Steel coffee tables, shoe cabinets and wardrobes from Pangcun Town on the outskirts of Luoyang now make up about 70 percent of China’s steel furniture market. The town’s more than 1,000 varieties are sold in over 120 countries and regions, with annual output exceeding 16 billion yuan.

On a smart factory floor, automated equipment hums while networked, intelligent furniture rolls off the line. No membership or paper receipt is needed to use some smart storage products; customers can store items with a simple facial recognition scan. The company says it has sped up R&D around smart upgrades and expanded into foreign markets.

Producers have shifted from old-style metal cabinets to smart lockers and from offline trade to cross-border e-commerce. By using overseas warehouses, working with foreign designers, and by studying overseas habits, they are adding industrial aesthetics and artificial intelligence to give traditional steel furniture a bold, modern rebirth.