STEETON-based Acorn Stairlifts picked up two major prizes at the Yorkshire International Trade Awards 2015 held at Leeds Royal Armouries.

The manufacturer collected prizes for Excellence in International Trade and International Company of the Year (£50m plus turnover) at the ceremony, which rewarded Yorkshire’s top exporters.

Judges were especially impressed by Acorn’s FastTrack service, installing a bespoke curved stair rail within two days of order.

Acorn was also praised for investing in its own subsidiaries in target markets. An Acorn Stairlift is fitted somewhere in the world every nine minutes.

The judges said: “If you buy a stairlift anywhere in the world, there is a distinct possibility it came from West Yorkshire”.

The judging panel was impressed that Acorn still manufactures in Britain.

Dave Belmont, company secretary, said, “To win two export awards in one evening is tremendous.

"Our stairlifts are sent all over the world direct from our UK-based factories.

“In the last 12 months, we have increased the size of our multi-lingual export department at Steeton by 50 per cent to meet increasing demand.”