals.

Delighted boss Tony Attard said: "We're very pleased."

Established in 1986, Panaz has more than doubled its exports over the last three years. It sells in 32 countries and now has a turnover of £5 million a year, compared with £2 million in 1993.

Queen's Award winners are decided by the prime minister who is advised by a team of experts from government and industry. Some 130 UK companies were named this year.

A spokesman for the awards scheme said successful firms had shown "a substantial and sustained increase in export earnings to a level which is outstanding for the products or services concerned." A representative of the Queen will present the award at the Fence factory in the next few months.

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