He takes panes to build his business.

• Position: Richard Van Wingerden

You can't choose your family. But Richard Van Wingerden isn't complaining. Van Wingerden Greenhouse Co.'s president has a bonus few businessmen can count on: 14 siblings to throw work his way.

He makes greenhouses. Since his 10 brothers and four sisters either grow plants or are married to growers, he's got a ready-made client base. But there's plenty of competition from other manufacturers, so he has to nurture his ties. "We try our best," he says, conceding he offers a family discount.

His Horse Shoe-based company is the fifth- or sixth-largest greenhouse maker in the United States and the largest in the state. Clients range from independents to the biggest operators. "We'll sell a $5,000 greenhouse or a $2.5 million greenhouse," he says. Computers control venting, heating and lighting, so he hopes they run themselves. "A greenhouse has virtually become a plant factory."

While Van Wingerden, 37, sticks to assembling glass and plastic houses, his siblings churn out plants, selling to Wal-Mart, Kmart, Home Depot. Brother Tom, for instance, runs the biggest greenhouse in the state, 1.8 million-square-foot Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville. "As kids, we were groomed to be in this business," Richard says in a faint Dutch accent. "I was more a little bit technical."

His father, Aart, moved from Holland to the United States after World War II. He set up a greenhouse company in Pompton Plains, N.J., where Richard was born, the 12th child. "And the best, too, I guess," he jokes. He followed his father to California, Illinois, Ohio, back to Holland and finally to North Carolina.

Before he died of lung...