Third Dimension presented Queen's Award for Innovation by Lord-Lieutenant
The Queen’s Award is the UK’s highest accolade for business success. The Bristol-based company won the award for GapGun, its best-selling handheld, laser-based optical measurement device.
This is the second time the company has won the Queen’s Award, having won the International Trade category in 2015.
Third Dimension also won the EEF Future Manufacturing regional award for Innovation this year and the EEF regional award for Outstanding Export category in 2015.
Used to control production quality in automotive, aerospace, turbine and energy industries worldwide, GapGun, has increased Third Dimension’s turnover by 50% in the past five years.
GapGun enables the accurate measurement of three dimensional surfaces and the recording of dimensions such as angles, radius and gaps, simply by pulling a trigger. Data collected is analysed to proactively identify defects or monitor geometric conditions. This enable manufactures to rectify and improve quality in real time, on the production line.
GapGun removes risk from customers’ operations by providing a fully auditable trail of every single product measured, thereby helping to prove quality and reduce rework costs, whilst saving a significant amount of time and resources.
Tim Monks, CEO at Third Dimension said: “It’s a great honour to have won this coveted award for the second time. GapGun is a team effort and its success is down to the hard work of our staff and loyalty of our customers and partners around the globe – so a big thanks to everyone for their on-going support.”
Dame Janet Trotter said: “Bristol and Gloucestershire are a bedrock of innovation across many industries. And this is demonstrated to great effect by Third Dimension – who have secured their second Queen’s Award for a product which is not only making manufacturers of cars and planes more efficient, it is also being used in cutting-edge research into nuclear fusion. I congratulate the whole Third Dimension team for both their technical expertise and their business acumen in making this a huge commercial success.”
Third Dimension exports to over 25 countries worldwide with local support provided by its network of distributors. It works with leading multinational companies such as Airbus, Volkswagen, Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi and Embraer.
This year 176 winners were announced: 102 for International Trade; 57 for Innovation; 11 for Sustainable Development and 6 for Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility). The awards are made annually by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and are only given for the highest levels of excellence demonstrated in each category.
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious accolades for businesses and individuals in the United Kingdom. The entry process is rigorous and highly competitive, with a success rate of around 20% each year.
