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The History of Apal
In 1961, Edmond Péry founded the societe Apal. APAL stands for "Application polyester Arme Liegois", free translation : "applications of armed fiberglass in Liege". Production was started in a hall which was made available for free by the Forges the Zeebrugge at Herstal.
All kinds of industrial components were fabricated. Not long afterwards they also realized the first prototype of a fiberglass coupé-body. Since Apal was (and still is) a fiberglass company was, that's why, from the early beginning they concentrated on the improvement of existing and the design of new bodies.
Within a short time, the borrowed hall became too small, and Apal moved to the current factory in Blégny. Apal experienced a rising success with its success. The company built several vehicles with type approval and also did their own marketing for these products in Europe. It concerned both original kits for existing vehicles and entirely new designed vehicles. Generally they made use of an existing chassis or worked with existing mechanical components.
In 1968 & 1969, 10 copies were built of the Apal Horizon, a sporty two-seater with mid-engine.
In 1974 they developed a prototype all-terrain car for the Dutch Daf. When the project is finished, Daf was taken over by Volvo, who stopped the realization of this project.
In 1992 the project Vario for VW Wolfsburg starts. But due to the economic crisis at the VW company, also this project never reached the finish line.
The last years the company was mainly active as a subcontractor in the field of industrial components for cars (special body design) and limited series. Good examples are a special roof for Mercedes and the competition cars for Dubois' Racing VW Fun cup. Also worth mentioning is that Apal restored vintage cars.
Apal concentrates further on high quality sanitary fiberglass products. The generated income from these products already was good enough for 80% of the total business figure in the early years.
Now, every year 2000 bathtubs find their way to customers in all the European countries, the Middle-East and the USA.
