A BUSINESS that was only five years in by 1969, received the Queen's Award to Industry for its export record.

Edgar Pickering Ltd in Blackburn received the award for all its success after selling 62 per cent of its production in the home market, with 38 per cent for export in just the first year.

In 1968, the company did even better, with no less than 73 per cent export. The successful business had millions of pounds worth of their products installed in factories all over the world, producing the most fashionable products like carpets, candle-wick, blankets, simulated furs, liner fabrics, kindred goods and bedspreads.