Kyle, an Area Manager at Gerken Paving, Inc., remembers playing at Glenwood Park as a youngster. Its downtown location made it a favorite venue for Little League practices and games. He wished the ballfield could return to its glory days.

So when Kyle learned that the City of Napoleon planned to spend around $100,000 to replace the ballfield’s press box, he decided to get involved. Inspired by his experience working with community projects for Gerken, Kyle encouraged the City to think bigger. He also got The Gerken Companies and Vernon Nagel, Inc. to donate materials and labor for the project, which helped bring the City and park officials on board.

Work began in late summer 2023 with the demolition of the existing press box and restroom structure, fencing, dugouts, and bleachers, and the removal of existing sod and dirt. The project involved:

• Installing drainage
• Replacing the dirt with a field turf surface
• Building a structure to house the press box, restrooms, and concession stand
• Adding new fencing and backstop netting

The new ballpark offers a modern appearance and improved spectator experience. Workers lowered the field four feet and built concrete walls around the foul territory to provide more advantageous views.

As the undertaking progressed, additional donors approached Kyle to help. In all, thirty-two sponsors contributed time and money to transforming the beloved ballpark.

The renovated The Ballpark on Glenwood was ready in time for a ceremony on May 10, 2024, marking the start of the Little League season.

It had been more than fourteen years since Kuhlman Corporation last updated the flooring in its Yard 4 showroom. The concrete floor features a decorative design cut into it, but the sealing lacked the vibrancy that today’s products and equipment can produce. So, in February, the Yard 4 team began a two-month restoration project.

“We wanted to showcase a ground-polished, sealed floor,” says Dwayne Palmer, the store’s Operations Manager. “It’s what we call a grind, dye, and shine project.”

The undertaking would demonstrate decorative concrete’s visually pleasing and low-maintenance benefits, even in a high-traffic retail location.

Of course, refinishing a busy store’s flooring meant performing most work late at night and on weekends. It was worth it, as the project provided a valuable training opportunity.

“When we started the project, we had some newer counter salespeople at Yard 4,” recalls Dwayne. “Their involvement in the work taught them about the dyes and equipment we used, and now they can better answer questions from contractors and do-it-yourselfers.”

Completed in March, the new floor adds to the stamped, stenciled, stained, and colored decorative concrete samples on display at the Reynolds Road store.

Lake Erie’s North Bass Island lies midway between Port Clinton, Ohio, and Kingsport, Ontario. A popular summertime getaway, most of the 688-acre island remains undeveloped and preserved as North Bass Island State Park. Although accessed primarily by private boat or ferry service, the island has a small airport. And when its 1,800-foot airstrip needed repaving in 2019, the project presented unique logistical challenges. But Gerken was up to the task.

“We were interested in the job because we knew it would be a great job to put on our resume if we could accomplish it,” said Kyle Borstelman, Area Manager for Gerken Paving, Inc. So Gerken and the primary job contractor, Tenmile Creek Excavating, began working out the project’s details.

Transporting mix and equipment would involve a lengthy drive and ferry ride to the job site and be further complicated by weight limitations on the island’s deteriorating dock and roads. Before Gerken could begin its work, the island required costly dock improvements (performed by Geo Gradel Co.) and the creation of temporary roadways.

With those obstacles addressed, the Gerken team could focus on how to transport asphalt mix to the job without sacrificing product quality. The project would require approximately 3,600 tons of asphalt from Gerken’s Parkertown plant. Hauling the hot mix required an hour-long drive from the plant to the port and another hour on the ferry. With so much time between production and delivery, there was concern about temperature loss in the mix.

But asphalt mix was just one of many transportation challenges. Gerken would need to get job crews, pavers, rollers, and trucks to and from the island daily.

“We wanted our equipment off the island at the end of each day,” recalled Borstelman. “We didn’t want our equipment stuck out there in the event of bad weather.”

Needing 16 haul-truck loads for each day’s paving, Gerken initially hired two ferries per day from Miller Ferry. Each ferry could carry four trucks per trip, with 80 tons of asphalt, and make eight daily trips. Drivers in each four-truck group needed to travel as a convoy to reach the ferry together.

Gerken arranged the schedule so the two ferries passed at the halfway point on the lake, with four full trucks heading to the job site and four empty trucks returning to the plant.

Despite initial concerns about temperature loss, crews were happy to discover just a 15-degree drop from plant to paver, which adjusting the production temperature resolved.

To keep on schedule, the work crew on the island had to manage the sequence of four trucks per hour to allow drivers to arrive back at the dock in time for the next ferry. Each day’s first and last two ferries carried the crew and heavy equipment.

The National Center for Asphalt Technology awarded Gerken its Ray Brown National Airport Paving Award for the project, which exemplifies Gerken’s unique ability to respond to any challenge.

“We were thrilled we were able to succeed on this job,” Borstelman said. “There were a lot of moving parts that had to go just right for the job to be successful, but everyone on the project worked really well together.”

Since its founding in 1920, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has provided visitors unparalleled opportunities to encounter science. The Museum’s collections, featuring more than five million artifacts and specimens, offer unique perspectives and foster lifelong learning.

The Museum is nearing the end of a 17-year, $150 million renovation, expanding its complex, flooding a once-dreary place with bright light, and connecting exhibits to the outside world.

Inspired by the institution’s longstanding commitment to nature and sustainability, the exterior renovations feature water and stone elements. A new central visitors’ hall features a curving, cast-concrete roof with a flowing shape resembling a glacier. Its architectural design visually references the ice masses that covered the area nearly 10,000 years ago.

Part of that detail includes large flagstones from the Bluffton Stone Company.

When the Museum’s contractor invited Frank Brothers Landscape Supply to bid on supplying flagstone for part of the massive outdoor glacier effect, the Lodi, Ohio, company contacted The Bluffton Stone Company.

“Both the contractor and the Museum specified Alvar stone,” says Gary Frank. “Alvar is critical to the project’s ecological design.”

Alvar ecosystems are flat limestone or marble rock areas with thin soil layers and sparse vegetation. Most Alvars are in North America’s Great Lakes area and the Baltic region of Europe. They are vital habitats for several rare and endangered animal and plant species.

“Working with Susie Gilliland, we recommended The Bluffton Stone Company’s two-inch large flagstone to the project managers,” recalls Gary. “They insisted we send stone samples for testing to ensure its Alvar origin. The entire bidding process took almost three years.”

To date, The Bluffton Stone Company has shipped four 24-ton loads of large flagstone to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for the project, totaling 96 tons. Susie expects at least one additional order. She praises Andy Meyer and the team for their expertise in peeling the flagstone layer, ensuring the stones are the right color and thickness, and palleting loads to prepare them for shipping.

“It’s exciting to see our products used in such a large project like this,” says Susie.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History hopes to complete the renovation project by December 2024. The central visitors’ hall is due to open in October 2023.

Started in 1930, The Bluffton Stone Company produces limestone and non-limestone products and a unique color and composition flagstone for various landscaping projects.

Restoring animals to habitats resembling their natural ones was the goal of the Toledo Zoo’s AFRICA! Project. The ambitious undertaking is among the largest exhibit constructed at the Toledo Zoo and covers nearly five acres west of the Anthony Wayne Trail. A savannah-like natural setting is where more than 60 species co-existing in Africa—such as zebras, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, antelopes, and ostriches—enjoy far more freedom to roam than in a conventional zoo setting.

What you’ll hardly notice are the 4,000 cubic yards of Kuhlman concrete, plus drainage and waterproofing materials. Much of the concrete was used to construct
a long, winding underground retaining wall supporting the project, a tunnel for the train that encircles the exhibit, plus unobtrusive but effective walls to permanently contain the animals. Termite mounds, rocks, and streambeds—simulated out of concrete—are visible.

“It’s exciting to work at the zoo and know that this project will be here for the next 100 years with people continuing to go through it,” says Mark McGee, of the A.A. Boos Company, the project’s concrete contractor. CemRock, of Arizona, specializes in zoo exhibits across the United States and used Kuhlman concrete to “create” the concrete rocks for this exhibit and in the Artic Encounter, the zoo’s previous major project.

“This is a huge project,” said Stan Delventhal, vice president of A.A. Boos. “We’ve come to rely on Kuhlman Corporation. To build the walls, we used Symon’s new European Logo forming system distributed by Kuhlman. We used this metric-forming system with great support from Kuhlman salesman Chuck Naumann. What really helped is that Kuhlman conducted a Saturday seminar just for our people on how to use this system and convert everything to metric. The Logo system is extremely user-friendly, with minimal pieces and minimal ties. We probably could have done it without the seminar, but having it really helped our people know how to use it right away.”

Building a $9.1 million bridge with more than 21,000 cars crossing daily isn’t easy. Just ask Mosser Construction and Kuhlman Corporation. The companies worked together to construct the four-lane Fort Meigs Memorial Bridge, replacing the 75-year-old, two-lane bridge between Maumee and Perrysburg.

Challenges included:

• Building a new bridge only feet away from the busy, aging bridge at a bend in the Maumee River, where construction access is extremely limited
• Dealing regularly with traffic back-ups
• Constructing six large piers in the riverbed with continually changing water levels and a strong, rapid current
• Placing 5,800 cubic yards of special high-strength concrete mix during several all-night bridge deck pours
• Closing the old bridge to traffic during fall of 2002 to construct approaches and remove the old bridge

The new bridge more than doubled vehicle capacity. Kuhlman also provided 485 cubic yards of concrete to Oglesby Construction Co. for curbs and a 13-foot-wide pedestrian and cyclist sidewalk.

“Kuhlman did the best job I’ve ever seen on delivering concrete for a bridge. We never had to wait,” declared Steve Liskai, Mosser’s superintendent for the project. “The Kuhlman people were super to deal with. Late on a Friday afternoon in October 2001, river water started rising rapidly over the cofferdam. We needed to pour a 120-cubic-yard footer before the water got too high. Kuhlman dispatchers called in mixer drivers who had left for the weekend and quickly delivered the concrete we needed. Tim Casey, Kuhlman’s manager of concrete sales, even rushed down and collected our pumps and other equipment before they were submerged.”

“Kuhlman truly partnered with us on this job. The ‘A-Team’ support provided by Tim Casey on concrete, Chuck Nauman on concrete forms, and Proctor on deck hardware and accessories was great!” exclaimed Jeff Kutnyak, Mosser’s project manager. “When we needed extra forms, Chuck got them right away. Guy refigured our hardware needs, and Tim Casey was always there for us.”

Kuhlman also provided 11,500 jumbo-sized Belden bricks for retaining walls, Symons Max-A-Form panels for the piers, Dayton/Superior bridge form hardware, plus 15 other construction products.

In fact, you could call Kuhlman the club’s designated concrete/masonry hitter to project architects HNTB and The Collaborative, construction manager The Lathrop Company, and contractors Rudolph/Libbe, A.A. Boos, and G-A Masonry. Other Kuhlman customers on the project included Brooks Contracting, Great Lakes Concrete Restoration, E.S. Wagner, and Louis Irving Masonry.

The striking square-block downtown structure includes more than 10,000 cubic yards of Kuhlman ready-mixed concrete and ready-mixed masonry grout, delivered in more than 1,000 truckloads over 12 months. Plus, the tunnels, bleachers, and concrete walls throughout the facility were finished quickly and attractively with the pre-engineered German-made Paschal Logo concrete forming system provided by Kuhlman and Symons Corporation.

“It was our first time using this forming system, and it worked well,” explains Lee Schoeber, Rudolph/Libbe’s job superintendent for concrete. “It left a great finish on the concrete.” In addition, more than 20 other masonry products from Kuhlman were used to build Fifth Third Field, including approximately:

• 100,000 Belden “Rubigo Red” utility-sized bricks
• 8,000 Prairie Stone smooth- and rock-faced decorative blocks in 34 different shapes
• 100,000 square feet of masonry wire reinforcing
• 7,500 sacks of masonry mortar
• 1,000 tons of mason sand
• 10,000 square feet of flashing
• 6,000 feet of rebar
• 15,000 masonry anchors and pintles
• 700 cubic yards of masonry grout

The Kuhlman Corporation recognized that the Hens’ new home, unlike most buildings, would host millions of visitors over its lifetime.

Mud Hens’ General Manager Joseph Napoli declared, “Kuhlman provided the Mud Hens and Fifth Third Field with the highest caliber products, service, and workmanship. We’re proud to have Kuhlman on our team.”

Joe Zunk, job superintendent for The Lathrop Company, the stadium’s general contractor, stated, “Thank you, Kuhlman, for all your help with the Toledo Mud Hens’ new stadium.” Zunk added that he truly appreciates the attention he receives from Kuhlman representatives through every aspect of a project.

“Kuhlman is a company where the salespeople won’t leave you after the sale,” said Zunk.

Kuhlman is pleased to have been selected as a significant supplier to this landmark project, noted Company President Tim Goligoski. “We have been part of the fabric of downtown Toledo for 100 years, and it’s very gratifying to start our second century with a project as noteworthy as the new Mud Hens Stadium.”

Tilt-up can be the sturdiest, most cost-effective way to build large warehouses and manufacturing facilities. It has become the construction method of choice in Florida, Texas, and Southern California. Northwest Ohio’s level terrain is ideal for the large cranes needed on tilt-up projects. Rudolph/Libbe, Inc., general contractors, and Kuhlman are longtime partners in tilt-up projects through Northwest Ohio.

Tilt-up is a simple concept. Two thousand years ago, Roman builders discovered how to cast concrete slabs on the ground, let them harden, and then hoist them into position. This process was easier than building two upright wooden wall forms and pouring in wet concrete. Nineteen hundred years later, the advent of reinforced concrete permitted builders to cast large, tall, thin-walled panels that could be raised into position. In fact, one of the first tilt-up buildings in the United States is the 90-year-old mess hall at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Other major tilt-up developments followed after World War II:

• The introduction of mobile truck cranes
• The new availability of ready-mixed concrete
• A vast, pent-up demand for new construction

Rudolph/Libbe was the first Northwest Ohio contractor to work in tilt-up and has built more than 54 tilt-up projects totaling over 4 million square feet in five states. “Tilt-up structures aren’t the lowest initial cost to build, but the results are sturdier, more substantial structures that cost less to heat and cool, maintain and insure, plus offer earthquake and hurricane protection. They are less affected by poor weather during construction and require 15 to 20 percent less time to build,” explains Ben Less, Director of Building Systems, Rudolph/Libbe. “Over the years, we’ve teamed up with Kuhlman on a long list of tilt-up projects, including the Campbell Soup warehouse in Napoleon, the Wonder Bread Bakery and Alcoa Aluminum in Northwood, and numerous locations in Arrowhead Business Park in Maumee.”

“On a tilt-up project, when you need 120 yards an hour, you must have 120 yards an hour. Kuhlman’s quality control is excellent and the concrete is consistent. I’d give Kuhlman an A+ all around,” says Danny Grabarczyk, Construction Superintendent for Rudolph/Libbe.

“Kuhlman’s central batch system provides the same consistent mix, whether for 40 or 400 yards,” declares Fritz Rudolph, Chairman of Rudolph/Libbe. “In tilt-up, it’s crucial to achieve the desired consistent strength as soon as possible so that the concrete wall panels can be quickly lifted into place. Plus, Kuhlman is one of the few local suppliers preheating its aggregates, which helps in the winter.”

Over the decades, Kuhlman and Jeep have played major roles in helping build and grow Toledo. When Jeep needed a new state-of-the-art vehicle assembly facility, Kuhlman was right there during construction.

Kuhlman supplied concrete for over 800,000 square feet of flooring in the new paint shop and energy center. The concrete floors are six inches thick, and each cubic yard includes 50 pounds of steel fibers for improved tensile strength and durability. The J.S. Alberici Co., a St. Louis-based general contractor specializing in automotive plants, oversaw the projects.

“Alberici subcontracted most of the concrete work to the Colasanti Corp. of McComb Township, Michigan. Colasanti had not previously worked with Kuhlman but required a top-quality producer that would provide large quantities of concrete,” explained Tim Casey, sales manager for Kuhlman’s
concrete operations. It was a huge job. The daily demand often required 14 mixers simultaneously. Midway through the project, a change required lightweight concrete for part of the plant’s second floor. “Our quality control department engineered a very successful mix that pumped easily and met project specifications.”

“We interacted daily with Mike Jaworski, Colasanti’s job site supervisor. Mike’s needs changed day by day, but he’s a great planner. The pours went incredibly smoothly with good communication and cooperation with Kuhlman dispatchers Bill Edinger and Bryan Moore,” explains Casey.

“We can work very well with a customer when its field personnel make it clear what they need and when,” says Edinger, Kuhlman’s chief dispatcher. “Planning ahead is crucial. Mike would call me the afternoon before to request the next morning’s delivery, usually 90 cubic yards per hour for three to four hours, beginning promptly at 7 a.m..”

“It didn’t take Keith and Carey Colasanti—the brothers who run the company—long to realize that we always keep our commitments,” adds Casey. “They were impressed by our professionalism and how easy Kuhlman was to work with.”

Nearly four decades of bridges, sewer systems, underground utility lines, floor slabs, and basement walls throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan owe the strength and stability of their foundations to K-Krete Controlled-Density Fill.

K-Krete is Kuhlman Corporation’s exclusive cement- and fly-ash-based custom fill that’s called “the missing link” between compacted granular fills and concrete. In the 1960s, engineers from Kuhlman Corporation and Detroit Edison developed K-Krete CDF, combining Portland cement and environmentally safe recycled pozzolanic materials to create a faster, cost-effective material for trench and foundation backfill.

The versatile, stable fill can be custom-formulated to a project’s specific needs. It starts as a semi-liquid poured from a ready-mix truck. K-Krete CDF flows smoothly in any weather and distributes itself evenly around pipes and footings. In as little as four to six hours, it hardens and is firm enough to walk and drive over.

“K-Krete CDF saves us time and labor because we don’t need to compact backfill,” says Bob Jones, Co-President of UCONCO, a longtime Kuhlman customer. “What’s also great is that we can customize its formulation to meet a project’s particular needs.”

“K-Krete CDF provides excellent results with minimal shrinkage in backfilling around pipes, conduits, sewer systems, trenches, foundation walls, floor slabs, floors, and general backfill areas,” explains Tim Casey, Sales Manager of Kuhlman’s Concrete Division. “Plus, we use it to fill abandoned underground tanks and sewers and as a structural stabilizer to reduce settlement.”

Among area customers utilizing K-Krete are:

• The Ohio and Michigan Departments of Transportation
• The cities of Toledo, Sylvania, and Maumee, Ohio
• Adrian and Monroe, Michigan
• Toledo Edison
• Columbia Gas
• UCONCO
• The Bostleman Corporation
• Comte Construction
• Lathrop Construction
• Brooks Contracting
• Dunbar Mechanical

“We’ve used K-Krete CDF successfully in numerous applications,” says Bill Franklin, Commissioner of Streets, Bridges, and Harbor for the City of Toledo. “In the long run, its labor-saving qualities make it more economical than conventional backfill for most projects.”