SNUGGLED away in an Accrington business park is one Lancashire's best kept secrets.

For when tragedy strikes and people are stranded at home or abroad, the CMAC Group are there to make sure people get back safe and sound.

The group, formed in 2007, has become akin to an emergency service. No more so than when the "Beast for the East" struck the UK in March.

With roads, rail and airports crippled by snow and bad weather, from their base in the Globe Centre, they helped organise 11,000 hotel rooms, 7,000 taxis and 2,000 coaches over a five-day period to ensure safe passage for more than 60,000 people amid the chaos.

They were also the go-to form when Monarch Airlines collapsed. When the call came in from Monarch and the Civil Aviation Authority that the worst was about to happen, CMAC was on the frontline helping to repatriate 40,000 holiday makers.

And now CEO Steve Turner is looking to take his business global after another profitable year.

With turnover up from £21million to £29million in the past year and staffing levels almost doubling in the last two years, the company is continuing its pattern steady growth.

And Mr Turner is aiming to turn his business into a £50million operation in the coming years.

He said: "We're extremely pleased with the way we have been able to sustainably grow the business over the past few years.

"We have a trusted network of vetted suppliers and clients such as Virgin Rail to both get the drivers to work on time but to provide rail replacement bus services, sometimes at very short notice."

Under the CMAC banner are five separate brands, each with a separate niche to create a seamless service to provide the customer and end user with the best solution - usually in difficult circumstances.

But the next challenge will be a technological one.

A walk around their base is like a trip into a hi-tech world as staff monitor news, flight patterns and track social media to make sure they are ahead of the game should the worst happen.

Mr Turner said: "We have a young senior management and they, and the staff, are really helping to drive the business forward.

"We are using technology to provide the best real-time service. But, at the moment, the business fits the technology and we want to technology to fit the business to help us to provide an even better service."