Antai Textile: Empowered by Technology for Green Innovation, 'Stardust' Yarn Leads the New Trend in Knitted Fabric and Sequined Embroideries

The afternoon sun shines through the glass windows of the office building of Zhangjiagang Antai Textile, casting a warm glow on the desk of Li Xiong, the marketing manager. He is smiling at the data on the computer screen - he has just received an additional order from a well - known southern clothing brand, specifying the 'Stardust' series of fancy yarns that Antai Textile developed last month for their knitted fabric and sequined embroidery collection for next spring. 'They said the interweaving effect of the colored acrylic staple fibers and sequined yarns in this yarn has a better sense of hierarchy than similar products on the market, which perfectly fits the 'light vintage' style that young people like these days,' Li Xiong puts down his phone and runs his finger across the industry report on the screen. 'Look, this year's textile news all say that the annual compound growth rate of the knitted fabric and sequined embroidery industry will reach 8% - 10% by 2025, and the market scale will approach 30 billion. Consumption upgrading is prompting everyone to look for more unique materials. It's no accident that our fancy yarns can seize this opportunity.'

Behind this 'accident' is Antai Textile's 30 - year technological accumulation. When it was established in 1993, this textile enterprise located by the Yangtze River only focused on the production of basic acrylic yarn. Now, under the leadership of Factory Manager Huang in the production department, the intelligent transformation in the workshop has completely transformed the production line. Walking along the smooth corridor into the production workshop, instead of the roar of a traditional textile factory, you can hear the precise operation sound of robotic arms and the real - time data jumping on the electronic screens. 'In the past, when producing acrylic slivers, from raw material proportioning to drafting and setting, all parameters were adjusted by experienced workers based on their experience. The color difference of a batch of goods could reach up to three color numbers,' Factory Manager Huang points to the screen in the central control room, which shows the operating status of the No. 3 intelligent production line. 'Now it's different. We have introduced an industrial Internet system. The temperature, speed, and tension data of each device are uploaded in real - time, and the AI algorithm automatically adjusts the process parameters. Take the colored acrylic slivers as an example. Through the dope - dyeing technology combined with the intelligent color - matching system, the color fastness can be stably above level 4, and the color difference is controlled within 0.5 color numbers. Even customers who do OEM for international brands praise us for being 'more accurate than the color card'.'

The intelligent transformation not only improves the precision but also gives Antai Textile the 'flexible muscle' to respond to market changes. At the beginning of this year, a trend analysis of the sweetheart neck sweater market caught Li Xiong's attention - the report mentioned that the sweetheart neck sweater industry will undergo a 'flexible supply - chain upgrade' in the next three years, and small - batch, multi - batch orders will become the mainstream. 'Traditional acrylic yarn production was always in large batches. It took at least half a day to change the yarn variety,' Li Xiong recalls. He immediately held a meeting with Factory Manager Huang's team and decided to carry out a 'flexible transformation' on the No. 2 production line. Now, through the modular design and intelligent batch - changing system of this production line, the time for switching between different specifications of acrylic yarn or fancy yarn has been reduced from four hours to 45 minutes. 'Last month, a fast - fashion customer suddenly added an order for 500 kilograms of 'cloud blue' acrylic yarn and required delivery within a week. In the past, we would definitely have declined the order. Now, we adjusted the production schedule and used the flexible line for interleaved production. Not only did we deliver the goods on time, but the cost was also 8% lower than traditional production,' Factory Manager Huang says with pride.

In today's era when green manufacturing has become an industry consensus, Antai Textile's 'environmental protection card' is also outstanding. Walking into the dyeing and finishing workshop, instead of the pungent dye wastewater, you can see a closed - loop water circulation system. 'The news always says that environmentally friendly surface treatment technology is the trend. We started to layout it five years ago,' Factory Manager Huang points to the environmental protection certification on the wall. 'For example, for the colored acrylic slivers, we use formaldehyde - free environmental - friendly color masterbatches. The COD emission during the production process is 40% lower than the national standard. The post - finishing process of acrylic yarn has also been replaced with the bio - enzyme desizing technology, which is not only more environmentally friendly but also improves the softness of the yarn by one level.' This commitment to green development has enabled Antai Textile to take the lead in cooperation in the women's casual T - shirt industry - last year, a leading women's clothing brand launched a 'sustainable fashion' collection, specifying the use of Antai Textile's environmentally friendly acrylic yarn. This collection was sold out three times within three months of its launch.

From a small yarn factory in 1993 to an industry benchmark producing 12,000 tons of acrylic yarn and 8,000 tons of fancy yarn annually, the story of Antai Textile is a microcosm of the transformation and upgrading of the Chinese textile industry. On Li Xiong's desk, there is a thick 'Product R & D Plan for 2025', which includes 'light - warm acrylic slivers' for the sweetheart neck sweater market and 'antibacterial fancy yarns' for high - end home textiles. 'There is no permanent market opportunity in the textile industry, but there is always innovation,' Li Xiong closes the plan book and looks out of the window - there is no black smoke from the chimney of the workshop, only a faint steam blending into the clear sky of Zhangjiagang. 'Our generation at Antai is determined to make 'Chinese yarn' have both the precision of technology and the warmth of green development.'