Built on craft since 1951.

American Products, Inc. was founded in 1951 by Albert Bertozzi.

It started when Albert purchased a property in a Pawtucket, RI strip mall — which happened to have a duckpin bowling alley in the basement. While managing the property and covering shifts at the alley, he developed a love for the sport and a keen eye for the business behind it.

At the time, bowling was booming. In the early 1950s, Pawtucket alone — just 8.74 square miles — had about 20 alleys. Duckpin, candlepin, and billiards were thriving, but Albert noticed something practical: wooden pins broke often and needed replacing roughly every six weeks.

He saw an opportunity. He invested in bowling pin manufacturing, purchased a wood mill in Maine that made wooden pins, and added billiard table sales, service, and moving to the business.

When plastics transformed manufacturing in the 1960s, Albert began making plastic pins — the same pins we still manufacture today: Duckpin, Candlepin, Rubber Band Duck, Bowlingo, and Ten Pin.

He named it American Products, Inc. for a simple, clever reason: in the Yellow Pages era, a name starting with “A” put you first.

Albert opened his first pin manufacturing plant in Maine, leasing pins to alleys across the East. The arrival of automatic pinsetters in the 1960s revolutionized the industry and helped duckpin and candlepin bowling grow — though both games remain beloved primarily on the East Coast and in Canada to this day.

After a fire destroyed the Maine plant, Albert moved manufacturing to Pawtucket, where it remains today. He trained his son Danny and great-nephew Peter in the craft, demanding perfection. That standard stuck.

After Albert's passing in 2002, the company stayed in the family — and we continue to make pins in Pawtucket, where his legacy endures.