The gig: Sean Gildea, 48, is president of Oceanside Glasstile. Since its founding in 1992, "before recycling was really happening," Gildea said, the firm has used large amounts of recycled glass to make tiles for kitchens, baths, swimming pools and fireplaces.
A Tijuana factory employs 290 people, and an additional 40 workers are at company headquarters in Carlsbad.
The niche: The company's tiles are sold mainly through third-party showrooms across the U.S. and in more than 20 other countries. The company provides design consulting services for its clients, many of whom are interior decorators, and has online programs in which customers can mix shapes, textures, sizes and colors of tile into thousands of designs.