Lumber Liquidators Makes Virginia’s Fantastic 50

Richmond, VA, May 5--Lumber Liquidators of Colonial Heights is one of the fastest growing companies in Virginia. The hardwood flooring company, which claims to sell "better wood at a better price," made the Fantastic 50 list of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Even better, it topped the list in the retail/wholesale category, one of five areas judged. Tom Sullivan started the company in 1993, buying excess lumber from distributors, warehouses and lumberyards. "Ninety percent of the wood was perfect," Sullivan said. "They just needed to get it off their books." Sullivan sold the wood at steep discounts and began specializing in hardwoods, such as oak. He still buys excess wood but also buys directly from mills. He manages 32 warehouses around the country, selling directly to consumers and contractors. Three years ago, he moved from Boston and opened a finishing plant in Colonial Heights in addition to the main warehouse there. "I always had a dream of having a successful business," Sullivan, 42, said. "We started very small and just grew." He sells unfinished and pre-finished hardwoods as well as exotics, such as Brazilian cherry and Bolivian rosewood. His business employs a "couple hundred" people, he said. Companies were judged on sales revenue history. To be eligible, they had to be privately held with headquarters in Virginia and have annual sales of between $200,000 and $100 million in the four year period that ended in 2001.