AUGUST 2026

As summer begins to wind down, I want to start by thanking everyone for the tremendous effort you have put in throughout the season. It has been a busy summer, and our teams have continued to work extremely hard through the heat, changing schedules, demanding projects, and everything else that comes with our busiest time of year.

July was another profitable month, although we did give back some of the progress we made against budget in June. Year to date, Sales and Gross Profit remain ahead of budget, and there are a lot of positives throughout the business. Production continues to perform extremely well, our Stores are generating strong results in several key areas, and Transportation completed more than 5,800 deliveries in July, setting a new multi-year high. Those results do not happen without a tremendous amount of coordination and hard work across the company.

One number that really stood out to me was our 98.8% store answer rate. Our stores answered 7,500 of 7,592 calls during July. That may seem like a small thing, but every call is a customer and every customer is an opportunity. That level of consistency and commitment to service is exactly what we want Kurtz Bros. to be known for.

We also continue to see great examples of our waste-to-resource mission in action. The Painesville team successfully completed another dredge season while meeting all permit requirements, and our work with the Port of Cleveland is allowing concrete and hardfill to be recycled and beneficially reused rather than treated as waste. These projects demonstrate the unique capabilities we have built and the value we can provide to our customers and communities.

While summer may be winding down, our year is far from over. Fall brings another strong selling season, several projects remain ahead of us, and we are already preparing for winter. After the challenges we experienced with salt availability last season, we are working hard to secure inventory and put ourselves in a much better position this year. Our bagged salt has arrived, and work continues on securing our bulk supply.

We have four important months remaining in 2026 and plenty of opportunity in front of us. Let’s continue taking care of our customers, supporting one another, and looking for every opportunity to finish what we started. We have accomplished a lot this year, and I am excited about what this team can accomplish through the rest of 2026.

Thank you for everything you continue to do, and let’s finish the year strong!

July finished positive, but slipped against budget.

The work at the Landfill continues to out pace budget, the loss now nearly 2.5x the amount planned.  The Landfill remains the biggest factor impacting our bottom line.  Excluding the Landfill, net income for the month slipped a little, and we would still be more than 33% ahead of budget.

Stores continue to perform well compared to last year, but the lost salt sales remain the primary driver of our revenue shortfall.  Store revenue is 6% behind budget, and store net income is 15% below budget. 

On the flipside, Production continues to be a bright spot.  Production net income is currently 10% of sales, compared to a budgeted loss of 3%.  Increased sales are part of the improvement, but the biggest driver has been lower mulch costs as we continue to benefit from a large inflow of free fiber.

We still have a few projects that we expect to help close the gap to budget as we head into the slower months.  There is still plenty of year left to finish strong.

Let’s keep up the good work and finish the year strong!

Another dredge season has come to a close for the Grand River in Lake County. The Army Corps of Engineers through their dredging contractors Ryba Marine safely and effectively delivered 50k yards of dredged river sediment to the Kurtz Bros Sediment Recycling Facility. Kudos to the Painesville team for managing the water and seeing that all permit limits were met. The sediment is drying and will be processed to be removed in order to get ready for the Super Dredge that is set to take place in 2027.  

This past month Kurtz started a clean-up project with our good friends at the Port of Cleveland. The project consisted of removing a large volume of material (concrete/hardfill) from the Ports dock in downtown Cleveland. The material was taken to our Painesville yard where the concrete will be recycled and the hardfill was used to help increase our operations area at the site. This is a perfect example of the Kurtz Bros waste to resource services that we provide. A great thanks to our operations team for all their hard work on the project specifically Dan Barton, Easton Strychasz, Steve Scott, & Lloyd Herbert. The is only the first phase of the project and we will go back to plant grass later in the fall planting season. Great teamwork everyone. We look forward to the next phase of work. 

As fall approaches, we’re heading into another busy season as customers rush to complete projects—both large and small—before the snow and cold weather arrive. Fall planting becomes a priority, and mulch sales typically pick up as customers look to protect their soils from the freeze-and-thaw cycle.

As the leader in soil sales, we need to be ready for the influx of orders. And, as usual, we’re prepared! We’re also the only supplier in the area offering soil throughout the winter. Our Winter Blend Soil is available from October through April and is kept dry and easy to spread, even on the coldest days.

The Sales Team is also holding mid-season meetings with Commercial Contractors, Commercial Landscapers, and Distributors to gather feedback on our service, quality, and overall performance so far this year. With four full months of 2026 still ahead of us, there’s plenty of opportunity to finish the year strong. We need to stay focused, aggressive, and ready to capitalize on every opportunity.

Salt sales will be our next big revenue opportunity. Customers are already looking for pricing so they can secure their contracts, and we’ll be ready to provide pricing this month.

We’re also excited to announce that we have renewed our agreement with the Federal Reserve to accept and recycle shredded currency. This marks our eighth year with the program, and the new agreement will continue for another three years.

And as always, remember: Customers are our number one priority! Without our customers, we wouldn’t have a business.

Happy Selling!

Production Update

Avon: The team is finishing up pallet and yard waste grinding while continuing to stay ahead of topsoil production.

Bridgeview: The crew is screening compost, grinding pallets, and continuing daily topsoil production.

CDF: The team continues to excavate the chutes and load out topsoil for customers. They are also loading sediment from the field for delivery to one of Jason’s customers.

North Canton: NC will resume grinding yard waste this week. Chris and Patrick will bring both grinders to the site to maximize production and get the remaining material processed as quickly as possible.

July was an absolute blockbuster month for transportation, and it is safe to say the team completely knocked it out of the park. Thanks to everyone’s relentless hustle, radical transparency, and next-level synergy, we didn’t just meet expectations—we crushed our targets. We successfully executed over 5,800 total deliveries, effectively moving the needle and pushing past our multi-year performance benchmarks to establish a brand-new baseline for excellence.

As we pivot into August, we have admittedly encountered some unexpected atmospheric headwinds and complex macroeconomic climate factors that have disrupted our standard workflow. However, we are already leaning into our core competencies, leveraging our cross-functional resources, and driving actionable, robust solutions to mitigate these temporary logistical hurdles. The team is fully aligned, and we are heavily incentivized to optimize our current trajectory, circle back to our proven playbooks, and get right back on pace to finish the quarter strong.

Finish Strong. Prepare Smart. Keep the Momentum Going.

As summer begins to wind down and fall hours are now in effect, we have a lot to be proud of—and plenty of opportunity still in front of us. Our teams continue to deliver excellent customer service, our phone performance is outstanding, and several locations are setting the pace on our 2026 sales goals.

CUSTOMER SERVICE WIN: 98.8% ANSWER RATE!

This is a huge company-wide accomplishment. From July 1–July 31, our stores received 7,592 calls and answered 7,500, resulting in an incredible 98.8% answer rate—well above our 95% goal.

Special recognition goes to:

Hudson & North Canton – 99.9%

Broadview – 99.7%

Akron – 99.6%

Avon, Strongsville & Valley View – 98%+

This is what consistency and accountability look like. Keep answering those phones and taking care of every opportunity!

Everyone will get to spin the Prize Wheel!!

SOIL: 67% TO GOAL

Company-wide, we have sold 81,482 yards toward our 121,792-yard goal.

Avon leads the way at 79%, followed by Akron at 76% and Willowick at 74%.

There is still ground to make up across the company. Every customer purchasing mulch, stone, or hardscape is an opportunity to ask about soil. Don’t wait for customers to ask—sell the entire project. With Fall Planting, I am confident we will hit this goal with ease.

MULCH: 80% TO GOAL

Mulch continues to be one of our strongest categories with 175,982 yards sold toward our 220,272-yard goal.

Akron has officially exceeded its goal at 105%!

Other strong performers include:

Broadview – 97% North Canton – 89% Willowick – 82% Avon – 81%

We aren’t finished yet. Keep the bins full, displays looking good, and customers thinking about those final fall projects.

NEW CUSTOMERS: $1.26 MILLION & COUNTING

We have generated $1,265,356 in new-customer sales, putting us at 80% of our $1.58 million goal.

Four locations have already crossed the finish line:

Valley View – 135% North Canton – 110% Hudson – 102% Strongsville – 102%

Excellent work! Avon is also closing in at 89%.

For everyone else, the opportunity is still there. Follow up, make the calls, build the relationships and earn the business. New customers today become repeat customers tomorrow.

HARDSCAPE: OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Hardscape sales are currently $1,217,012, or 55% of our $2.2 million goal.

Avon leads at 80%, followed by Hudson at 70% and Valley View at 67%.

Hardscape represents one of our biggest remaining opportunities. Customers need more than pavers—think tools, accessories, aggregates, delivery and the complete project package.

Don’t just take the order. Ask about the project.

BOULDER & NATURAL STONE

We have room to grow here, and this is exactly where our “If they see it, they buy it” mentality matters.

Broadview currently leads goal locations at 60%, followed by Garfield at 54% and Strongsville at 47%.

Keep natural stone and boulder areas clean, organized, visible and easy to shop. Walk customers through the yard and show them options they may not have known we carried.

MISCELLANEOUS SALES: LET’S CLOSE THE GAP

Miscellaneous sales are currently $1,478,656, or 61% of our $2.42 million goal.

Akron leads at 75%, followed by Willowick at 70%.

This category is all about the add-on sale. Tools, fabric, edging, seed, accessories and everything else needed to finish the job can make a significant difference when multiplied across thousands of transactions.

One extra question can equal one extra sale.

SALT SEASON: PREPARING NOW

We learned some hard lessons from last year’s salt shortage, and we are working now to make sure we are better positioned for the upcoming winter.

We have received all of the bagged salt we ordered, and our team is working hard to solidify our bulk salt inventory.

Last year’s shortage resulted in lost sales and missed opportunities. Our goal this year is simple: prepare early, secure inventory and be ready when winter hits.

Thank you to everyone working behind the scenes to get us positioned for a successful salt season.

FALL HOURS HAVE BEGUN

Fall hours are officially underway.

As traffic patterns begin to change, this is the time to stay focused on the fundamentals:

Take care of every customer.

Answer every phone call.

Keep stores and yards clean, full and shoppable.

Upsell and cross-sell every opportunity.b

Follow up with customers and outstanding quotes.

Control inventory and prepare for the changing season.

LET’S FINISH WHAT WE STARTED

We’ve made tremendous progress, but 80% to goal isn’t the finish line.

We still have opportunities sitting in our yards, on our shelves, in our quote lists and on the other end of the phone.

Celebrate the wins—but don’t coast.

Finish the season strong. Sell the whole project. Take care of the customer. And let’s turn those remaining percentages GREEN!

Thank you for everything you continue to do for our customers, our teams and our Company.

A Great Day at Independence Home Days!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered to represent Kurtz Bros. at this year’s Independence Home Days!

Ryan, Sue, Karen, Jodee, Amy, and our very own President laced up their sneakers and took to the streets of Independence, helping us hand out more than 110 pounds of candy along the parade route.

Joe got our red-cabbed single axle cleaned up and looking great and drove it for us in the parade. We also brought out our larger-than-life truck and trailer for Touch-a-Truck, with Paul manning the wheel.

It was great seeing kids wave and “ooh and aah” over the trucks, while hearing parents shout, “We love Kurtz!” and “That’s where we get our mulch!”

We’re fortunate to have so many energetic, involved, and overall great people on our team. Thank you to everyone who helped us get out into the community and represent Kurtz Bros.!