Kitchen Knife Manufacturer Cangshan Cutlery is Building a New Factory in Leander, Texas.
This is a huge move for Cangshan, which had been manufacturing exclusively in Yongjiang, China up to this point, with an international headquarters in Chino, California. This both signals Cangshan’s expansion into US manufacturing, and closing up their operations in California.
The project, announced in August 2021 and expected to break ground in 2022, should be finished in 2023. The new headquarters will be 400,000 square feet on a 41 acre site and include production capabilities as well as contain administrative and distribution sections. Once completed and fully manned (probably in 2025), it will be the largest employer in Leander.
New Factories, New Knives, New People
It sounds like the Texas facility will manufacture new knife designs “that might benefit from advanced automated production technology to help control costs without compromising quality” according to Home Page News. That sounds like the US made Cangshan knives of the future might still fall into the budget or mid-range categories.
Besides the Texas project, Changshan is also looking at a new factory in China, as well as a new partnership with an OEM in Solingen Germany, however no word yet on exactly what kinds of knives we might expect from these new locations, or when they’ll be available.
In Case You Don’t Know WHo Cangshan Cutlery Is
Cangshan Cutlery was started by Henry Liu, who was born in China but has long had ambitions to manufacture in the US (as well as Europe and Japan), but had trouble finding the right match for his vision. Now he’s building his vision in the small but rapidly growing town of Leander.
While they have borne the often-derided “made in China” label, they have consistently produced high quality, award winning knives for the kitchen, including 9 Red Dot Awards for almost every series they currently make. More recently they have hit hard into the industry with innovations like their Signature collection made in collaboration with Chef Thomas Keller, and their folding steak knife, the Cangshan Zero.
