Alpine Industries was incorporated in California in March 1959. On May 5, 1960 Alpine Sales and National Ordnance were incorporated. From Fall 1960 until the Fall of 1962, National Ordnance manufactured commercial M1 carbines with the National Ordnance name, under the ownership of Robert E. Penney. To lessen the amount of manufacturer's excise tax they would be required to pay, National Ordnance sold a percentage of their carbines at a low price to Alpine Sales, owned and operated by John Arnold. Alpine then sold the carbines at the price that would net the desired profit for National Ordnance. Operationally, Alpine was the sales division of National Ordnance. In reality, Penney and Arnold were partners. This method of lessening the impact of manufacturers excise tax was common practice for many different companies.