Antai Textile Steps in Tune with Green Production Rhythm, Colored Acrylic Yarn Orders Surge 35% Year-on-Year
In Zhangjiagang in July, the summer heat is rising, but there is a steady bustle in the production workshop of Antai Textile – neatly stacked acrylic tops flow orderly on the conveyor belt, and after drawing and twisting, they gradually turn into rolls of vibrant colored yarn. Li Xiong, the Marketing Manager, stands at the workshop observation window, holding a freshly printed industry weekly report. His fingertips glide over the words "yarn output of enterprises above designated size increased by 4.9% year-on-year" and "chemical fiber output increased by 5.5%". He turns to Factory Director Huang from the Production Department and smiles, "Brother Huang, the colored acrylic top production capacity we adjusted this spring has really stepped in tune with the rhythm now."
This "stepping in tune" adjustment dates back three months. At that time, while analyzing market data, Li Xiong noticed that with the recovery of the consumer market, downstream clothing brands' demand for environmentally friendly and efficient fiber raw materials had significantly increased. In particular, dope dyeing technology, with the advantages of eliminating the post-dyeing process and reducing energy consumption, was becoming a new industry hotspot. Just then, the news that Hebei Aikerui Fiber Co., Ltd. had obtained authorization for the "Preparation Method of Dope-Dyed Acrylic Black Fiber" came, further strengthening his judgment: "Technological breakthroughs in colored fibers are not isolated incidents; behind this is the entire industry's collective response to green production and personalized demand."
That afternoon, Li Xiong went to find Factory Director Huang with the data and news. As a "veteran textile man" who has worked at Antai Textile for 20 years, Factory Director Huang's sensitivity to production processes is no less than that of the market side: "Our colored acrylic tops have long used dope dyeing technology. Color masterbatch is mixed in from the acrylonitrile monomer stage, resulting in color fastness that is more than 3 levels higher than traditional dyeing, and reducing nearly 200 tons of wastewater discharge per ton. Now that the market wants this, we have to amplify our advantages." The two hit it off immediately and decided to optimize the production lines – transforming two ordinary acrylic top production lines into dedicated colored lines, introducing an automated color matching system, expanding color options from 120 to 180, and focusing on increasing production capacity for popular colors such as Morandi colors and high-saturation bright colors.
The effect of the adjustment quickly became apparent. Entering the second quarter, as sales of outdoor clothing such as sun-protective clothing and sportswear climbed (the news that Huilong New Materials' dope-dyed polyester fiber was used in sun-protective clothing had particularly caught Li Xiong's attention), Antai Textile's colored acrylic yarn orders increased by 35% year-on-year. "Last week, a customer from Zhejiang who makes outdoor children's clothing specifically requested our 'mint green' acrylic yarn, saying this color is particularly popular in children's sun-protective clothing, and our yarn has a moisture content 2% higher than the industry average, making it more breathable for children to wear," Li Xiong flipped through the order records, his tone带着 a touch of pride. "This is the confidence built up over our 30 years – starting from a small workshop in Zhangjiagang in 1993, now with an annual output of 30,000 tons of acrylic top and 18,000 tons of acrylic yarn. It's not luck; it's about keeping an eye on the market and adapting to technological changes."
However, market fluctuations are never absent. In early July, when news came that Shandong Haijiang's 130,000-ton acrylonitrile plant had an unexpected shutdown for maintenance, Factory Director Huang was inspecting raw material inventory in the workshop. Acrylonitrile is a core raw material for acrylic production, accounting for more than 60% of production costs, and raw material prices and supply stability are directly related to production continuity. "I really felt a tightness in my chest at that time," Factory Director Huang admitted, "but we were prepared – we signed a long-term agreement with Jilin Petrochemical, whose new 260,000-ton plant will start production at the end of the month, and we are among the first enterprises to lock in quantities; when Lihuayi lowered its quotation by 50 yuan/ton, the purchasing department took the opportunity to replenish a batch of spot goods. Now the acrylonitrile in stock is enough to last 45 days, which can completely stabilize production." This敏锐 grasp of the raw material market stems from Antai Textile's years of supply chain management experience – as early as 2018, the company established a raw material price early warning mechanism, dynamically adjusting procurement strategies based on industry capacity changes and futures market data, and raw material cost fluctuations have been controlled within ±3% in the past five years.
In the workshop, the newly renovated fancy yarn production line is operating at full capacity. Factory Director Huang points to a running hollow spindle machine and introduces: "This is the sixth-generation equipment we introduced this year. It can produce 'slub + loop' composite fancy yarn, which has a 20% higher premium space than ordinary yarn. Now young people like textured fabrics, and this kind of yarn is particularly popular in knitted sweaters and home clothes." In the R&D laboratory, the technical team is conducting light resistance tests on a batch of black acrylic tops – "When we saw Hebei Aikerui's black fiber patent, we launched benchmarking R&D," Li Xiong补充道. "Our black acrylic tops now have a light resistance level of 4, do not fade after 50 washes, and will be able to supply several leading men's clothing brands in bulk next month."
From the first strand of acrylic top rolling off the production line in 1993 to now covering a full range of products such as acrylic yarn, colored acrylic top, and fancy yarn, Antai Textile's 30 years are a microcosm of China's textile industry shifting from scale expansion to quality improvement. When industry data shows that the consumer market remains active, and when dope dyeing technology becomes a key word for green transformation, this enterprise rooted in Zhangjiagang has always used the combined strategy of "market acumen + technological reserves + supply chain resilience" to gain a firm foothold in niche areas. "Just yesterday, a customer asked if we could customize a 'gradient rainbow color' acrylic top," Li Xiong looks at the yarn shuttling in the workshop, a smile in his eyes, "I said no problem, samples will be ready next week – after all, the speed of meeting demand is the confidence that keeps us steady in the industry."