Family ties: the Capels have stitched together a business producing braided rugs for nearly a century.

• Author: Duckwall, Jane
• Position: PICTURE THIS

When it comes to bad timing, Leon Capel's first product came close. Nearly a century ago, the teenager started making braided rope to replace leather reins that farmers used to guide their horses. When tractors replaced horse-drawn labor, he diversified and established a rug business that's still family-owned and now run by his grandchildren. Troy-based Capel Inc. makes tens of thousands of rugs a year, many selling for thousands of dollars through such prominent retailers as L.L. Bean, Pottery Bam, Williams-Sonoma and Macy's.

The 17-year-old Capel founded in 1917 what today is one of North Carolina's oldest manufacturers. In 1936, he bought the first of two spinning mills to assure a steady supply of fiber. In the 1950s, the company signed retailers such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., and in 1963, it began importing mgs to complement its own manufacturing. In 2003, it added a plant in Dalton, Ga.

Capel, which calls itself "America's rug company," says it is the nation's largest maker and importer of area rugs. (The privately held company doesn't disclose revenue.) Cameron Capel, the founder's granddaughter and vice president for national accounts, says its history reflects how the company has survived recessions, wartime rationing of materials, and changing markets and competition. Capel thrives by "changing with the times, learning new, better and more efficient ways of manufacturing," and keeping ahead of trends, she says.

The company has about 150 employees in Troy at its office, store and five plants, where they make 10,000 braided rugs a year. They begin with raw material such as cotton and wool; card, twist and spin it into yarn; dye it; then braid and sew it into rugs. Leon Capel began with cotton for his plow-horse reins, and it's still used in the rugs, along with nylon, polypropylene, polyester...