AN inventor and entrepreneur has won an export order for an award-winning bicycle pump.

Julian Peck, founder of the Innoverce group, in Newcastle, is celebrating the first export sale of 5,000 Cyclaire Pumps to Germany.

Mr Peck turned the concept of the bicycle pump on its head with his invention, which inflates tyres when the user pulls on a handle, instead of using a downward pumping action.

"There is nothing like it on the market. I took a very simple idea and it has had a profound consequence. The action is similar to pulling the cord on a lawnmower, only a lot easier," he said.

"The pump has a huge advantage over its competitors because the user can get a long stroke from a relatively small pump, making it quicker and dramatically easier to use."

Mr Peck, who lives in Jesmond, Newcastle, founded Innoverce in 1995 and the pump was one of the first products to be developed and marketed.

In 2001, it won him a Spirit of Innovation Award.

The pump was being sold through the company's website, www.cyclaire.com, until UK Trade and Investment's Pass-port to Export programme last year.

Innoverce Products Limited has secured a deal with German company Inter-Union to sell the product to retailers in Germany, Switzerland and Poland.

Another order has also been placed by a Danish customer.

Mr Peck, managing director of Innoverce, praised thePassport to Export programme, which offers a package of financial support and the advice of an international trade advisor.

He said: "Over the past ten years, we have gained lots of experience in developing new products and marketing them in the UK and overseas, but the Passport programme still proved invaluable in helping us target new markets."

Innoverce is now working on a new product for inflating air beds and paddling pools using the Cyclaire technology.