Breaking through an industry to emerge as a premium, leading brand is no easy task. But Hestan and Cangshan Cutlery have been able to do just that. At the core of each brand’s success is a passion for innovation and quality products.
“I like to challenge myself and my team. The knife industry has been kind of boring for many years. I’m excited every day to make something new.”
– Henry Liu, President of Cangshan Cutlery.
“I have never been comfortable with following the status quo or simply aiming for just above average, so the expectations I have for my team are high. Fortunately, I work with some very talented folks whom I trust and cherish wholeheartedly, so it pays off.”
– Eric Deng, President of Hestan.
As the Hestan and Cangshan brands continue to innovate and lead their respective industries, their internal expectations continue to grow as well. That’s what it takes to become leaders in the commercial space and home kitchen. Hestan and Cangshan aren’t slowing up anytime soon. More partnerships, more innovation and more beautiful products are on the way.
“I often tell people our approach is very similar to Apple, and no one argues that they make great, quality products. Lot of new projects are on our plate, but I guarantee whatever we do, it will be good stuff and we will keep improving with help from our partners and our users.”
– Henry Liu, President of Cangshan Cutlery.
]]>“We want to be a part of one of the oldest forms of communion in the world—people sharing a meal together. We expect Hestan to become an internationally respected and successful brand, a fundamental asset to the great art of cooking. It’s the ultimate American dream.”
– Eric Deng, President of Hestan.
The Hestan and Cangshan Cutlery brands were both built upon thoughtful innovation and close collaboration with some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs. We stand alongside our friends and partners in the restaurant industry.
“We want our commercial chefs to feel that Hestan products are an asset to their kitchen. And we will continue to do all we can to support them until the restaurant industry is back on its feet.”
– Eric Deng, President of Hestan.
Hestan and Cangshan have both enjoyed longstanding relationships with Chef Thomas Keller. His pursuit of meaningful improvement has helped drive both product lines, while the esprit de corps of Chef Keller’s kitchens has also inspired our corporate cultures. Or, as Eric puts it, “to be the best, you have to demand the best. Hestan and Cangshan are both associated with these values in quality and performance. I believe this is what Chef Keller proudly represents for both brands.”
Chef Keller likes our innovative designs and quality, which is very special in this traditional industry.”
– Henry Liu, President of Cangshan Cutlery.
Eric Deng and Henry Liu both know that at the end of the day, the success of your brand comes down to the team building it. As Henry says, “without a good team, you can’t build a successful business and can’t transform yourself from a good soldier to a captain with a wide, far-reaching vision.”
One of the key factors to a team’s success is trust. At Hestan and Cangshan, that’s right on brand with constant innovation and collaboration. “I work with a lot of talented people whom I care about very much. Individually we may not be perfect, but together as a team we can be perfect,” said Eric. “I love what each person uniquely brings to the team. I know that my teammates are making sacrifices in our work toward a common goal.”
]]>HENRY LIU:
Choose your team carefully, and be good to your team. Without a good team, you cannot build a successful business and cannot transform yourself from a good soldier to a captain with a wide, far-reaching vision.
ERIC DENG:
Find what you love and do it. Surround yourself with good, smart and hard-working people. I think that building a good team is the most important part of my job. It’s not just their skill set, but also their work ethic, their passion and how well we mesh together.
HENRY LIU:
My dad always tells me you can only give up when you have tried your best and have nothing to regret. My experience says there is no such thing as “try your best.” In this world, most circumstances are just excuses, so it is important to not give up when you set your goals after careful evaluation.
ERIC DENG:
Good fortune tends to come to those who are prepared to receive it. I believe in a fine balance between controlling our destiny and having faith in our path. I’m a firm believer in that.
HENRY LIU:
Making great stuff, letting users enjoy that stuff and giving them that amazing “wow” moment.
ERIC DENG:
Achieving what we set out to do: brand recognition around the world, good returns to our investors, a loyal and satisfied customer base who trusts us, and financial rewards for all the employees who put their hearts and souls into building this company.
HENRY LIU:
When I was still running my commercial kitchenware supply business, one of my best clients (actually we were becoming very close friends after 10+ years doing business together) asked me if I could make good-quality knives for extreme commercial kitchen use. I said yes we could, but my team and I audited over 80 manufacturers, and we failed to find anyone who could meet this goal. All these factories, whatever size they were, were all commodity-level manufacturers and could not match our standards. It is not my style to quit and just apologize to a client, so we kept looking, and when we finally located a good manufacturer, I immediately invested in a joint venture with them and put most of my energy into building high-quality knives. This is how Cangshan Cutlery was born.
ERIC DENG:
I’ve been working in the residential and commercial appliance industries for almost the entirety of my career, but always for big, established brands. The opportunity to start something of my own from the ground up, from absolutely nothing, to be able to define every little detail of the products and business operations, was the chance of a lifetime. To be able to build the team from top to bottom and define the culture of an organization is very exciting to me. I feel confident in my knowledge of the other brands in this space. And I feel that, as a team, we know what the industry needs and how to go about meeting these needs for our customers.
]]>