Kevin Keeney, the third-generation owner and operator of Keeney Sand & Stone, paid Pit & Quarry a visit at the end of June to reflect on the first half of the year in northeast Ohio and what’s potentially ahead in the coming months.
P&Q: How has 2025 treated Keeney Sand & Stone thus far?
Keeney: I’d say I got spoiled the last four years. We’ve had pretty easy winters in northeast Ohio. My guys were usually back to mining in late February, and it stayed busy.
But this year, we had an old-fashioned winter. It held on longer than usual. The frost held in the ground, and I didn’t start calling guys back until the end of March. Jobs kept getting delayed because of that.
Once we hit April, though, things started moving again. It’s been just as busy as the past several years, and 2025 looks like it’ll be another strong year.
P&Q: Do you expect the work that got pushed aside in the first half of the year to be there for you in the second half of 2025? Also, how important will it be to extend your production season into November or beyond?
Keeney: The projects I knew were coming in 2024 are still on the way. Some are just waiting in the wings. I’m hoping winter holds off until after Christmas, but even if we get through November, we’ll have a solid finish to the year.
My production and jobs might not quite match the last three or four years, but they’ll be close. And that’s only because we had such a slow start to the year.
P&Q: What kind of construction work is keeping Keeney Sand & Stone busy right now?
Keeney: Right now, we’re involved in a lot of big school projects, parking lots and overburden jobs. We’re supplying a large amount of clay fill. New construction’s still strong – especially housing – so we’re doing a tremendous number of driveways and providing materials for a lot of commercial projects.
We haven’t seen much of a slowdown. Like any election year, last year I held off on making some purchases. Our numbers are down a little bit, but it’s strictly weather-related and not anything political.
P&Q: With tariffs and global conflicts making headlines, do you have any long-term concerns for your business or the industry?
Keeney: We use a lot of steel and abrasives, so I wasn’t sure where things were going – especially when it came to screen cloth and the steel we use for fabrication. For a while, it was a bit uncertain.
But things seem to have leveled off. It felt like there was some fear at first, but it hasn’t turned into anything major. Diesel fuel prices are down, and overall, my costs haven’t risen much compared to the past.
