Kuhlman Corporation: Not just concrete!
You may see the Kuhlman concrete mixers on the road and think that is all they do… but don’t stop there. Kuhlman has an entire line of building materials and services for the construction industry.
- Concrete (about half of all sales)
- Decorative Concrete products
- Brick, Architectural Stone, Brick and Concrete Pavers, and Hardscape Products
- Concrete and Masonry Accessories
- Sewer and Water products
- Concrete Forming and Floor Prep Equipment
- Bulk Trucking Service (any bulk material requiring a dump truck in the Toledo area)
Kuhlman Corporation has seven facilities. These include the Main Office and concrete plant in Maumee, two facilities in Toledo, and locations in Woodville and Akron, OH, and Monroe, MI. Today, Kuhlman employs about 150 people. The business is now in its 120th year of operation.
Kuhlman Concrete
Kuhlman is one of the largest producers of ready-mixed concrete for industrial, commercial, residential, and public works construction in our region. A concrete recycling operation in Toledo rounds out their full-service production facilities. They deliver to projects large and small. The largest single-day concrete pour Kuhlman has ever orchestrated was in 2018 at Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) facility. In just 10.5 hours, they placed almost 5000 cubic yards of concrete!
Construction Products
Kuhlman offers an extensive selection of brick, architectural stone, and hardscape products for residential and commercial applications. Also available is a complete line of underground products, including sewer and water pipes, hydrants, valves, fittings, and geotextile fabrics. Symons and Meva concrete-forming systems are available for sale or rent at Kuhlman facilities in Toledo and Akron. Kuhlman has a full line of floor prep equipment available for sale or rent for grinding, polishing and cleaning concrete surfaces.
The concrete and masonry specialty items sold by Kuhlman are tools, restoration products, concrete curing and sealing compounds, rebar and wire mesh for concrete reinforcement, and decorative concrete products for staining, coloring, stamping, and texturing concrete. Contractors use Kuhlman as a resource for mortars, patching and repair products, caulks, epoxies, masonry reinforcing, insulation and flashing, concrete block, and waterproofing materials.
Bulk materials such as mason sand, concrete sand, decorative pebbles, landscape boulders, and berm stone are sold at Kuhlman facilities. They provide dump truck services to contractors for delivery of stone products to construction sites and also help customers with their rough-hauling needs.
Kuhlman Bulk Materials Facility: Yard 1
You’ve seen it when you pass by the South Street exit on I-75. Kuhlman’s mammoth bulk materials storage and production facility is located on the Maumee River in the Port of Toledo. It is one of the largest, most accessible, and best-organized bulk material warehouses on the Great Lakes handling fertilizers, road salt, aggregates, and agricultural products. The address is easy to remember: Kuhlman Drive. These bulk materials arrive via ships and railcars, and depart typically by truck or rail. The site provides complete protection for more than 100,000 tons of material with segregated storage areas and a sophisticated conveyor handling system. Seven acres of hard-surfaced outdoor storage is available. Kuhlman’s rail unloading system and railcar storage yard, with direct connections to several railroad systems, is an essential part of their system, as is direct access to I-75 and to I-80/90.
It’s the People!
We asked Ken Kuhlman, President, what sets Kuhlman Corporation apart in his field? He had no trouble providing multiple answers. Per Mr. Kuhlman:
- “Our employees are a very knowledgeable, experienced, hard-working group. They stay with us (many over 20 years), which benefits our customers. We invest in our employees regularly with training and education. (Note: Mr. Kuhlman has been with the company 42 years!)
- “Portable Concrete Plants can be set up on job sites for large projects anywhere and are a tremendous bonus for the contractor since the plant is dedicated to the project.
- “Stability. Reliability. Great equipment.
- The family company culture has secured a staff with a great work ethic. My great grandfather is the founder, and the family is still active. We have always believed in, ‘Doing things right for our customers, employees and community, and doing things for the long term.’
- “Relationships. We have many long-term vendors we can rely on. That enables us to do a better job. The result of these supportive relationships is many loyal customers.
- “We’re always looking for a more efficient and more economical way for our customers to complete their work. To do this, we stay on top of new products and methods in the construction materials field and share them with our customers. We help them solve problems, applying our combined employee knowledge and experience. They look to us to provide answers. Every day we come in and do the best job we can for our customers,” concluded Mr. Kuhlman.
Arrowhead Park
Kuhlman moved to their 1845 Indian Wood Circle address in 2005, moving from their 1997 building on Beaver Creek Circle. “We like being in the heart of the park and near Eppstein Park.” We saw the benefits and were an early investor in Arrowhead Park in the 1980s. We’ve owned/built various properties and warehouses in the park over the years. We are big advocates of our Park and Northwest Ohio,” shared Terry Schaefer, VP Finance/CFO.
Community Involvement
Kuhlman gives back to the community in quiet ways, consistently. Mr. Kuhlman shared, “The community supports us; we need to give back to the community with time, talent and treasure. Our employees work long hours during the construction season, but they still find time to give back to the community. We enjoy being involved with our community treasures like the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Zoo and others.”
Success
Kuhlman’s number one goal is to make its customers successful because when its customers — contractors, architects, engineers, plant and facility managers, and bulk shippers — are successful, they return to Kuhlman. This service foundation was laid by bricklayer Adam Kuhlman when he went into the building supply business in 1901. By making its customers successful, Kuhlman has grown into the essential supplier for Northern Ohio and Southeast Michigan we know today.
