Cutting-edge company
California knife maker carves out future headquarters in Austin suburb
Southern California-based Cangshan Cutlery Co. plans to move its global headquarters to Leander in 2023, with the potential of employing as many as 300 people here.
Cangshan Cutlery, whose headquarters is currently located in Chino, California, is eyeing a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing and office facility in the Austin suburb of Leander that the company expects to help push its annual revenue to $150 million. The facility is set to be built on 41 acres at 204 Heritage Grove Rd.
The company says the move will enable it to start manufacturing a premium line of cutlery aside from its current products. Sellers of Cangshan Cutlery’s kitchen knives include Amazon, Costco, Crate & Barrel, and Williams Sonoma.
“As a first-generation immigrant, I am inspired by the possibilities of the promise of America. I see it in the spirit and creativity of my employees, and I see it in the town of Leander, Texas,” the company’s founder and CEO, Henry Liu, says in a City of Leander news release. “I am truly excited about bringing the vision of creating a premium American-made cutlery line to life.”
The City of Leander and Williamson County extended economic incentives to Cangshan Cutlery to lure it to the fast-growing suburb. They include rebates of local taxes of up to $5.5 million and $1.6 million for road improvements.
To qualify for the incentives, the company must invest at least $40 million in property and equipment, add as many as 300 permanent full-time jobs, and build the proposed 400,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing plant. Today, Cangshan Cutlery employs more than 800 people around the world.
“The relocation of Cangshan’s modern manufacturing headquarters could be one of the largest primary jobs additions for our city to date,” Leander City Manager Rick Beverlin says.
