Doug Milburn proudly says Advanced Glazings has recovered from the “dark period” it endured after 2007 — and he is not just referring to the global economic slowdown.

The Sydney company is best known for its advanced building product — translucent walls that allow sunlight to fill any interior, thereby reducing the need for electric light. But it is almost as well known for a still-unresolved lawsuit that erupted in 2007 between its shareholders that cast a pall over the company for several years.

In November 2007, Milburn was removed as president after a board motion introduced by directors nominated by two venture fund investors, GrowthWorks Canadian Fund Ltd. and Englefield House No. 4 Inc. That led to litigation that is still going through the courts, even though GrowthWorks Canadian is now under creditor protection. (Note that GrowthWorks Canadian is a separate entity from GrowthWorks Atlantic Venture Fund of Halifax, which is still very much in business.)

 “We were growing in 2007, and we had about $50 million of work in our pipeline,” said Milburn, who was reinstated as president. “When things went downhill, we stopped working for a few months. There is a lot of risk averseness in the (construction) industry, so a lot of our pipeline walked.”

Yet the company has not just survived. It has thrived.

Milburn said Advanced Glazings has actually been profitable since 2008 and has launched new products with its partner, Cabot Corp. of Boston, that has resulted in new sales.

 “We have a very, very healthy pipeline at this time.”

The key to the recent success is a product that combines Cabot’s insulating material aerogel with Advanced Glazing’s translucent panels.

Milburn said aerogel is a superb, transparent insulating material. But if it is sandwiched between two panes of glass, it settles over time so there is an air pocket left at the top.

Advanced Glazings panels offer a honeycombed structure, so the aerogel is trapped in the pockets and it doesn’t settle.

The result is a translucent building panel that provides nine times more insulation than a plain glass window, and three times more than a standard insulated wall.

Advanced Glazing and Cabot launched the product in 2009, which was not a boom time in the North American construction industry.

Because the panels are used as exterior walls rather than windows, the material has to be integrated into the entire design, so there is a long sales process of 18 to 24 months.

 “When we launched that product, we were still tied up with the investor stuff, so we had very, very limited resources,” said Milburn.

 “We didn’t have the scale we needed. But people bought into it and we started to sell projects.”

The aerogel-based product now makes up about half the company’s sales, and it is finding a market around the world. The company now has 25 employees and about 12 patents in several countries.

Milburn said the next step is to produce panelized glass, which means a translucent sheet that does not need a frame.

 “Right now, we’re steady as she goes in that we’re operating profitably and our growth rate is cranking up quite nicely.”