The name Cangshan is shared by a majestic mountain range in southwest China and a modest city where our company’s founder, Henry Liu, was born, grew up and wed his high school sweetheart, Mary.
Henry studied engineering and worked in manufacturing for many years, producing a wide range of commercial food supply products and eventually starting his own business. Henry’s insistence on the use of premium materials coupled with his passion for innovative design paid off, and after only 11 years, his company grew to more than 800 employees at three independently owned manufacturing facilities.
Life was good for Henry and Mary but, ultimately, their dream was to build a life and a business in the United States. So that is exactly what they did in 2012, when the Liu family moved to southern California. Henry continued to build his business, studying and observing the market around him. He built relationships with elite material manufacturers, cutting-edge product designers, and culinary enthusiasts in Germany, Sweden and the United States. He worked ceaselessly with his designers to reconsider conventional thinking. He built a team of people who were as excited as he was about the prospect of creating something truly different in a category gone stale.
In 2015 Cangshan Cutlery Company was born. In the time since, we have won thirty-two international design awards. We have partnered with Thomas Keller, the first and only American chef to hold multiple Michelin stars at his critically-acclaimed restaurants and to be designated a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, the highest civilian decoration in France.