PurplePrice Mag · · 3 min read
Official website alpesinox.comAdvertisement
Alpes-Inox is an Italian company making stainless steel kitchens and kitchen components. It is based in Bassano del Grappa, at the foot of the Venetian mountains, and was founded in 1954 by Domenico Moretto, known as Nico, an entrepreneur and designer. Today it is run by his sons Aldo and Bruno.
A family metalworking company
Although it works with modern technology in a market dominated by large groups, Alpes-Inox still calls itself a metalworking company and does not aim to grow at all costs: it sees its size as the right one to keep the attention to detail of a family-run business, between the strength of industry and the know-how of craftsmanship.
The Compasso d'Oro
The design of Alpes-Inox products has changed little over time and does not follow fashion: it focuses on function and safety, with careful details and rounded shapes that make the products easy to use and clean. In 1998 the fold-away countertop hob designed by Nico Moretto won the ADI Compasso d'Oro, Italy's most important design award, which also gave a special mention to the company's electronic extraction system.
The company describes its method as the constant refinement of what already works: a kitchen is a durable good, replaced once or twice in a lifetime, and aesthetic progress, according to Alpes-Inox, should move towards ethics, meaning ergonomics, safety for adults and children, energy saving and respect for the environment.
Advertisement
Only stainless steel
Alpes-Inox uses a single material: AISI 304 stainless steel. It withstands thermal shock and detergents, and needs no protective coating that, as it wears, could create spots where dirt and germs collect. Its compact, non-porous surface absorbs nothing and does not affect food: this is why it is the material of professional kitchens in restaurants, hospitals and canteens.
The choice of material goes together with design choices: the study of ergonomics and of the posture of the person cooking, products made to last rather than technology that quickly becomes obsolete, saving water and energy, and solutions for sorting waste for recycling.
The silver finish
The most recognisable feature of Alpes-Inox products is the "silver" satin finish. The steel arrives raw at the factory and its surface is scratched gradually and evenly, removing every mark of previous processing and every imperfection. The result is a bright, luminous colour similar to silver, the same at every point of a product and across all models: a long and costly process that the company considers part of its style.
Sources
Advertisement
