We were saying our prayers as we careered sideways into Belfast City Airport on route for the Apeer factory in Ballymena . Storm Doris was battering the country with 90mph winds and giving our plane a good rattling .

Thankfully , our Irish friends were on hand to calm our nerves with a giant Ulster breakfast and a whistle-stop tour . We were overlooking the iconic yellow cranes of the Harland and Wolff shipyard , where enormous investment is happening in the shape of the Titanic Belfast tourist attraction .

Apeer - the family business founded by Austin McGillian - is also investing , innovating and growing . It manufactures and supplies PVCu door panels , GRP external composite doors , fire doors , decorative glass units and commercial glass .

An ambitious company , it aims to boost market share across England and the Republic of Ireland . The business plans to grow three times its size in a four-year period and has come a long way since the 1990s , when staff were using sledgehammers to test the endurance of PVCu panels .

Managing director ( and Austin ’ s son ) Asa McGillian recalled : “ We made 1,400 panels a week but the death of the PVCu panel was predicted and we saw a steady decline . We have , however , retained all our PVCu panel staff .” Staff repay the favour as many have stayed with the company for 15 to 20 years .

The business launched doors in 2003 and came up

with products such as the ISOLATE fire door . Asa said : “ Hardly anyone was doing composite doors when we were investing . We grew year after year and introduced multiple products along the way .”

Austin and Asa decided to design their own composite door including its GRP skin , adding in as many unique selling points as possible . They have always targeted the top end of the market but the financial crash in 2008 made them realise they also needed to include a more ‘ cost conscious ’ offering , so they introduced the Diamond range of composite doors .

Other products have been exceptionally successful such as the Modo range of modern doors with stainless steel glazing trims and the popular stable door .

But Apeer ’ s major triumph is Lumi . This is a ground-breaking range of customisable , matching

frameless windows and bi-folding , patio and residential doors . The secret to Lumi ’ s aesthetics , performance and strength is the triple glazed units that are bonded to an internal core of high – strength glass reinforced plastic ( GRP ) frames , the external pane of which offers uninterrupted , edgeto-edge glazing . The system is a radical new approach for residential windows and doors .

It was not all plain sailing developing it . Asa said : “ One colleague said the first sample looked like a microwave oven . But we stuck to our belief , made a capital investment and launched it to universal acclaim at Grand Designs in 2015 .

“ We now want to show that Lumi is a replacement window and not only for new build , self-build and extend and renovate . It is of course a high end replacement but there is a real appetite out there to modernise

houses . Lumi can bring a ‘ wall of light ’ to any structure and people are amazed when they find it was a company in Ballymena that brought this product to market . They think it must be from Scandinavia .”

Asa added : “ Now we need to communicate the ease of installation for Lumi and how it can add value to a house . The FIT Show this year will be all about getting more installers in our network .”

Apeer is also bringing in three new door designs this year , revamping its door furniture offering and its Door Builder software so customers can order online more easily . Asa added : “ We want to be a super fabricator on our own terms with our own products .”

It ’ s clear to see why this company is achieving excellent results

Iluminating visit

Steve Sidebottom , director of Clearview Publishing which owns Pro Installer , said : “ The recent trip to Apeer was both illuminating and interesting . The Northern Irish welcome and hospitality was excellent .

“ It ’ s clear to see why this company is achieving excellent results and poised for significant growth when you consider the people who work there .

“ The senior management team boasts years of service , experience and dedication , and Asa the MD is supplying creativity and innovation matched by investment in current and future products . But the key ingredient for me is the passion shown for the company , its products and for future growth from every single person I engaged in conversation . Clearly , all the ingredients are there for continued success .”