Antai Textile: 32 Years of Focused Expertise and Innovation, Dope Dyeing Technology Forges an Invisible Champion in Colored Acrylic Fiber
In Zhangjiagang in July 2025, as the summer heat intensified, the office of Antai Textile's Marketing Department exuded a calm sense of focus. Spread out in front of Li Xiong, the Marketing Manager, was a demand research report on textile brands in the Yangtze River Delta region over the past six months, with keywords from customer feedback scrolling on the screen: "eco-friendly dyeing", "stable color fastness", "30-day quick delivery", and "low-saturation Morandi color palette". "When there are no 'hot news' stories, it is precisely a critical period for the industry to brew new directions," Li Xiong said as his fingertips划过 a set of data – the order volume of a leading sportswear brand's eco-friendly product line had increased by 42% year-on-year, and the "dope-dyed acrylic sliver" they specifically requested was one of Antai Textile's core flagship products.
Founded in 1993 along the banks of the Yangtze River, this textile enterprise has evolved from initial acrylic raw material processing to now an invisible champion in China's colored acrylic sliver sector. Its 32-year development trajectory is akin to a microcosm of China's textile industry shifting from "scale expansion" to "focused expertise and innovation". "When we first came into contact with dope dyeing technology in 1998, the industry was still competing over 'who could dye more vivid colors', but Factory Director Huang said back then, 'The real competitiveness lies in making colors both good and "clean".'" The "Factory Director Huang" Li Xiong referred to is Huang Zhiqiang, Director of Production. A veteran textile professional with 28 years of experience working on the factory floor, he now leads a 50-person technical team, ensuring the stable operation of Antai Textile's 22 intelligent production lines.
"Traditional dyeing processes consume nearly 100 tons of water per ton of acrylic fiber, and dye residues in wastewater pose a major environmental challenge," explained Huang Zhiqiang, standing in the dope dyeing workshop maintained at a constant 25°C and pointing to the operating screw extruder. "Our colored acrylic sliver is produced by adding eco-friendly color masterbatches during the raw material melting stage, forming in one step and eliminating the subsequent dyeing process. This directly reduces water consumption by over 80%, with color fastness stably reaching Level 4 or higher – meaning that even after wearing clothes for three years, the necklines and cuffs will not easily fade." Last year, Antai Textile invested 12 million yuan to upgrade its "intelligent color matching system", which is the proud achievement of Director Huang's team: customers only need to provide color cards or Pantone color numbers, and the system can complete formula simulation within 2 hours, produce samples in 3 days, and deliver small-batch orders in as fast as 7 days.
Such "hard power" has enabled Antai Textile to stand firm amid the fluctuations in the textile industry over the past two years. Earlier this year, a Hangzhou apparel brand engaged in cross-border e-commerce approached Li Xiong, requesting a custom batch of "macaron-colored acrylic yarn", with only 500 kilograms per color and a delivery deadline of 10 days. "Five years ago, we couldn't take on such small-batch, multi-color orders – traditional dyeing requires adjusting and cleaning vats, which alone takes 3 days of preparation work," Li Xiong recalled. He immediately contacted Director Huang, and the technical team used the "flexible production model" of dope dyeing to inject different color masterbatches into the production line in proportion, ultimately completing delivery 2 days ahead of schedule. Today, such "urgent orders" and "small orders" account for 35% of Antai Textile's orders, with its client list including domestic first-tier knitting brands and Japanese-Korean fast fashion enterprises.
At its 120-mu (80,000 square meters) production base in Zhangjiagang, in addition to colored acrylic sliver, Antai Textile's acrylic yarn and fancy yarns also hold a significant position. "The 'snowflake acrylic yarn' developed last year was a hit in the children's clothing market in Zhili, Zhejiang, with customers placing three additional orders," Li Xiong said with a smile. This "starry" texture, formed through special spinning processes, is an innovation by the technical team targeting Generation Z's demand for "personalized styling". Supporting these innovations is the company's annual R&D investment of no less than 5% of its revenue, as well as the "Dope Dyeing Materials Joint Laboratory" co-established with the Textile Research Institute of Jiangnan University.
"The textile industry is never short of 'hot trends'; what it lacks is the patience to turn trends into strength," Li Xiong stated firmly, standing in front of the raw material warehouse on the factory premises and looking at a newly arrived batch of imported eco-friendly color masterbatches. "From the first spinning machine in 1993 to now producing over 1,200 colors of acrylic products, Antai Textile's next goal is to make 'dope dyeing' a 'green choice' for more brands – this may not make 'headline news', but making every meter of yarn carry responsibility and warmth is enough."