In a kitchenware workshop in Boxing County, Binzhou City, workers are focused on polishing each component. From material selection to meticulous craftsmanship, every step is rigorously controlled. These commercial kitchenware products are being dispatched to serve diverse dining scenarios, including university cafeterias and aerospace catering, playing a vital role in ensuring daily food service.
As the largest stainless steel commercial kitchenware production base in the country, the kitchenware industry cluster in Boxing County has been approved as one of the first national-level characteristic industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises. It hosts over 2,800 kitchenware production and supporting companies, producing more than 20 million units (sets) of kitchenware annually, with a total output value exceeding 35 billion yuan, accounting for over 40% of the national market share.
Industrial Aggregation: From “Individual Efforts” to “Cluster Operations”
The kitchenware industry in Boxing has achieved a leap from dispersed development to clustered innovation. The local area has planned and constructed logistics parks such as the China Kitchen Capital Modern Logistics Park and the Zhongyi Kitchenware E-commerce Logistics Park, establishing standardized factories totaling 350,000 square meters and forming a complete industrial chain covering over 30 series, more than 400 varieties, and thousands of specifications.
Industrial upgrading is inseparable from innovation support. Currently, Boxing County has built 21 innovation platforms at or above the municipal level, nurtured 100 technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises, 50 high-tech enterprises, and 27 “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” companies. All large-scale kitchenware enterprises have established R&D institutions, with R&D investment reaching 114 million yuan, accounting for 5.1% of their main business revenue.
Smart Transformation: The “Digital Metamorphosis” of Traditional Manufacturing
Entering the production workshop of Shandong Kingbetter Commercial Kitchenware Co., Ltd., workers are intensively producing a batch of smart cooking appliances. These products will feature fault detection and remote control via a mobile app, representing a typical example of “Internet + Kitchenware.”
“We just dealt with an exception in the backend information. Fortunately, the alert from the system helped us address it in time, eliminating potential equipment hazards,” said Cao Chao, the head of a local staff canteen. Intelligent kitchen equipment has significantly increased meal delivery efficiency, reduced labor costs, and improved the working environment in the kitchen. Digital transformation has become an important engine for upgrading the kitchenware industry in Boxing. The commercial smart kitchen equipment industry’s “brain” has been recognized as part of the provincial industrial brain list, and the city’s first national-level industrial internet identification resolution secondary node has officially begun operations, injecting new momentum into industrial development.
Going Global: From “Boxing Manufacturing” to “China Intelligent Manufacturing”
Yin Wenkai, a staff member at Shandong Kingbetter Commercial Kitchenware Co., Ltd., explained, “Our production scale is quite large domestically, with an annual output value of around 300,000 sets and sales revenue of about 1 billion yuan. Our products are exported worldwide, including to the Middle East, Europe, America, Africa, and Latin America. In China, wherever people eat, you will find our smart kitchens, from chain restaurants to canteens of enterprises and institutions.”
Boxing County actively promotes the “key industries + cross-border e-commerce + overseas warehouses” model, having built eight public overseas warehouses and hosting nearly 70 kitchenware companies with import and export achievements. The county exports about 300,000 high-end kitchenware sets annually. In 2013, Kingbetter acquired the Italian company Coven, which has over 70 years of manufacturing history, leveraging its brand, channels, and R&D advantages to achieve strong sales in the European market.
Shandong Spirit: Practical Spirit Shapes Manufacturing Quality
“The development of Kingbetter is inseparable from the nurturing of this land,” said a company representative. The inherent practical spirit of Shandong people—valuing trust, being pragmatic, and pursuing excellence—is the core internal driving force. Additionally, the government’s precise support for “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” enterprises provides a crucial external environment. This “Shandong gene” manifests in three dimensions: first, the character of valuing trust and being down-to-earth; second, the deep integration of “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” policies with the manufacturing soil of Shandong; and third, the combination of open and daring spirit with a commitment to excellence.
Currently, Boxing County has cultivated a regional brand of “China’s Smart Kitchen Capital” across the entire industrial chain, incubating a total of 18 well-known and high-quality provincial brands. The county has led or participated in the formulation of 35 various standards and created three “leader” product certifications. It holds over 580 patents, and 28 companies have been authorized to use international standard symbols. The China Kitchen Capital International Exhibition Center, built with an investment of 910 million yuan, is promoting the development of the new “exhibition + integrated ends” business model, accelerating the integration of manufacturing with modern services. The China (Boxing) International Kitchenware Festival has become one of the “three major renowned events” in the domestic kitchenware industry, providing a high-end communication platform for the development of the kitchenware industry.
From traditional manufacturing to intelligent “smart manufacturing,” from Binzhou Boxing to the global market, the kitchenware industry in this land is steadily progressing along the path of high-quality development, becoming a key player in Shandong’s efforts to accelerate the construction of a strong advanced manufacturing province.