AUGUST 2025

Team,

As we head into the back half of Q3, I just want to acknowledge the incredible work happening across every part of the company. July and August have shown what’s possible when we stay focused, work as a team, and push through even when the weather or conditions aren’t ideal.

While each department has its own wins and challenges to share this month, the common thread is clear: we’re aligned, we’re executing, and we’re pushing forward together. From sales growth to project backlogs to operational efficiency—there’s a lot to feel good about.

Let’s stay focused as we approach the fall season. Keep supporting each other, communicating openly, and taking care of yourselves and your teams.

Thanks again for everything you do. Let’s keep this run going strong.

– Matt Malone
President

Q3 is off to a great start as the success of 2025 continues!

Through seven months, our Revenues are up more than 18% over last year.  Net Income slipped a bit in July, but we’re still running almost 50% ahead year-over-year, a huge accomplishment.

The story has been the same all year with Projects leading the charge, while Stores and Production continue to perform well.  Store Revenue is up 4%, with Contribution Margins holding strong, though down slightly from last month.  Production is down in both Revenue and Margin due to the administrative challenges with the Port of Cleveland, but we are confident these will turn around in the coming months.

Huge Wins:

• We are awaiting final numbers from the Conneaut and Grand River (Fairport) dredges.
• Conneaut will be similar to last year’s results (as budgeted).
• Grand River will be nearly triple last year (not budgeted).  

Thanks to everyone’s hard work and commitment, we continue to deliver outstanding results.  Let’s keep the momentum going and make the rest of Q3 just as strong!

This past month the Conneaut facility completed receiving sediment from Ryba Marine. The dredging project saw 69k yards of sediment deposited into the Conneaut Creek Reclamation Facility. Since that time dewatering activities have already commenced and the material is in the process of drying out. For the second year in a row Kurtz has partnered with Canadian National to utilize the sediment material onsite where the railroad is capping and closing a former coal dock previously used by the railroad to support US steel production in Pennsylvania. The partnership between CN and Kurtz helps all parties involved; the railroad cleans up an old abandoned resource making it more attractive to perspective buyers and Kurtz get to utilize the benefits of a beneficial reuse location within close proximity to the Conneaut Creek Dredged Reclamation Facility. The site has already started dewatering the sediment and hopes to have solid stable material ready to move shortly.   

It feels like just yesterday we were warning about temperatures so cold it was unsafe to be outdoors—and now we’re talking about heat waves bringing the same concern! Those of us indoors can adjust a thermostat, but our outdoor crews don’t have that luxury. Rain and extreme heat have also thrown challenges into the mix, delaying construction timelines and impacting our customers’ schedules.

Many of our commercial contractors and landscapers are working overtime—long days and weekends—to catch up and complete projects before year’s end. Meanwhile, our distributors and stores continue selling mulch and soils, proving it’s never too late for landscaping in 2025.

Infield mix orders are also climbing as baseball fields across Northeast Ohio get repaired after summer play and prepared for Fall Ball and winter weather. Remember: direct those ballfield requests to our sales team so we can dig deeper into customer needs.

Current & Upcoming Projects
We have a strong backlog of work carrying us through the rest of 2025 and well into 2026:

• Main Street, Akron
• Davey Tree Expansion, Kent
• Mormon Temple, Independence
• Green Schools
• ODOT I-90, Cleveland
• ODOT Rt 422 Stabilization
• Brookpark Grindings
• CEA Building, Independence
• Macedonia, Longwood Park
• City of Cleveland soil and seed contracts
• NASA new building expansions

Weather won’t slow these down—these projects must push forward until complete. Soils remain a driving force in our fall sales, with Bio Retention, CU Structural, Super Soil, and All-Purpose blends ready to ship and looking great. A big thanks to our Transportation team for consistently delivering on time—they make us all look good.

Looking Ahead
The Sales team is gearing up for our Fall and Winter “Lunch & Learns” with contractors, municipalities, and engineers. Staying in front of our customers is key to success.

Winter will bring salt sales and preparation for next year. We’ll keep chasing opportunities, anticipating needs, and delivering the quality and service our customers expect—because they expect the BEST from the BEST… and that’s us!

Yard Updates

• CDF: Screening material and excavating the chutes.

• Bridgeview: Wrapping up compost screening.

• Avon: Team is busy screening a local project.

• Hudson: Producing soil.

• North Canton: Making soil and screening compost.

Transportation stayed busy through August, moving more than 37,500 loads year to date — including 11,202 single axle, 1,072 flatbed, 24,157 semi, and 1,047 container loads. Altogether, our trucks have hauled over 330,000 yards of material so far this year. That includes 175,000 yards of finished product delivered to our stores, nearly 20,000 yards moved for our sister company KB Bio Energy, more than 82,000 yards hauled from CDF, and over 140,000 tons transported for Cleveland Cliffs. To make this happen, we’ve partnered with more than 130 drivers across our internal team and contractors, keeping the fleet moving steadily through the summer.

Store Update

We say goodbye (for now!) to our amazing students heading back to school. We truly appreciate the time they spent with us this season and look forward to welcoming them back next year.

Exciting news on the team front: movers and shakers Amy Newrones (Hudson) and Crystal Poole (North Canton) will be joining the Valley View location, we look forward to building an unstoppable team.

We’re still on the lookout for an Assistant Manager in Avon—spread the word!

On the sales side, stores have already reached 89% of their new customer acquisition goal. Leading the pack are:

• Garfield – 99%
• North Canton – 95%
• Willowick – 94%
• Avon – 91%

The rest are close behind—and with Fall planting still ahead, momentum is only building. You’ve got this!

We are also working on our CROSS SELLING initiative, we have a lot of opportunity here 😊

Our push with placement to grow Natural Stone & Boulder sales is working—currently up $50K (20%) year over year. Huge win!

Looking ahead, Winter prep is underway. Bagged and bulk pricing has been distributed, along with a special Early Buy Bagged Salt program.

This year we sold a record number of our own bagged mulch, and there’s still ample supply. To keep the momentum going, we’ve launched a contest: whichever store sells the most pallets to distributors through September will get to spin the prize wheel!

And finally—by popular demand—a missed favorite is back: Maylan Black Deco Stone! This had been unavailable due the North Carolina needing the stone for repairs after the hurricane 2 years ago.

Retail sales are trending upward as we continue to make up ground lost during this spring’s wet weather. Our new website is currently under construction, and we’d like to give a big thank you to Karen Lekan, who is playing an integral role in getting it across the finish line.

While many of our marketing initiatives are moving into their off-season, we’re busy planning and preparing for a strong and successful 2026. Recently, Matt Malone and I had the pleasure of being invited down to Progressive Field to explore marketing opportunities at the stadium—and along the way, we even ran into an old friend. Stay tuned for more exciting updates ahead!

Fall is just around the corner, and with it comes Wellness October! Be on the lookout late September for upcoming activities, resources, and events designed to support your health and well-being. In the meantime, this is a great time to check in on your benefits (Open Enrollment follows behind Wellness October!), review your time-off balances, and make sure you’re prepared for the season ahead!

We are so grateful for all of our seasonal employees! As the season winds down, we kindly remind seasonal employees complete their exit surveys in ADP, as your feedback is extremely valuable in helping us improve the employee experience moving forward!

Employee Spotlights & Celebrations

We want to celebrate YOU! Don’t forget to submit your family celebration photos to share in our Employee Corner!  Submit photos to hr@kurtz-bros.com 

Career Center

We are always searching for great team members and updating our open positions in our ADP Career Center. View the career center and current openings, and share the link with others!  If you refer an employee who is hired, YOU can get a referral bonus!

As always, HR is here to answer questions and provide support — don’t hesitate to reach out!