How Steelport Knife Co is Forging Ahead

 

Steelport Knife Co., client of Jon Summers, has a story worth noting. Check out this article by the Portland Business Journal.

Launching a new business in the year 2021? Yeah, good luck with that.

But thanks to a confluence of factors, planned and unplanned, Portland’s Steelport Knife Company has carved itself a healthy niche in the high-end cutlery market, one that’s estimated globally to be worth some $10 billion over the coming years.

“It’s been an unpredictable and rewarding 18 months of business,” said company co-founder Ron Khormaei, who also helped establish FINEX Cast Iron Cookware Company in 2012.

“Covid impact removed any confidence in predicting business trajectory for any company, but especially so for a startup.”

Steelport is fully employee owned, with about 10 team members that have invested in the company with direct cash and contributing their time at no or lowered costs.

Back to the kitchen

Right off the bat, Khormaei and his team not only had to worry about figuring out the best features of their new knife, but also had to accept the uncertainty of whether there would even be a market for a premium chef’s blade that retails for $400.

Then along came Covid 19, and an entire nation moved indoors, turned on Food Network and rediscovered its love of a meticulously prepared meal.

“The increased interest in cooking over this [period of] isolation and work-from-home is real,” Khormaei said. “We see the change in more than just quantity. People are actually interested in the quality of what they eat and offer to their loved ones. There is more interest in connecting with their own food supply chain and knowing the origins of their food — and the origins of the tools they use to prepare the food.”

Khormaei and co-founder Eytan Zias, a longtime chef and the owner of Portland Knife House, were keen to launch Steelport due to demand from culinary professionals who wanted an American alternative to Japanese and German blades, which have dominated the worldwide market.

With its tag line of Craftsmanship Without Compromise, Khormaei said, the Steelport chef knife is based on the three brand pillars: iconic design, functional details, and handcrafted locally.

The product not only introduces features like the hardest steel rating available at 65 HRC (on the Rockwell scale of hardness) and a differential heat treatment that creates a more flexible spine, but it's also made from carbon steel, one-piece, drop forged construction, Khormaei explained.

Steelport officially launched production in March of this year, and almost immediately sold out of their first run of 100 knives.

“This gave us the feedback to ramp-up our production to higher capacities since,” Khormaei said.

Of course, having celebrated culinary professionals telling the world how much they enjoy their Steelport blade, helps considerably.

Local legends like Bonnie Morales, Elias Cairo, and Doug Adams have delivered positive feedback, as have noteworthy chefs from around the country like Chris Bianco and Aaron Franklin.

Cairo, the co-owner of local charcuterie empire Olympia Provisions, added his own glowing review of the new knife on the block.

“Steelport knives are simply stunning," he said. “The second you see it or use it, you know that this knife is special. I intend on using this tool for a very long time with much joy."

Surging Sales

Khormaei expects to far outpace this year’s numbers in 2022, through new product releases, partnerships, and availability at additional premium retailers across the country.

“Steelport fills an enormous hole in the cutlery market — a kitchen knife that is the highest quality and American-made, available broadly,” Khormaei says.

Premium knives at national chains are typically from Germany, China, or Japan, he said. The homegrown domestic factor has become much more important since the rise of supply chain issues that continue to bedevil the competition.

Having component and suppliers from the United States has proven to be a big advantage.

“A key additional factor has been the value of direct connections with our suppliers,” Khormaei says. “We know them and they know us, and they believe in our products. This makes them also watch out for us, and get ahead of material disruptions they see coming.

Yet another advantage, Khormaei said, has been quality control considerations.

“We don’t have to worry about a supply shipment getting stuck on a ship or in customs, thus we are not forced to accept products of lower quality just to meet internal deadlines.

“This has been a subtle and not much discussed advantage, but an important one in ensuring that we continue to ship the best products possible every time.”

Closer Look

Steelport Knife Co.

What it does: Makes premium knives

Where: Portland

Co-founders: Eytan Zias, Ron Khormaei

Timeline:

2007: Eytan Zias opens Phoenix Knife House in Arizona

2012: Ron Khormaei founds FINEX Cast Iron Cookware Company in Portland

2014: Zias relocates to Portland, opens Portland Knife House

March 2021: Zias and Khormaei co-found Steelport Knife Co. on Northeast Sandy Boulevard. The first 100 products sell out almost immediately.

 
Samantha Gee