A Beckton-based company has won a prestigious national award for business innovation for the sixth time.

Buhler Sortex, a world leader in food processing technology, was one of 102 companies to win a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

Hamid Kefayati, managing director of Buhler Sortex, said: “We are delighted to have won such a prestigious award for the sixth time.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our people and we are determined not to rest on our laurels.

“We shall continue to develop the most advanced technologies that will satisfy the demands of global food processors.”

The subsidiary, which makes high-speed optical sorters that remove diseased and off-colour produce from harvest crops such as rice and wheat, moved to its purpose-built factory in Atlantis Avenue from Pudding Mill Lane in 2006.

Its relocation to Newham, from where it exports to 80 countries in Europe, Asia, Russia and the Americas, has enabled the business to introduce more efficient manufacturing techniques and compete better with low-cost competitors in China and South Korea.

Buhler Sortex participates in the Newham Educational Business Partnership, which supports 14 to 18-year-olds to a diploma in engineering.

The company, which employs 235 people, also offers a graduate training scheme and takes an active role in academic partnerships with leading universities.