PRINCESS ANNE viewed some of the world’s most cutting-edge machines when she visited a North Yorkshire company inventing robots for organisations around the world.

The royal visited the headquarters of Labman, in the small village of Seamer, outside Stokesley to officially open its new 20,000 sq ft extension. The new building has tripled the size of its base in order to meet large orders coming in from around the world, including from large corporations in China and America.

They include a cryogenic freezer created for a science institute in Israel, which can deep freeze objects in order for them to be broken into small particles. It was demonstrated by engineer Chloe Bullock, who froze a white rose and then smashed it before the royal visitor.

The robotics and automation company specialises in creating unique robotic systems that don’t already exist for companies who often approach Labman with just a description of a task they want a machine to perform.

Other orders include a large £2.5M formulation engine to build for Liverpool University’s Materials Innovation Factory in Liverpool and a machine created for a company in China that will take the contents of one million vials and transplant them into smaller vials. Labman invented a robot to do the job.

A spokesman for the company, John Hesford, said: “Princess Anne has been very involved in helping females in engineering so it’s really good to have her support to prove engineering has a future here and it’s definitely growing.

“This new extension has tripled the size of our facility, we want to encourage as many people as we can and get as many people through the doors and attract apprentices with a willingness to learn and creativity.”

Earlier in the day she visited a new, purpose-built horse hospital. The Princess Royal had been due to visit Hambleton Equine Clinic in January this year, but the visit had to be postponed due to problems with her helicopter.

Founding partner and vet Caroline Blakiston, gave her a tour of the facility, one of only 19 in the country with specialist bone scanning equipment and an MRI scanner for horses.

Her Royal Highness met Mrs Alison Walters, also a founding partner of the practise, and was given a demonstration of a leg scan on local stallion, a gastroscopy and a horse dental examination. Partner Philip Cramp showed Her Royal Highness the state-of-the-art operating facilities. In the inpatient facility she met Cleveland Pony Club members Leah and Seth Naughton, aged 9 and 5, with their pony Dundee. She also met Olympic Silver medallist, Nicola Wilson, one of the UK’s leading champions who lives near Northallerton.