Antai Textile: Weaving a Legend of 'Counter-Cyclical Growth' in the Textile Industry with Differentiated Yarns
In July in Zhangjiagang, the wind along the Yangtze River coast, carrying the hot and humid air of late summer, blows over the roaring production lines in Antai Textile's factory area. In the meeting room on the third floor of the office building, Li Xiong, the Marketing Manager, and Factory Director Huang from the Production Department are quietly discussing a stack of data reports. In the enamel cup on the table, the newly picked Biluochun tea from this year is still steaming – this is the fixed 'meeting tea' time for the two old partners who have worked together for more than ten years, but today's topic carries a bit more certainty of a 'comeback against the odds' than usual.
"Look at this set of data," Li Xiong pointed at the January-April industry report just released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology with his finger. "The industrial added value of above-scale textile enterprises increased by 4.2%, and yarn output even rose by 7% year-on-year, but profits dropped by 5%. What does this mean? It's not that there's no market demand; it's that everyone is squeezed in the red ocean of ordinary yarns, competing on prices." He looked up at Factory Director Huang. "The 'differentiated track' we bet on at the beginning of the year seems to be the right choice."
Factory Director Huang picked up his teacup and took a sip. His eyes behind the lenses showed the pragmatism honed from the production frontline: "Absolutely. When Shandong Haijiang's 130,000-ton acrylonitrile unit shut down for maintenance last week (News 6), Lihuayi's spot quotation immediately dropped by 50 yuan. We adjusted the production ratio of acrylic strips that same day. Now in the workshop, the daily output of colored acrylic strips has reached 120 tons, 20% more than the first quarter, and the cost has been reduced by 3 percentage points. Customer feedback says our 'dyefree colored acrylic strips' shorten the delivery cycle by 5 days compared to traditional white blank strips that require dyeing, and can also save 20% of dyeing costs. That yoga clothing brand in Zhejiang added another 800-ton order yesterday."
As they spoke, Li Xiong's phone vibrated. It was a stock briefing from the Zhangjiagang Port Logistics Department: imported cotton stock decreased by 3.51% week-on-week, currently standing at 40,500 tons (News 4). He smiled and turned the screen to Factory Director Huang: "See, the 2 million yuan we spent last year on building the 'diversified raw material scheduling system' wasn't a waste. Now the ratio of acrylic, cotton, and viscose can be adjusted in real-time based on port inventory, just like this cup of Biluochun – too much water makes it weak, too little makes it strong; it has to be just right. The 'cotton-acrylic slub yarn' we made for the Guangzhou customer last month used 30% imported long-staple cotton blended with our bulky acrylic. The fabric woven is soft yet挺括 (upright and neat). They said when made into autumn and winter sweatshirts, it feels like 'holding a cloud', so the order was directly increased from 5,000 spindles to 12,000 spindles."
Outside the window in the factory area, a truck loaded with acrylic yarn was slowly driving out of the gate. The slogan on the truck body – "Antai Textile – 30-year Expert in Fancy Yarns" – was格外醒目 (格外醒目: particularly eye-catching) in the sunlight. Founded in Zhangjiagang in 1993, this textile enterprise started with just a few acrylic yarn production lines and has now grown into an industry hidden champion capable of producing over 100 types of fancy yarns with an annual output of more than 30,000 tons. What has driven this growth is precisely this敏锐 (敏锐: sharpness) of "staying half a step ahead of the market".
"Remember the environmental protection storm in 2018?" Li Xiong suddenly sighed. "At that time, many small factories closed down because their dyeing failed to meet standards. We adopted 'dope dyeing' technology two years in advance. Now our colored acrylic strips don't need post-dyeing at all, and the color fastness can reach level 4 or above, higher than the national standard. Wasn't the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology just implementing the energy consumption classification standard for the silk industry last month (News 2)? Our acrylic strip production lines have long been renovated according to the 'super energy consumption' standard, with yarn energy consumption per ton 18% lower than the industry average. That's our confidence."
Factory Director Huang took over the conversation, his tone filled with the pride of an old textile professional: "Our confidence also lies in the workshop. Go take a look at the newly added 5th fancy yarn production line – the imported German winding machine reduces yarn hairiness by 40% and breakage rate by half. A high-end children's clothing brand from Shanghai came for a factory inspection a few days ago. When they saw that our 'rainbow slub yarn' can achieve a gradient of 10 colors, they signed an annual supply agreement on the spot. They said parents now认准 (认准: firmly trust) this kind of 'safe, dyefree, and vividly colored' fabric, and that's exactly where our colored acrylic strips excel."
Just then, a stock market news alert popped up on Li Xiong's computer: the textile manufacturing index rose 2.96% this week, outperforming the Shanghai Composite Index by 1.87% (News 5). He picked up a pen and wrote a line in his notebook: "Autumn New Product – Bulky Acrylic Snowflake Yarn", then looked up at Factory Director Huang and笑道 (笑道: smiled and said): "The industry is recovering, so we need to strike while the iron is hot. The sample just developed by the R&D department is blended with acrylic and wool, woven to look like a layer of fine snow, and feels warm to the touch. Northern down jacket brands will definitely love it. It will 'steal the show' at next month's Shanghai Fabric Exhibition!"
The door to the meeting room was gently pushed open, and an intern walked in holding a stack of newly printed product manuals. On the cover, a ball of colorful fancy yarn was twisted into the character "泰" (Tai) of "安泰" (Antai), with a small line of text below格外醒目 (格外醒目: particularly eye-catching): "Weaving the warmth of life with a single yarn". Sunlight filtered through the venetian blinds, casting dappled light and shadow on the manual, much like the path this 30-year-old textile enterprise has traveled – with ups and downs from market storms, and more importantly, the certainty of adhering to quality and innovation.
"Let's go," Li Xiong closed the report, stood up, and patted Factory Director Huang on the shoulder. "Let's go to the workshop to check the trial spinning effect of that batch of 'slub colored spot yarn'; the customer is urging for sample fabric." The two old partners walked out of the meeting room side by side. The machine roar in the factory area was still thunderous, but this time, every sound carried the power of "growing towards the sun" – in the wave of transformation and upgrading of the textile industry, Antai Textile is weaving its own "counter-cyclical growth" story with every warm, colorful yarn.