Rural Missouri - April 2021 - 61

new challenges to supply chains, Adam sees the effect as
and development and eventually became president of one
a positive. More people actively participating in outdoor
of ARP's brands, Kelty. However, leading Kelty didn't leave
activities is good news for a company whose internal
much time for family life. Rather than miss out
philosophy is " save the lifestyle. "
on seeing his kids grow up, Dennis chose to
" With COVID going on, camping and hunting were
start over at home doing what he did best. In
some of the things people could do as a family and
1993, ALPS Mountaineering began its ascent.
still socially distance, " Adam says. " People weren't
" His mission from the beginning was to protaking the big vacations, but camping close to
vide more gear to more people, and build a brand
New Haven
home is something you can always do.
based on value, " Adam says. " People can see a
" If it had a silver lining at all, people slowed
negative connotation to that word, but we see it
down and spent time together in the outdoors, "
as exceeding people's expectations. "
he adds. " I think when people experience that for
The new company's name - rather than the European
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mountain range, ALPS stands for " Active Lifestyle Products
and Services " - came by the " mountaineering " part honFor more information on ALPS Brands and products, visit
estly: During his time at Kelty, Dennis designed equipment
www.alpsbrands.com.
with Sir Edmund Hillary, widely recognized along with
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Everest. As with the founders of Microsoft and
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Apple, Dennis' dream grew out of the family gaTIVLETWXLIKVSYRHGPSXL°SJXLIJEQMP]FYWMRIWWLIPTMRKTYXXSKIXLIVER%047XIRX
rage in nearby Lyon. Adam jokingly recalls that
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he, along with brother, Brian, and sister, Sarah,
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were involved in product development from an
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early age as might be expected for a family that
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years later, the Brune children manage the dayto-day operations of ALPS and Dennis, true to
form, hasn't slowed down at all.
" He says he's going to retire, " Adam says with
a laugh, " and still today he's putting more hours
into the company than anybody. "
The trio of siblings has come a long way from
assembling tent prototypes in the driveway, and
as they've grown into their new roles so too has
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houses. Product lines branched out as well:
Dennis started out building fanny and day packs
and expanded to sleeping bags, tents, camping
furniture and air pads. While the Mountaineering line is still the company's biggest, Adam says
ALPS took on three new endeavors in a little
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hunting gear for ALPS OutdoorZ, the entry-level
gear line Cedar Ridge and Browning's camping
equipment and hunting blinds. While evaluating new market opportunities is part of staying
competitive and relevant, it's also led to some
new hobbies.
" I didn't get into hunting until I was quite a bit
older, but that's one of the reasons we're in this
space, " Adam says. " We love being outdoors and
we have a passion for it. "
Outdoor recreation takes many forms and
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experienced the same fervor for outdoor products
that was experienced throughout the industry
from boating equipment and power sports to canoe rentals and campsite reservations. Although
the circumstances increased sales and posed
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Rural Missouri - April 2021

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