Falmouth-based Watson-Marlow Ltd (www.watson-marlow.com) has won a Queen’s Award — in the innovation category.

This recognises the company’s development of Qdos — the world’s first self-contained chemical metering pump, which provides more-accurate and repeatable metering than a conventional diaphragm pump, along with integral leak detection.

The company is part of the Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group, which is a leading supplier of peristaltic pumps and complete fluid path technologies.

Simon Nicholson, managing director of Watson-Marlow Ltd, said: “To win a Queen’s Award for innovation is fantastic news for our business. Qdos is no ordinary pump technology.

"The judges have clearly recognised the tremendous work undertaken by our product design team. Qdos provides a solution to a wide range of industrial and environmental applications that require chemical dosing.

The market demanded cost-effective systems, offering increased safety and low operational expenditure. That is precisely what we delivered, and Qdos — manufactured here in our Falmouth factory — is now deployed all over the world.”