The home textile industry in Tongzhou district, Nantong, Jiangsu province has actively embraced the current wave of industrial upgrading, encouraging companies to shift towards smart, high-end, and eco-friendly practices.

Of the 345 high-end textile companies above designated size in the area, 27 have already completed digital technology upgrades.

Lansiu, a comprehensive textile company, integrates modern production, product development, and marketing services. Between 2018 and 2019, the company invested 16 million yuan ($2.21 million) in a fully automated hanging production line from abroad and realized the integrated development of information technology.

In 2022, Lansiu launched a digital factory project using customer-to-manufacturer customization to personalize and automate the entire process from receiving the order to production, packaging, and delivery.

"After going fully digital, our production efficiency has increased by over 30 percent. With orders peaking from January to April, our foreign trade income for the first quarter ranges between $4 to $5 million, with output reaching 70 to 80 million yuan," said Cai Chunhua, IT director at Lansiu. All four smart production lines are currently fully operational, working at full capacity to meet orders.

Thanks to these smart upgrades, Tongzhou's traditional home textiles are steadily moving towards high-end products. In the first quarter of this year, the total sales of high-end home textile companies in the area reached 8.75 billion yuan, a 20 percent increase year-on-year, while the total output value was 9.59 billion yuan, up 15.9 percent year-on-year.

An intelligent system is used at the factory of Lansiu. [Photo/Nantong Daily]