Antai Textile: Booming Orders at New York Exhibition, AI Empowers 32-Year Textile Veteran to Lead the New Track of Functional Yarns

In late July in Zhangjiagang, the summer heat lingered, yet the office building of Antai Textile buzzed with busy vitality. Li Xiong, Marketing Manager, had just returned from the New York International Apparel & Textile Purchasing Show. Before unpacking his suitcase, he walked into the office of Factory Director Huang of the Production Department with a stack of customer feedback forms. "Director Huang, we had a great harvest at the New York exhibition. European and American customers' demand for functional yarns has grown significantly compared to last year, especially for outdoor and sports orders, specifically requesting samples of our acrylic and fancy yarns," Li Xiong said excitedly, his fingertips brushing a form marked 'Saucony Supplier Intent'—this high-end running shoe brand, with over 20% revenue growth in Q2, has higher requirements for 'lightness, elasticity, and breathability' of upper materials.

Taking the feedback form, Director Huang smiled as his eyes landed on the sample number of 'ice-feeling acrylic yarn': "The batch you mentioned just passed tests by a Fujian customer last week. They are a foundry for Anta's outdoor line. Previously dissatisfied with the poor breathability of traditional acrylic, our R&D team improved it using hollow cross-section fiber technology, increasing breathability by 15% and reducing weight by 8%. Now their parka fabric orders are scheduled through the end of the year." Pausing, he pointed to the intelligent workshop outside the window: "Last month, I attended the '2025 First China Textile & Apparel AI Conference' in Guangzhou. AI-empowered production is truly the industry trend. Our newly launched intelligent proportioning system can produce a batch of colored acrylic sliver—from inputting the Pantone color number to sampling—in just 4 hours, three full days faster than manual color mixing, with errors controlled within 0.5%."

This 'quick response' capability is the cornerstone of Anta Textile's 32-year industry深耕. Founded in Zhangjiagang in 1993 as a small workshop producing only basic acrylic sliver, it has grown into a modern enterprise with annual产能 exceeding 10,000 tons, boasting eight product series including acrylic yarn, colored acrylic sliver, and fancy yarn. Its clients range from domestic leading sports brands to century-old European outdoor clothing labels. "Look at this industry data," Li Xiong unfolded a report on his phone: "From January to June, national textile and apparel exports reached $143.98 billion, up 0.8% YoY; Vietnam's textile exports surged 13.5%. This reflects the global market's刚需 for 'high cost-performance + differentiation' products. Our new 'Star Dot Pattern' and 'Gradient Twist' fancy yarn series target sports brands' demand for 'function + aesthetics'—Anta's outdoor brands saw 50%-55% revenue growth, needing not just warmth and durability but also design appeal. Fabrics woven with these yarns shimmer subtly in sunlight, prompting many New York exhibition buyers to sample on the spot."

In the production workshop, Director Huang and his technical team were调试 newly arrived AI quality inspection equipment. As the camera swept over spinning machines, snow-white acrylic fibers were stretched and twisted; passing through intelligent sensors, real-time parameters like 'yarn evenness 98.7%' and 'hairiness index 3.2mg/m' appeared on the screen. "Previously,老师傅 relied on touch and visual inspection; now machines monitor 24/7, cutting defective rates from 1.2% to 0.3%," Director Huang noted, picking up a roll of newly produced colored acrylic sliver: "This is the 'Vintage Color Contrast Series' for 361 Degrees, whose offline sales rose 10% and online 20%. Young consumers favor bold colors, and our color fastness reaches Grade 4+, with no fading after 20 machine washes—this is our solid strength."

Back from New York, Li Xiong has been organizing overseas customer demand lists, circling a note on 'recyclable acrylic yarn': "Next week, the R&D department will meet to explore using recycled PET flakes to make high-elastic acrylic, drawing inspiration from Jilin Chemical Fiber's new material R&D." Gazing at the '1993-2025' timeline on the office wall—adorned with product samples from different eras, from initial white acrylic sliver to today's vibrant functional yarns—he mused: "Anta's 32 years are like spinning yarn: we must uphold the 'craftsmanship' as warp and weft, while keeping pace with 'intelligence'." Picking up the phone to contact another sports brand's design director, he added: "The second-half focus is weaving these new technologies and products into the 'New Silk Road' of global textiles."