By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
State Rep. Tom Kunse recently sold his company, Northern Dry Bulk, earlier this year.
A West Michigan Politics investigation reveals a history of crashes involving the company's vehicles. multiple lawsuits, and one failed inspection after another.
Employees describe Kunse, the former Owner, as "toxic" and "trash."
State Rep. Tom Kunse
According to their LinkedIn:
“Northern Dry Bulk services include dry bulk transportation, liquid bulk transportation, rail to truck transfer at 2 sites (Clare and Grand Rapids, MI), as well as industrial wood and plastic recycling. We have recently added a hazardous material permit and insurance to enable us to offer even more services!
We serve a balanced customer base of both Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller operations. We have complete computerized dispatch, GPS tracking of all shipments, and EDI capabilities.”
In February of 2024, Northern Dry Bulk was sold to Kenan Advantage Group:
Crashes
Northern Dry Bulk trucks have been involved in 5 Crashes according to the available data from recent years, 1 of which had an injury.
Citations were issued in 3 out of the 5 crashes.
December 30, 2019 in Illinois:
January 6, 2021 in Michigan:
January 29, 2021 in Michigan:
February 4, 2021 in Michigan:
February 10, 2021 in Illinois:
Repeatedly Failing DOT Safety Inspections
Northern Dry Bulk, during the course of 47 inspections in the data available for recent years, has been cited with 45 violations!
31 Out of the 47 inspections had 1 or more violations:
Northern Dry Bulk’s latest Vehicle Out Of Service (OOS) Rate is 37%---that’s nearly double the national average!
The company was also charged with driving an overweight truck in 2021, and found guilty:
The “Toxic, Trash” Owner From Hell!
Northern Dry Bulk receives an overall D rating according to Indeed.com.
Multiple employees cite horrendous management by Kunse as a main reason for the poor grade, with one even calling him “toxic,”and another calling him “trash.”
Lawsuits
Northern Dry Bulk has been the subject of multiple lawsuits.
In June of 2018, William Taylor sued Northern Dry Bulk. The lawsuit was settled in April of 2019 for an undisclosed amount.
In March of 2018, Northern Dry Bulk was sued by Tenergy, a Pennsylvania energy company. The case was settled later that year for an undisclosed amount.
Half A Million Dollar PPP “Loan”
In April of 2020, Northern Dry Bulk received a loan of $513,800 from the Paycheck Protection Program, more commonly known as PPP.
The PPP “loan” was forgiven, including nearly $3,400 in interest, and taxpayers ended up paying the tab.
Documents show Kunse charged ~$52,000 in rent for property he seemingly already owns.
Kunse, whose district includes Osceola and Mecosta Counties, as well as parts of Clare County and Lake County, is up for re-election in August. The filing deadline is April 23rd.
Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
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