• History

  Brookside Veneers Ltd. was founded in 1973 to supply high-quality exotic wood products to the architectural community. Ever since, the company's intent has been to provide the best possible product, service and quality. The success of this approach led to expansion into the furniture, door and cabinet industries.

  The advent of systems furniture in the contract and residential sectors created a demand for defect-free veneers with consistent grain and color. The Brookside solution was Brookline® veneer, a selection of ALPIlignum produced by ALPI, a leading Italian manufacturer of decorative surfaces made of reconstituted wood. For 40 years, furniture systems have been using Brookline® veneer as a unifying decorative wood element. Since its introduction, the Brookline family of products has expanded to become a full range of wood elements in interiors – doors, panels, furniture and millwork – giving designers complete flexibility in their project planning.
  After 50 years of cooperation, Brookside was acquired by ALPI in 2023.
  The history of ALPI is rooted in a manufacturing tradition devoted to excellence. Pietro Alpi founded the company in 1919 as a workshop of fine cabinetry, and soon specialized in decorative veneers. When Pietro's son Valerio Alpi joined the company in the 1950s, he commenced widespread distribution throughout Italy. In 1961 ALPI was the first company in the world to industrialize the production process of reconstituted wood veneer, calling the product ALPIlignum. Such revolution was based on intense technical research and an important background in fine woodworking. ALPIlignum spread to international markets. In 1975 the group opened its first facility in Cameroon, ensuring a constant supply of raw material. When Vittorio Alpi joined the company in the 1980s, he established prestigious collaborations with outstanding names in design, developing a strong bond between ALPI and the world of creativity. An ongoing accent on aesthetic innovation led to the employment of Piero Lissoni as the art director of the company, a position he has held since June 2015. Since 2017, Vittorio Alpi has been organizing artistic initiatives whereby designers of ALPI veneer create unique pieces of furniture free of commercial constraints.

• COMPANY PROFILE

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  1. Wood

  The substance of wood, in all its varieties: ALPI ensures its maximum qualities of expression.

  A living, certified, ecosustainable material. ALPI uses poplar, basswood or obeche, peeled and recomposed in an infinite range of types, finishes and patterns, to respond to all design needs. A unique variety of offerings, with outstanding qualitative characteristics, free of the flaws typical of traditional wood, with unlimited catalogue and bespoke solutions that always provide uniform and constant colors and sizes, replicated over time for multiple applications, on both horizontal and vertical surfaces.

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  1. Workmanship

  Peeling, dyeing, composing, gluing, pressing, squaring, slicing, testing…

  This is the production sequence of ALPI wood, in which form and substance establish a dialogue with technique and fine workmanship. ALPI breaks down and reassembles wood in infinite varieties, finishes and patterns, thanks to a particular process that slices the wood and dyes it by immersion, then recomposing the dyed sheets to create a new log.

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2. At the Service of Design

A partner of leading companies in the luxury, automotive and nautical sectors, as well as prestigious players in the fields of furniture, product design, interior architecture and contract,

ALPI demonstrates its close bond with the world of design in projects for hotels and multi-apartments, retail facilities and public spaces. Through its technical consulting services, ALPI guides clients in every phase of the project, all the way to post-sale services for complete customer assistance.

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  2. Sartorial Industry

  Dual dialectic, dual passion: bespoke culture meets and enhances the opportunities offered by the latest cutting-edge technology.

  The unique character is in fact the result of a perfect combination of technique and craftsmanship, usually seen as parallel opposites: on the one hand, ALPI means pure innovation, staying ahead of the demands of the market; on the other, it means painstaking custom creations.

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  2. Miniature Factory

  The in-house research lab is a true miniature factory, a pilot facility where every process, every piece of machinery is perfectly reproduced to scale.

  A catalyst of ideas, where everything begins: a place in which to explore the material, testing its expressive qualities, developing new dimensions, condensing conceptual study and experimentation with forms, structure and aesthetics. Thanks to remarkable investments in R&D and the search for new stylistic and productive trends, ALPI can constantly offer the market new stimuli and new design ideas.

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• 3. Sustainability

  ALPI operates with complete transparency in terms of environmental and social responsibility, with a constant commitment to excellence in the use of natural resources.

  Every ALPI product is made with poplar, basswood and obeche from certified and sustainable forests, managed with maximum respect for biodiversity. Direct supervision of the entire supply chain guarantees legal and sustainable sourcing of wood and total product traceability. ALPI makes workplace safety one of its main priorities, along with sustainable production methods, including an advanced in-house system for industrial water purification.

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• 3. Zero F

  In line with the strictest international standards, ALPI veneers can be produced in the ZeroF version, with zero added formaldehyde, for the creation of healthy and eco-responsible decorative surfaces.

  The result of constant research conducted by ALPI to find solutions that foresee and respond to market demands, ALPI ZeroF products contribute to qualification for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

  

  

• 3. Certifications

  FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®)

  Obeche and poplar are the fundamental raw materials for the production of ALPIlignum veneers. The FSC® (FSC® C084497) certification guarantees sourcing from forests managed in a correct, responsible way in keeping with strict environmental, social and economic standards. In 2023, the forestry concessions managed by the ALPI group in Cameroon obtained FSC® certification under license number FSC-C129174, meaning that ALPI products carry the distinctive FSC® 100% label, the highest mark of distinction for FSC®-certified items.

  OLB (Origine et Legalité du Bois)

  This trademark certifies the legal sourcing and traceability of operations of forestry and industrial transformation of wood in Cameroon. With the OLB (OLB-CERT-090501) certification granted since in 2009 by Bureau Veritas Certification, ALPI guarantees compliance with regulations regarding forestry management, hygiene, health, workplace safety, compliance with taxation, labor contracts, supply and export of wood. The certification also covers the geographical origin of the wood and its traceability.
  
  Poplar origin certification
  The Poplar wood used by ALPI to produce composite wood comes from Italian tree farms. The certification issued by SGS guarantees renewability and the concrete commitment of the company to choices of responsible management of raw materials, also contributing to the utilization of local agricultural resources.
  
  
  

  3. Reliability

  CRIBIS D&B, a company specialized in providing business information on Italian and foreign companies, has assigned ALPI “CRIBIS D&B Rating 1” certification –

  the highest level of assessment of financial solidity – indicating a maximum level of reliability as a counterpart in B2B transactions.

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4. African Portrait

Thanks to the intuitive vision of Valerio Alpi to build a barge for use as a transportable industrial plant, which was towed to Africa from the port of Ravenna, starting in 1975 ALPI began operation first in Cameroon and then, later, in Ivory Coast.

Today, over 40 years later, the company holds licenses for the management of 500,000 hectares of forest, also fostering the growth of local communities in economic and infrastructural terms. The synergy between the African facilities and the parent company in Modigliana is very close and effective.

• 4. ALPI group

  ALPI S.p.A. is a leading manufacturer of decorative surfaces made of reconstituted wood. The company was the first to industrialize this process.

  Founded by Pietro Alpi in 1919 in the city of Modigliana, Italy, ALPI represents an undisputed gold standard in wood technology. Its facilities in Italy cover 180,000 square meters (of which 52,000 indoors); facilities in Africa cover 346,500 meters (of which 67,000 indoors). Operations in Africa began in 1975, when the first plant in Cameroon was inaugurated to ensure the constant supply of raw material. Over the years, ALPI expanded its activities to acquire direct control over the entire chain of supply and production, from timber to the finished veneer, all while being fully committed to environmental, ethical and social stewardship. Today the ALPI group is a major forestry operator in Cameroon, holding the African subsidiaries ALPIcam Industries, which produces peeled wood, plywood and sawn lumber, and Grumcam, specialized in sawn lumber and logs. Commercial activities are conducted through LES, the Italian commercial force. In 2023, after a 50-year partnership, ALPI acquired its North American distributor, Brookside. All subsidiaries operate in perfect synergy with the parent company in Italy.

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