History of Alpha Industries
The clothing factory was founded in Knoxville by the accountant Samuel Gelber in 1959 with the aim of providing the army with quality outfits. The Alpha Industries was formed as the successor of thre manufacturers: Superior Tags Coporation, Rolen Sportswear and Dobbs Industries. The company mostly famous for its flight jackets preserved its relationship with the American armed forces, however, became one of the leading producers of the civil spheres.
(The Alpha Industries clothing factory in the 1980s)
The clothing factory was founded in Knoxville by the accountant Samuel Gelber in 1959 with the aim of providing the army with quality outfits. The Alpha Industries was formed as the successor of thre manufacturers: Superior Tags Coporation, Rolen Sportswear and Dobbs Industries. The company mostly famous for its flight jackets preserved its relationship with the American armed forces, however, became one of the leading producers of the civil spheres.
(The Alpha Industries clothing factory in the 1980s)
The clothing factory was founded in Knoxville by the accountant Samuel Gelber in 1959 with the aim of providing the army with quality outfits. The Alpha Industries was formed as the successor of thre manufacturers: Superior Tags Coporation, Rolen Sportswear and Dobbs Industries. The company mostly famous for its flight jackets preserved its relationship with the American armed forces, however, became one of the leading producers of the civil spheres.
(The Alpha Industries clothing factory in the 1980s)
The evident glory had lasted until the end of the cold war, approximately until the 1990s when the company’s government orders fell by 75% and the ’Made in USA’ signal got driven back. The situation got further aggravated with the booming of the Far Eastern clothing industry.
Later, neither the Gulf War, nor the Iraq offensive could raise Alpha’s number of orders because they rather aggregated the money on machinery and guns.
Upon the recognizing the trend, Alpha turned completely to the preferance of streetwear, now owning a male, female and children’s collection. The company has centres in the United States, Germany and Japan. The need of the American and European buyers differ, so a few basic pieces are available everywhere while others get to the shops only in a given country.
(The accessory of most Alpha coats is the RBF strip)
Almost all Alpha products have a small tab with the company logo, which is sewn on the left arm pocket in case of jackets. Most jackets have a REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT strip which is one of the main distinctive features of Alpha, similarly to the stitsching on the sleeve of the flight jacket. Another characteristic is the velcro nametag on the left chest, as well.
Alpha = tried, controlled, proven