Founded in 1947 by the joining of several private shoemaking workshops, Alpina has since grown into one of the region's largest footwear manufacturers, and is recognised as one of the leading producers of specialised athletic footwear in the world - especially in the area ski boots (both downhill and cross country) and hiking shoes. The company's innovative designs have been rewarded in each of the past three years with Red Dot awards, most recently for the Promise ski boot in 2010, which was designed in cooperation with the studio of noted Slovene designer Jure Miklavc - who was also responsible for the previous two winning designs.