EXCELLENT, excellent, excellent in that order...a North Yorkshire precision engineering firm has picked up a prestigious national industry award for a third successive year.

Claro Precision Engineering of Knaresborough came out on top at the strongly contested industry awards for engineering excellence - making it a record treble success.

The influential Gauge and Toolmakers Association's (GTMA) World Class awards are held annually to highlight the quality of British manufacturing and to reward those at the very top of the engineering industry.

The familiar sight of the Claro team took to the stage for the third year in a row to collect the 2005 World Class award for Excellence in Engineering.

Claro, which employs 47 people, manufactures machined components, kits and assemblies for the medical, aerospace, telecommunications, microwave and instrumentation sectors.

Simon Simmons, editor of event sponsors Production Engineering Solutions magazine, said: "We are proud to have sponsored the GTMA's World Class Awards for some six years.

"During that time, I cannot recall another company winning the overall award by such a clear margin, or with as much determination to go on and win it again and again."

He said the award was "a testament to the clear drive and commitment to being not just a World Class company, but the best British World Class company." Jubilant Martin Doxey, Claro's managing director, said: ""The key to our success is the constant drive to improve - we want to be viewed as the leading sub- contract manufacturer in the world.

"To achieve this we will continue to invest in both our equipment and staff and in building long term relationships with our customers, staff and suppliers."

Last year, the company invested £250,000 in a Matsura Horizontal Machining Centre which was installed at the Knaresborough workshop in November, and further major investment will follow.

Updated: 11:29 Friday, June 03, 2005