The Kuhlman Corporation name traces back to Adam R. Kuhlman, a German immigrant’s son who toiled as a bricklayer and masonry contractor. In the late 1890s, Kuhlman and Richard Kind formed the Kuhlman-Kind Co. and began selling building materials to the construction trade. In 1901, Kuhlman-Kind merged with three other companies to become Toledo Builders Supply. Adam Kuhlman was vice president of the new firm until 1916, when he became its president.

Toledo Builders Supply operated yards on Cherry Street and East Toledo’s Main Street. More locations followed on Water Street, South St. Clair Street, Sylvania Avenue, and Dorr Street. In 1902, Adam Kuhlman invested in a Consaul Street brick-making firm called the Ohio Brick Co. Brick-making operations continued until the site ran out of clay in the early 1940s.

Leaving Toledo Builders Supply in the mid-1920s, Adam Kuhlman ventured out to launch the Kuhlman Builders Supply and Brick Co. His new company became a success, and in 1928, Kuhlman Builders acquired Toledo Builders Supply. Adam became a solid civic presence in Toledo, leading the Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, and Lutheran Old Folks Home.

A Pioneer in Ready-Mixed Concrete

In 1928, Kuhlman became the first company in Northwest Ohio, and among the first in Ohio, to enter the ready-mixed concrete business. Its first mixer had a two-cubic-yard capacity and cost $3,000. During the Great Depression, a fleet of five concrete mixer trucks helped keep the company afloat by giving Kuhlman a competitive edge when bidding on the few construction projects underway.

Today, Kuhlman retains its position as the region’s foremost supplier of ready-mixed concrete. The company mixes hundreds of concrete formulations to meet exacting project specifications, supplying projects from residential driveways to complex industrial facilities.

A Second Generation

In addition to business slowdowns, the Depression era marked the passing of Adam Kuhlman. Following his death in 1933, the company passed to his sons, Charles and Edwin. Charles was elected president while Edwin ran daily business operations. Like other companies, they struggled. But the brothers kept the company operating through the economy’s leanest times.

During World War II, industry declined again as equipment and supplies became subject to rationing. But, a post-war building boom helped the company grow again.

Charles Kuhlman died suddenly in 1956. A thoughtful, kind man of few words, Charles summarized the company’s philosophy when he asserted, “A sale is never made until the customer is totally satisfied.” He was succeeded as president by long-term Kuhlman employee Clyde Stevenson.

Under Stevenson’s reign, the company completed several ready-mix acquisitions, including Koder Concrete and Supply, Inc. and Carl Zenz and Associates Co. The addition of Knapp Ready Mix, Inc. extended Kuhlman’s concrete operations into Southeastern Michigan.

The purchase of Wood County Transit Mix added the Bowling Green, Ohio territory. The company also built a state-of-the-art headquarters on Collingwood Boulevard, which would be its home for nearly 40 years.

Continued Growth

Upon Stevenson’s death in 1967, Marion S. (Bart) Bartholomew, Charles Kuhlman’s son-in-law, took over the firm’s helm. Under Bartholomew’s direction, the company expanded into new areas, beginning with development of the 100-acre Charles E. Kuhlman Industrial Park along the Maumee River, now the site of the company’s large multi-purpose “Yard One” operation that produces concrete and sells building and warehouse bulk materials. Bartholomew also led Kuhlman into supplying concrete for power plant construction, an exacting specialty.

In the 1960s, Kuhlman engineers and their counterparts at Detroit Edison perfected K-Krete®, a unique concept and product known as controlled density fill. Engineered to produce a flowable fill that does not require compaction, K-Krete does not shrink or settle and is competitive with compacted granular fill. The product is available worldwide.

The past four decades have witnessed the ongoing development of Kuhlman’s construction products business. Its vast product offerings include ready-mixed concrete, decorative and stamped concrete, brick, stone, hardscape supplies, sewer & water materials, concrete forming systems, and more. In addition to its retail locations, Kuhlman maintains a robust online catalog where customers can purchase various materials and products to conquer many projects.

Kuhlman Corporation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2001. It moved its main office to Arrowhead Park in 2005. The building showcases numerous Kuhlman construction products to architects, builders, and homeowners and has received praise for its architectural design.

Joining The Gerken Companies

In 2021, The Gerken Companies acquired Kuhlman Corporation, retaining its leadership team and employees and continuing to invest in its people and assets to serve Kuhlman customers in Northern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.

“Kuhlman was a natural fit for us because of their 120-year tradition of quality materials coupled with a focus on employees and safety,” Gerken President Brent Gerken said at the time. “Their commitment to making their customers successful aligns perfectly with our culture and vision.”

Over five generations, Kuhlman Corporation became one of the region’s largest producers of ready-mixed concrete, a diversified wholesale distributor of quality construction materials, and a leading supplier and hauler of quality construction aggregates. Kuhlman contributed to the area’s history by supplying the materials used to construct Toledo and its surrounding communities for more than 120 years. And in the spirit of bricklayer Adam Kuhlman, who entered the building supply business in 1901, the company remains 100 percent customer-driven.

Labor Day began during the late 1800s, during one of the bleakest chapters in American labor history. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, the average American worker toiled 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Many faced deplorable working conditions, including limited access to fresh air, restrooms, and breaks. Labor unions became more influential and soon began organizing strikes.

On September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union held the first Labor Day celebration with a parade in New York City. Nearly ten thousand workers left their jobs to march from City Hall to Union Square. New York and 23 other states adopted a Labor Day holiday by 1894, and President Grover Cleveland signed a law making it a national holiday that year.

Today, Americans observe Labor Day on the first Monday of every September. The holiday recognizes the countless economic and societal contributions workers continually make to our country’s soundness and prosperity.

Nowhere is the spirit of American labor more apparent than among the 600 men and women working at The Gerken Companies. As part of the Gerken family of businesses, you’re part of building a great future—for yourself, your family, and your community. We greatly appreciate your efforts.

For over 120 years, Kuhlman has helped build the history of Northern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan. Kuhlman has supplied much of the ready-mixed concrete, brick, sewer/water materials, and concrete/masonry specialties used to construct Toledo and surrounding communities since 1901.

Throughout the decades, Kuhlman’s building products have helped construct countless municipal structures, stores, schools, homes, businesses, factories, highways, bridges, and sewer systems. Today, Kuhlman continues to supply concrete and over 5,000 different construction products to 4,000 customers – contractors, architects, engineers, plant and facility managers, and bulk shippers.

Historic Toledo-area landmarks built with Kuhlman products include Scott and Waite High Schools, Toledo and St. Vincent Hospitals, the Anthony Wayne Bridge, Toledo Zoo, and the National City Bank (now PNC) building. Later came Westgate Shopping Center, the Medical College of Ohio (now the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences), and corporate headquarters for Dana, Libbey-Owens-Ford (now NSG Pilkington), Toledo Edison, Monroe Auto Equipment, La-Z-Boy Furniture, and others.

More recent structures include Government Center, SeaGate Convention Center, the Owens Corning headquarters, Mercy Children’s Hospital, the Maumee-Perrysburg bridge, the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway Center pylon, and the Toledo Mud Hens baseball stadium in downtown Toledo. Many buildings at the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Owens Community College, and Monroe Community College feature Kuhlman products.

When growth shifted to the suburbs, Kuhlman was there, too, supplying concrete for the interstate highway system, the Masonic Temple; St. Luke’s, Flower and St. Charles hospitals; Franklin Park, Monroe, Frenchtown, and Southwyck malls, the Town Center at Levis Commons, and Shops at Fallen Timbers. Kuhlman was instrumental in developing Maumee’s Arrowhead Business Park, where its headquarters is now located.

Regional industrial and warehousing facilities featuring Kuhlman products include oil refineries, First Energy power plants, the Toledo FCA Jeep plant, Lenawee Stamping, North Star Steel foundry, Campbell Soup, GM Powertrain, Bay View wastewater treatment plant, Home Depot and Amazon fulfillment centers, Oregon Clean Energy Center, NSG Pilkington glass plants, and Cleveland Cliffs HBI, among others.

In Northeastern Ohio, Kuhlman products have been utilized at many notable sites, including the Cleveland Clinic, Gund Arena (now Rocket Mortgage Arena), the University of Akron, Cleveland’s main library, the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, and several Amazon distribution centers.

Throughout five generations, Kuhlman has remained a family-owned and operated business. Today, the Company employs 150 men and women and operates five related businesses at six locations. Kuhlman’s No. 1 goal is to make its customers successful. By doing so, it has grown into one of the region’s:

• Largest producers of ready-mixed concrete
• Most diversified wholesale distributors of quality construction materials for the concrete/masonry and water/sewer trades
• Leading suppliers of quality sand and gravel
• Best-known bulk material operators, running one of the largest and most accessible bulk warehouses on the Great Lakes
• Respected developers of industrial, office, and residential properties

In the early days of the automobile, most roads were still relatively crude. Car proliferation drove the booming advancement of our road systems and infrastructure. Let’s look back to ancient Mesopotamia, where we find evidence of the first-ever roads.

The Lasting Impact of Ancient Roads

The year is 4000 BC, and the most advanced method of transportation is horse and cart. Agricultural trade and commerce were the driving factors that demanded an ancient roadway. “The Sumerians used meticulous brick-making skills, forming identical mud bricks for building. After drying, they would take them to the site of a temple and set them in place with bitumen. Bitumen is the natural sticky black substance in asphalt. Centuries would pass before asphalt was used in Europe and America.”¹

Though the Mesopotamians may have conceived the idea of a paved road, the Roman Empire made considerable strides in paving technology and road construction. The concept of layering implemented by the Romans is still used today and is an essential practice in building structural integrity on the road. In ancient times, the Romans would dig a trench and put large stones and boulders at the bottom for support. On top of that would be smaller stones, or what is known today as aggregates. These smaller materials would make up the actual “driving” surface due to their smoother makeup, aiding in more efficient travel. Fast forward a few thousand years, and you’ll see that liquid bituminous asphalt is a binder for the material in today’s roads. Foundational stone and sand (aggregates) are still vital components in roadways today. Though the first roads were built over 6,000 years ago, the general principles of what makes an excellent modern road can be found in their ancient counterparts.

The Dawn of The Asphalt Age

The first recorded use of liquid asphalt or bitumen in US roadway construction is dated back to 1870. “In 1870, a Belgian chemist, Edmund J DeSmedt, laid the first asphalt pavement in the US at Newark. He later used fifty-four thousand square yards of sheet asphalt from Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago to pave Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. In the same year, Cummer Company opened hot mix production facilities. The following year, 1871, Nathan. Abbott of Brooklyn, N.Y. filed the first asphalt patent.”¹

Liquid bitumen is a naturally occurring resource, also known as tar. Tar pits are located in five areas of the globe and typically consist of fossilized organic matter. Naturally occurring bitumen was quickly replaced by asphalt produced from crude oil in the early 1900s. That was for many reasons, including added production efficiency and more flexible applications in construction. It was also more widely available because it could be mass-produced.

We still use bitumen derived from crude oil to this day. However, many additives and polymers are incorporated into the mix alongside the aggregates to increase durability and driveability. These additives also make our roads safer and provide more grip for vehicles to slow down faster. Ultimately, asphalt is king when it comes to the choice of road material for several reasons. Bituminous road construction produces a relatively smooth driving surface that leads to better driving conditions when appropriately installed.

A smoother surface equates to less maintenance (and easier repairs when maintenance is necessary), as well as a safer and quieter ride. It is also important to mention that asphalt can be recycled and reused in future projects, adding to the material’s sustainability.

Henry Ford and the Proliferation of The Automobile

Henry Ford set into motion the age of personal transportation. He largely contributed to the coming of the age of industrialism when he invented the first automobile in 1896, known as the quadricycle. However, Ford completely changed the game when he started producing the Model T in 1908, the first production automobile geared towards the consumer market. At a price of $300, this marvel would be accessible to rich and poor folk alike. It was so prolific that Ford would go on to produce 15 million Model Ts.

The automobile was undoubtedly the driving vessel for the advancement of transportation, but something was missing. It needed to be paired with a robust infrastructure to succeed. The first American roads weren’t, in fact, roads at all. When the English colonists first arrived in the 1600s, most roads of passage created by the Native Americans were single-file dirt pathways—big enough to fit one horse at a time going one way. These dirt ways were clearly no suitable match for the new world of industrialism and the invention of the automobile.

America’s thirst for true freedom had to be met with an advanced infrastructure that could support multiple vehicles carrying multiple people going in different directions at the same time. Shortly after the Model T’s proliferation in the early 1900s, Congress passed the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, funding the states to improve their roads. Though this was the first critical step in supporting state roadways, there were many funding and legislative acts to come that would birth America’s interstate highway systems.

Wartime Advancements: The Need for a Better Roadway

Innovation happened early on in the 1900s indeed. However, the actual proliferation of our highway system in America would come from the demands of The World Wars. During the mid-1940s, the production of supplies and machines to aid the war effort recruited almost every working factory in the United States. As companies retrofitted their facilities to meet the growing production demand, so did our highway systems demand a greater bandwidth for transporting bigger machines at greater volume. The ability to adapt and pivot in the highly stressful situation of wartime was directly tied to America’s level of transportation infrastructure. It can be argued that ease of transportation and logistical prowess were some of the main reasons the Allies won the war. The importance of advanced highway systems was at the top of the priority list for presidents who led America before, during, and after the World Wars. Due to the efforts of the innovators and leaders of the past century, America’s means of transportation are one of quality and dependability.

From the old Native American foothills to the first dirt highways to today’s highly advanced turnpikes, America’s roadways have significantly advanced and built the level of freedom we all enjoy today.