Michael Markham is off to London to see The Queen!

Mr Markham,56, is one of a select group of businessman who have been invited to Buckingham Palace for a reception with The Queen and The Duke of Edingburgh.

The reception is "to mark the contribution of pioneers to the life of the nation", and Mr Markham says the invitation took him completely by surprise.

"I'm just staggered, but so proud," said Mr Markham, the managing director of Stanair Industrial Doors, whose headquarters is in Kettering, but who also have bases at Milton Keynes, Rugby and Peterborough.

"It's a great honour for me personally, but most importantly, it's a wonderful recognition of all we've achieved at Stanair," he said.

"I must admit, when I read the invitation - and I read it quite a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things! - I was not just proud to be invited to The Palace, but extremely flattered to be recognised as a pioneer."

Last year Stanair won a major national award in recognition of its top quality staff training schemes, beating off fierce competition from rivals throughout Britain.

Indeed, so highly recognised is the company's technical training for its engineers, it is now setting the standards nationwide - Stanair staff have been commissioned to help write a programme to be used as one of the major guides throughout their industry.

Stanair was also the first company the region to receive official recognition for its approach towards employing mature workers. The award came from the Age Positive Campaign, who awarded STANAIR the prestigious Age Positive Employer Champion Status - only 51 other companies nationwide had previously been recognised in such a way.

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