Antai Textile: Dope Dyeing Technology Drives Upgrading, Functional Acrylic Products Seize Emerging Markets

In July 2025, as the summer cicadas chirped loudly in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, the production workshop of Antai Textile was a scene of orderly busyness. Li Xiong, the Marketing Manager, had just ended a video conference with a Southeast Asian client, a satisfied smile on his face. "The client showed strong interest in our 48-color environmentally friendly acrylic top, especially the antibacterial and flame-retardant series for outdoor sportswear, with a clear order intention," he turned to Factory Director Huang from the Production Department and said, "This is exactly the opportunity we aimed to seize when we laid out the dope dyeing technology ten years ago." As an established textile enterprise founded in 1993, Antai Textile has witnessed the entire process of China's textile industry shifting from scale expansion to quality improvement. In its main business areas of acrylic yarn, acrylic top, colored acrylic top, and fancy yarn, Antai Textile has long secured a position in the Yangtze River Delta region through stable quality and continuous innovation. Factory Director Huang pointed to the newly commissioned production line running at high speed in the workshop and introduced, "This dope dyeing acrylic production line was completed in pilot testing and officially put into production last year. Currently, it can stably produce 48 color spectrums with a color fastness of grade 4-5, fully meeting the needs of the high-end market. More importantly, compared with traditional dyeing processes, it saves 76% water. In the current context of increasingly tight water resources, this is not only a responsibility to the environment but also an important part of our product competitiveness." When talking about recent industry hotspots, Li Xiong felt deeply. "Indeed, the industry is now talking about breakthroughs in dope dyeing technology, which is both affirmation and encouragement for us," he said. Antai Textile, he noted,敏锐ly recognized several years ago that environmental pressures and market demand for differentiated products would become key to industry development, thus decisively increasing R&D investment in dope dyeing technology. "News reports say that the industry will focus on developing dope dyeing technology in 2025, expected to reduce carbon emissions in the dyeing and finishing process by 35%. In fact, the data from our new line is even more optimistic than this," Li Xiong said proudly, "This also confirms the forward-looking nature of our initial decision." Facing the regional differentiation of the market pattern, although Antai Textile is rooted in the Yangtze River Delta region, which accounts for 62% of the national production capacity, it has not blindly followed the trend of shifting production capacity to the west. Factory Director Huang explained, "The electricity fee concessions in central and western provinces can indeed reduce the per-ton cost, which we pay close attention to. However, we believe that for enterprises like Antai that focus on technology and quality, core competitiveness does not solely rely on production costs. By optimizing production processes, improving automation levels, and developing high-value-added functional products, we have also achieved effective cost control and improved profitability." He gave an example: the company's newly developed conductive acrylic yarn, although the raw material cost has increased, its added value has risen by more than 30% due to its unique functionality, and the gross profit margin has instead improved. Looking ahead to industry changes from 2025 to 2030, both Li Xiong and Factory Director Huang appear confident. "News reports mention that the differentiation rate will increase from 35% to 55%, which is exactly our strength," Li Xiong said. In recent years, Antai Textile has continuously increased R&D investment in functional acrylic products such as flame-retardant, antibacterial, and conductive ones, and has now formed a series of products widely used in protective clothing, medical and health care, smart home, and other fields. "Our fancy yarns closely follow fashion trends, with hundreds of new styles launched every year, which are deeply loved by domestic and foreign brand customers." In terms of export markets, Antai Textile is also actively responding to structural adjustments. "The share of traditional European and American markets may decline, which is both a challenge and an opportunity," Li Xiong analyzed. "The 8% annual growth rate in ASEAN and the Middle East is very impressive. We have set up an office in Vietnam and participated in multiple professional textile exhibitions in the Middle East, with remarkable results. These emerging markets are relatively price-sensitive, but their requirements for product functionality and environmental friendliness are also rising rapidly, and our dope-dyed acrylic and functional products can just meet their needs." Circular economy is another area that Antai Textile attaches great importance to. "Increasing the proportion of recycled acrylic from 3% to 12% is a very meaningful goal," Factory Director Huang said. The company has launched a research and development project for recycled acrylic, planning to use recycled PET bottle flakes and other raw materials to produce high-quality recycled acrylic fibers. "Although it is still in the laboratory stage, we are confident in achieving industrialization within the next two years. This will not only respond to the country's dual-carbon goals and promote a reduction in industry carbon emission intensity but also open up new raw material sources and product markets for us." From 1993 to 2025, Antai Textile has been deeply rooted in the fertile land of Zhangjiagang for 32 years. From its initial single acrylic yarn production to now a comprehensive textile enterprise covering acrylic top, colored acrylic top, fancy yarn, and various functional products, Antai Textile has always adhered to market orientation and driven by technological innovation. Li Xiong and Factory Director Huang stated in unison that in the future, Antai Textile will continue to keep up with industry development trends, increase R&D investment, optimize product structure, actively expand domestic and foreign markets, and contribute its strength to the high-quality development of China's textile industry. In this era full of changes and opportunities, Antai Textile is writing its own new chapter with its profound accumulation and forward-looking vision.