What warestar does

Warestar, Inc. is a family-owned material handling equipment distributor and warehouse solutions provider founded in 1994 by Ed Iddings and headquartered in Shawnee, Kansas, in the Kansas City metro. The company distributes a comprehensive portfolio organized into nine core product categories — conveyors (gravity, powered, flexible), dock equipment (pit levelers, edge-of-dock levelers, seals, shelters, truck restraints), lifts and pallet jacks (lift tables, stackers, cranes, VRCs), mezzanines, office buildings (in-plant modular offices, SpeedSpace pre-assembled buildings, wall partitions, cleanrooms), rack and shelving (selective pallet racking, cantilever, pushback, pallet flow, carton flow, wire decking, metal and rivet shelving), safety products (guardrail, forklift safety sensors, bollards, column protection, safety gates), wire partitions (security fencing, driver access cages, machine guarding), and miscellaneous warehouse equipment (HVLS fans, carts, modular cabinets, stretch wrap machines, parts bins, hoppers, workbenches, ladders, strip curtains, floor mats, softwall partitions, smoking shelters, lockers). Products are sourced from a network of manufacturers including Interlake Mecalux, Wirecrafters, Lyon, Southworth, Renegade, Pioneer, ACSI, Husky, MacroAir, Portafab, and Steele Solutions, with SpeedSpace held under an exclusive nationwide distribution relationship.

The business operates a sales-led B2B go-to-market targeting warehouse operators, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and loading docks across the United States, with primary concentration in the Kansas City metro and Midwest regions. Revenue is generated through four streams: hardware product sales (markup on distributed equipment from manufacturer partners), professional installation services delivered by Warestar's own non-union crews with union accommodation available, consulting and CAD-based warehouse layout design, and ongoing maintenance and repair services. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct via field sales, the corporate website (warestar.com), a self-service online catalog (warestar.theonlinecatalog.com), and a monthly email newsletter ("Warehouse Insider") used for top- and mid-funnel engagement.

Warestar serves enterprise customers including American Eagle Outfitters, The North Face, Caterpillar dealers (Dean Machinery and Ring Power), Boehringer-Ingelheim, Kansas City Sausage, Spectra Graphics, Capital Electric, and a sports apparel pick-module customer, with project scopes ranging from pallet racking and wire partitions to multi-product distribution center buildouts. The company remains privately held with no external venture capital or private equity investment, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed headcount or revenue figures.

Name

warestar

Legal name

Warestar, Inc.

Website

https://warestar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Warestar is a family-owned material handling equipment distributor and installer founded in 1994, serving warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities across the U.S. with products, CAD-based design, installation, and maintenance services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Shawnee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Sale of material handling equipment including conveyors, dock equipment, lifts, pallet jacks, mezzanines, office buildings, rack/shelving, safety products, and wire partitions. Products sourced from various manufacturers and distributed to customers.
2. Installation Services: Professional installation services for warehouse systems including pallet racking, conveyors, modular offices, mezzanines, and other material handling equipment. Non-union crews are standard.
3. Consulting and Design Services: Warehouse optimization consulting and CAD layout support to help customers visualize solutions for pallet racking, modular offices, mezzanines, wire partitions, and conveyors before implementation.
4. Maintenance Services: Repair and maintenance services for warehouse equipment including dock levelers, dock seals, shelters, pallet racking, conveyors, and modular office systems.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Warestar distributes and installs material handling equipment — conveyors, dock equipment, lifts and pallet jacks, mezzanines, pre-assembled office buildings (including the exclusive SpeedSpace line), rack and shelving, safety products, wire partitions, and related accessories — sourced from US manufacturers and bundled with consultation, CAD-based layout design, professional installation, and maintenance services. The company's output is a fully built-out, operational warehouse or facility component delivered to industrial and commercial customers.

Product overview

Warestar is a material handling equipment distributor and installer offering a comprehensive portfolio of warehouse optimization solutions. The company provides nine core product categories: Conveyors (gravity, powered, and flexible systems), Dock Equipment (pit levelers, edge-of-dock levelers, seals, shelters, truck restraints), Lifts/Pallet Jacks (lift tables, pallet jacks, pallet levelers, stackers, cranes, VRCs), Mezzanines (free-standing platforms, stairs/landings, safety gates), Office Buildings (in-plant modular offices, SpeedSpace pre-assembled buildings, wall partition systems, cleanrooms), Rack/Shelving (selective pallet racking, cantilever, pushback, pallet flow, carton flow, wire decking, metal shelving, rivet shelving), Safety Products (guardrail, forklift safety sensors, bollards, column protection, safety gates), Wire Partitions (security fencing, driver access cages, machine guarding), and Other Products (HVLS fans, industrial carts, modular cabinets, stretch wrap machines, parts bins, hoppers, workbenches, rolling ladders, strip curtains, floor mats, softwall partitions, smoking shelters, lockers). Services include consultation, CAD layout design, product sales, professional installation, and maintenance. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Shawnee, Kansas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SpeedSpace: Custom manufacturer of preassembled portable buildings including guard houses, in-plant offices, and mobile offices. Built in Indiana and distributed nationwide by Warestar, Inc.

Products and services

• Conveyors Distribution of conveyor equipment including gravity, powered, flexible, and vertical reciprocating conveyors for material flow and product movement within warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities.
• Dock Equipment Distribution and supply of loading dock equipment including pit levelers, edge-of-dock levelers, dock seals, dock shelters, and truck restraints for safe and efficient truck-to-warehouse transfer.
• Lifts / Pallet Jacks Distribution of material lifting equipment including industrial lifts and pallet jacks used for moving, elevating, and positioning loads in warehouses and industrial facilities.
• Mezzanines Distribution and installation of structural mezzanine systems that add a second or third level of usable floor space within warehouses, distribution centers, and industrial facilities.
• Office Buildings Distribution of pre-assembled buildings and modular office structures used as in-plant offices, supervisor workstations, guard houses, and other enclosed spaces inside industrial facilities.
• Rack / Shelving Distribution of industrial storage rack and shelving systems for pallet, bulk, and pick-face storage applications across warehouses and distribution centers.
• Safety Products Distribution of industrial safety products used to protect personnel, equipment, and inventory within warehouses and manufacturing facilities.
• Wire Partitions Distribution of wire partition and wire mesh enclosure systems used to secure tools, parts, inventory, and controlled areas within industrial and warehouse facilities.
• Other Products Distribution of miscellaneous supporting products and accessories that complement Warestar's core material handling and warehouse equipment lines.
• SpeedSpace Pre-assembled Buildings Exclusive nationwide distribution of SpeedSpace pre-assembled modular buildings used as in-plant offices, modular structures, and enclosed facility spaces.
• Warehouse Design Services Consultation and CAD-based warehouse layout and product configuration design services that translate customer requirements into detailed equipment specifications and floor plans.
• Installation Services Professional on-site installation of material handling equipment, racking, mezzanines, conveyors, dock equipment, and modular buildings delivered as part of Warestar's project execution.
• Maintenance Services Post-installation maintenance and service support for material handling equipment and warehouse systems supplied by Warestar.

Quantifiable outcome

• Maximize productivity, minimize downtime, and get the most out of equipment investments

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• WirecraftersminorOthersManufacturer of wire partitions and security fencing. Warestar distributes their wire partition products including security fencing, driver access cages, and machine guarding solutions.
• Interlake MecaluxminorOthersMajor pallet racking and shelving manufacturer. Warestar distributes their selective pallet racking and storage solutions.
• LyonminorOthersManufacturer of lockers and shelving. Warestar distributes their employee lockers and metal shelving products.
• SouthworthminorOthersManufacturer of lift tables and material handling equipment. Warestar distributes their lift table products.
• RenegademinorOthersManufacturer of adjustable pallet jacks. Warestar is an authorized distributor of Renegade adjustable pallet jacks with local inventory in the Kansas City area.
• SpeedSpacecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCustom manufacturer of preassembled portable buildings including guard houses, in-plant offices, and mobile offices. Warestar is the exclusive distributor of SpeedSpace buildings nationwide, distributing throughout the United States with manufacturing in Indiana.
• PortafabminorOthersManufacturer of in-plant modular offices. Warestar distributes their modular office products.
• Steele SolutionsminorOthersManufacturer of free-standing mezzanines. Warestar distributes their mezzanine products.
• ACSIminorOthersConveyor manufacturer. Warestar distributes their gravity and powered conveyor products.
• PioneerminorOthersManufacturer of dock equipment. Warestar distributes their pit levelers, edge-of-dock levelers, seals, shelters, and truck restraints.
• HuskyminorOthersPallet racking manufacturer. Warestar distributes their pallet racking products.
• MacroAirminorOthersHVLS fan manufacturer. Warestar distributes their high-volume, low-speed fans.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cisco-Eagle: Material handling equipment distributor and integrator offering conveyors, storage rack, mezzanines, dock equipment, and warehouse design services to enterprise customers. Closely comparable to Warestar in product breadth, B2B sales-led model, and end-to-end service offering.
• Bastian Solutions: Material handling systems integrator providing conveyors, ASRS, robotics, and warehouse automation solutions. Comparable to Warestar as a warehouse solutions provider, though Bastian leans more toward automation/system integration than commodity equipment distribution.
• DMW&H: Warehouse design and material handling solutions provider specializing in conveyor systems, sortation, and storage solutions for distribution centers. Direct comparable to Warestar in target market (DCs/warehouses) and project-based delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• TGW Systems: Global warehouse automation and material handling solutions provider offering conveyors, ASRS, order picking, and warehouse control systems. Comparable as a warehouse solutions player though significantly larger and more automation-focused than Warestar.
• SSI Schaefer: Global intralogistics company providing warehouse storage systems, conveyors, automated picking, and rack solutions. Operates broadly in the same warehouse solutions space as Warestar but at a much larger scale and with proprietary product lines.
• W.W. Grainger: Massive industrial distribution company selling MRO equipment including material handling, safety products, and storage. Competes with Warestar on commodity SKUs and serves overlapping enterprise customers, though Grainger is a broad-line incumbent versus Warestar's specialized warehouse focus.
• Fastenal: Large industrial supply distributor with deep penetration into manufacturing and warehouse customers. Comparable as a B2B industrial distributor serving overlapping customer segments; however, Fastenal is significantly larger and primarily MRO-focused.
• MSC Industrial Direct: Major metalworking and industrial supply distributor serving manufacturers and warehouses. Overlaps with Warestar on certain product categories (storage, material handling accessories) but is far larger and more catalog-driven.
• Motion Industries: Industrial parts and equipment distributor with extensive coverage in bearings, power transmission, and material handling. Comparable distribution model to Warestar serving industrial customers, but with much broader product portfolio and national scale.

Emerging players

• Panel Built: Manufacturer of modular buildings, mezzanines, and structural solutions comparable to Warestar's SpeedSpace pre-assembled buildings and mezzanine offerings. Competes directly with Warestar in modular office and in-plant building solutions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/warestar-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about warestar