Business Briefs for Oct. 16

VIRGINIA

Lumber Liquidators at top of Forbes' list

COVINGTON -- Lumber Liquidators Inc., the Toano-based seller of hardwood flooring, is ranked the No. 1 company on Forbes magazine's list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America.

Five of this year's top 10 are newcomers to the list, including Lumber Liquidators, which went public at the end of 2007.

The rankings are based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and over five years.

Sales at Lumber Liquidators jumped 12.5 percent for the 12 months that ended June 30, compared with the same period a year earlier. The company generated 506.56 million in revenue during the most recent period.

Earnings grew 41 percent during the same period.

Companies on the list must have annual revenue of between $5 million and $750 million, be publicly traded for at least a year and have a stock price no lower than $5.

Seventy-one companies on last year's list fell off.

Lumber Liquidators located in Colonial Heights in 1999. The company outgrew that location and in 2004 took over a plant off Interstate 64 near Williamsburg.

Rolls-Royce to start plant in Prince George

Rolls-Royce is preparing to start construction of a new aircraft-engine components plant in Prince George County.

A groundbreaking ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Monday. Rolls-Royce North America President and CEO James M. Guyette and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine are among the dignitaries scheduled to attend.

The start of construction comes nearly two years after Rolls-Royce announced that it would invest $100 million to build an aerospace manufacturing campus in Prince George. The British company's North American headquarters is in Chantilly.

MeadWestvaco vote goes to paperworkers

Covington Paperworkers Union Local 675 apparently has won the right to represent about 900 union members at a MeadWestvaco paper mill.

National Labor Relations Board spokesman Howard Neidig said yesterday that the paperworkers defeated the United Steelworkers Local 8-675 by a vote of 450-411.

Neidig said the board will certify the results in seven days if no challenges are filed.

The election was the third to try to determine who will represent the Covington plant's workers.

Reynolds to use grant for distance learning

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College has received a three-year federal grant to improve online programs that will aid displaced workers and adult learners seeking career changes.

Firstand second-year funding for Reynolds' distance-learning initiative totals $236,049. Third-year funding of $164,553, contingent on available federal funds, brings the total grant to $400,602.

Reynolds and Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, which will receive $365,487 for the first two years, were among schools in 20 states sharing $11.25 million in grants for 29 projects.

The grants were awarded through the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education.

Reynolds will use the funds to prepare students for the online learning environment and train faculty in the best practices for online teaching.

THE NATION

Pfizer, Wyeth close $68 billion merger

Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth have tied the knot in the drug industry's most expensive marriage this year.

Nine months after Pfizer announced a deal to buy Wyeth for $68 billion, the deal closed yesterday, a day after final approval came from the Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau.

Experts say it's a smart -- and necessary -- move for Pfizer, changing the company overnight from a marketing machine with some popular pills facing patent expirations into a diversified health-care giant.

That's because Wyeth, a major Richmond-area employer, is a big maker of biotech drugs, vaccines and animal and consumer products, as well as traditional pills such as blockbuster antidepressant Effexor.

Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker by revenue, solidifies that position by buying No. 13 Wyeth.

Amazon.com offers new shipping option

Amazon.com Inc., gearing up for the year-end holiday season, introduced a shipping service that provides same-day delivery to customers in seven U.S. cities.

Local Express Delivery covers New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Seattle and Washington, the company said. Amazon.com will charge $5.99 per item for members of a program called Amazon Prime, which costs $79 a year. For others, charges will depend on the product.

The same-day service will be extended to Chicago, Indianapolis and Phoenix in the coming months. -- Staff and Wire Reports