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• Position: STATEWIDE: Charlotte - Brief article

A lot of Carolinas textile families got slammed by the shift to foreign manufacturing, their businesses disappearing. The Pharrs in Gaston County bucked the trend by diversifying and thinking ahead. In early July, the family owners changed the corporate name to just Pharr from Pharr Fiber & Yarns, reflecting broader ambitions. "It's just a way of marketing ourselves to others, while it's just as important in how we market to our employees and future employees," says CEO Bill Carstarphen, whose grandfather, W.J. "Bill" Pharr, joined with Robert and Daniel Stowe to start the business in McAdenville in 1939. It became one of the world's biggest carpet yarn makers. Pharr also acquired in 2015 a...