While the cotton spinning industry is still striving for the target of '30 workers per 10,000 spindles', a new project in Alaer, Xinjiang has set its sights on under 25 workers. Behind this is the chain reaction triggered by the country's longest-spindle smart spinning machine.
Intensive Land Use and Capacity Doubling
Xiangrun Textile's 150,000-spindle spinning project in Alaer Economic and Technological Development Zone, Xinjiang, with a total investment of 400 million yuan, is expected to be completed and put into operation in October 2026. Unlike traditional spinning workshops, the project's factory building covers only 43,800 square meters, reducing land occupation by 50%. This means capacity can be doubled on the same land area.
The intensive land use is backed by equipment innovation. Xiangrun Textile, in collaboration with the equipment manufacturer, has developed the country's longest spindle—2,448-spindle ultra-long smart ring spinning frame—and will introduce it throughout the new workshop. The integrated ultra-long frame significantly reduces workshop footprint, maximizing capacity layout in limited space.
Digital Control Replaces 'Experience-Based Production'
Traditional spinning workshops rely on workers' experience to judge equipment status and yarn breakage, resulting in low efficiency and quality fluctuations. Xiangrun Textile's new 2,448-spindle smart spinning machine is equipped with a complete smart data collection module that can seamlessly connect to the enterprise MES system.
The system can transmit data on output, energy consumption, equipment operation, and yarn breakage in real time, and issue automatic alerts for anomalies. This shifts production management from 'experience-based' to 'data-based'. For buyers, the direct benefit of digital control is improved stability and traceability of yarn quality.
Green Production and Cost Reduction
The equipment's transmission structure has been deeply optimized, saving 300 kWh per ton of cotton yarn. With a capacity of 150,000 spindles, the annual electricity savings are considerable. Meanwhile, the automatic doffing system reduces repetitive manual operations, keeping labor at under 25 workers per 10,000 spindles.
Against the backdrop of rising labor costs and stricter environmental requirements, this dual advantage of 'saving electricity + reducing labor' directly translates into cost competitiveness. For downstream weaving enterprises, choosing yarn from such green and smart production lines also means upgrading their own supply chain's low-carbon profile.
Implications for Industrial Clusters
Xinjiang, as a national high-quality cotton production base, is accelerating its shift from 'selling cotton' to 'spinning and weaving'. The landing of this project in Alaer not only boosts local spinning capacity but also introduces nationally leading smart equipment.
For downstream fabric producing areas like Keqiao and Shengze, the quality and cost advantages of Xinjiang cotton yarn will become more pronounced. As similar projects proliferate, the domestic cotton textile industry's 'east-to-west shift' pattern will further consolidate, while also forcing eastern enterprises to accelerate their own smart transformation.