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Co-Warehousing: Elevator Transforms Des Moines Manufacturing
Co-warehousing is revolutionizing how small businesses and manufacturers operate in Des Moines, with Elevator Spaces leading the charge as they prepare to open their innovative facility this April. The company, already established as the gold standard in co-warehousing with its flagship location in Omaha, is set to transform how local entrepreneurs scale their businesses by providing flexible warehousing solutions that eliminate traditional barriers to growth.
In a recent Iowa Manufacturing Podcast interview, host Lisa Fox sat down with Levi Cermak, Vice President of Revenue at Elevator Spaces, to discuss how this pioneering concept is reshaping manufacturing and entrepreneurship across the Midwest.
The Co-Warehousing Concept: Flexibility Meets Community
“Our purpose is to elevate small businesses and communities,” Cermak explained during the podcast. “We do that in warehousing by providing flexibility, amenities, and services that tackle all the pain points for both small and large business owners.”
Our purpose is to elevate small businesses and communities. ~ Levi Cermak
This innovative approach addresses a critical gap in the market. Traditional warehousing typically requires lengthy lease commitments of five years or more, with minimum space requirements starting at 5,000 square feet. For small businesses or manufacturers testing new markets, this represents an enormous financial risk that can prevent expansion.
Elevator’s model eliminates these barriers by offering:
- Month-to-month leases without long-term commitments
- Scalable space options that grow with your business
- Professional loading docks and shipping infrastructure
- Fulfillment stations and kitting areas
- Package receiving and shipping services
- A built-in community of fellow entrepreneurs
“We allow you to try it for a month at a time. We won’t lock you in for a two, five, or six-year lease,” Cermak noted. “It de-risks those types of decisions.”
Why Des Moines Is Primed for Co-Warehousing
Des Moines’ strategic location and growing entrepreneurial ecosystem make it an ideal market for co-warehousing. According to recent research, the city ranks as one of the top 10 co-warehousing hotspots in America for 2025, positioning it as what the article calls “The Midwestern Powerhouse.”
“Des Moines entrepreneurs are outgrowing their home offices and looking for a smarter way to scale,” Shannon Lerda, Co-Founder of Elevator, explains in the research. “Many small businesses with physical inventory are operating out of spaces that aren’t designed for commerce—garages, spare bedrooms, even kitchens. That’s not sustainable when you’re trying to build a professional operation.”
For manufacturers across Iowa, particularly those in smaller communities, Elevator’s Des Moines location offers a strategic advantage. As Lisa Fox pointed out during the interview: “When I think about recruitment, one of the challenges that our more rural organizations have is they’re trying to recruit… it’s a lot easier to recruit an executive level individual or a high potential employee to Des Moines.”
From Omaha Success to Des Moines Launch
Elevator’s proven track record in Omaha speaks volumes about the demand for their services. Their flagship location has become home to over 100 businesses and approximately 300 individuals since opening in 2022.
“Over a hundred businesses in the Omaha Metro co-warehouse in your facility,” Fox noted with surprise during the interview.
These businesses range from startups to established manufacturers looking for flexible solutions for final assembly, kitting, or entering new markets without major capital investments. For existing manufacturers, co-warehousing provides an opportunity to test new markets or production methods with minimal risk.
“If you’re a larger manufacturer and you’re thinking through how do I get this last mile delivery, or how do I assemble these final pieces, or perhaps they have a workforce issue, we can help with that,” Cermak explained.
The Des Moines Facility: What to Expect
Set to open in April 2025, Elevator’s Des Moines location will transform the former Nationwide printing facility on 12th and Mulberry in downtown Des Moines.
“We acquired the old Nationwide printing facility on 12th and Mulberry in downtown Des Moines,” Cermak shared. “We are super excited about that location. It’s just a block south of the Papa John’s sculpture park and the farmer’s market’s right there.”
The co-warehousing facility will feature:
- Approximately 85 private spaces between warehouses and offices
- Shared community spaces for collaboration
- Dock-high loading zones
- Fulfillment and kitting stations
- Professional amenities including printing, internet, and refreshments
- Educational programming and networking opportunities
The location meets what Cermak described as Elevator’s “avocado toast metric” – being within walking distance of good food, drinks, entertainment, and shopping. This urban accessibility makes it attractive not only for operational efficiency but also for workforce recruitment and employee satisfaction.
Beyond Space: Building a Business Ecosystem
Elevator’s commitment to building a comprehensive business ecosystem sets it apart from traditional warehousing. The company provides educational programming, networking opportunities, and access to capital through partnerships with community financial development institutions.
“For instance, we provide programming and educational events,” Cermak detailed. “We get a lot of entrepreneurs that have a great product, they have a great idea, they’re really passionate about solving a problem, but they just haven’t been exposed to different concepts in business such as online marketing, customer acquisition, HR and operations.”
This holistic approach has yielded remarkable results in Omaha. Cermak shared the story of Tholi, an essential oils company that started with one small unit at Elevator. “Within four months they were up to five or six units. Another six months later, they bought a manufacturing facility in Kansas City… We were one of the first stops they made to get their business going and get it started.”
The Origin Story: From Overwhelmed Home Office to Industry Innovation
The genesis of Elevator Spaces highlights exactly why co-warehousing has become so essential. Co-founders Shannon and Emiliano Lerda were growing an e-commerce pet supply business from their home during the pandemic when they literally ran out of space.
“They were literally busting out the seams of their house,” Cermak recounted. “Shannon was googling around one night looking for ‘small space near me,’ ‘storage space near me,’ and couldn’t find anything for less than a five-year lease and 5,000 square feet. That’s a huge risk for small businesses to take.”
This personal experience with the limitations of traditional warehousing led to the creation of Elevator, with the Lerdas raising capital in Omaha to launch their first location in 2022.
Fostering Diversity and Collaboration
One of the most powerful aspects of co-warehousing is the diversity of businesses it brings together. According to Cermak, about 65-70% of Elevator’s business owners are minority or women-owned businesses.
“We feel really passionately about reducing that level of risk and the barriers of entry to help support underserved communities,” he explained.
This diversity extends beyond demographics to business models as well. Elevator’s Omaha location has attracted everything from product manufacturers to tattoo artists, creating an environment where skills, ideas, and even employees are shared across businesses.
“We’ve seen sharing of employees,” Cermak noted. “So we have coworkers and warehousing members that are now employees of two companies within the Elevator building and just provided a great situation for that person and both of those businesses.”
A Bullets Before Cannonballs Approach to Growth
Lisa Fox used Jim Collins’ concept of “bullets before cannonballs” to describe how Elevator’s model enables strategic growth without excessive risk.
“There are a lot of organizations across the state who are a little bit more averse to risk and they adopt my philosophy, Jim Collins calls it bullets before cannonballs,” Fox observed. “I think your co-warehouse community would be a great graduation from a whole manufacturing facility saying we’re going to do some final assembly or we’re going to land some products in for pre-assembly work.”
Cermak agreed: “One of the benefits that our model lends to is that we allow you to try it for a month at a time… It de-risks those type of decisions. So you can, as Jim Collins says, use a bullet instead of a cannonball.”
Looking Ahead: The Future of Co-Warehousing in Des Moines
With co-warehousing positioned for 23% annual growth over the next three years according to industry analysts, Elevator’s entry into the Des Moines market represents a pivotal moment for local manufacturers and entrepreneurs.
“The traditional warehouse lease is becoming increasingly impractical for today’s agile businesses,” Shannon Lerda explains in recent research. “Co-warehousing isn’t just a transitional solution—it’s a fundamental rethinking of how businesses manage physical space in the e-commerce era.”
For Des Moines businesses ready to explore this opportunity, Elevator is currently accepting reservations for their April opening, with special incentives for founding members.
“As part of this early commitment to a unit, we’re also being really aggressive and incentivizing that,” Cermak shared. “There are expiring discounts for founding members only.”
The Bottom Line: Transforming Risk into Opportunity
In today’s uncertain economic environment, the traditional approach to business expansion carries greater risk than ever before. As Fox noted during the interview, “Today we are so close to bankruptcy at any given moment and the demands and the expense of daily life is so huge. Risk taking is even greater than it’s ever been.”
Co-warehousing transforms this equation by allowing businesses to scale incrementally, test new markets with minimal commitment, and leverage shared resources and knowledge.
“What you are creating and have created helps people escape that risk to some extent or mitigate that risk,” Fox observed.
What you are creating and have created helps people escape that risk to some extent or mitigate that risk. ~ Lisa Fox
With Elevator Spaces opening in Des Moines this April, local manufacturers and entrepreneurs will soon have access to this game-changing approach to growth. For more information or to secure space in advance of the opening, businesses can email hello@elevatorspaces.com or reach out directly to Levi Cermak at levi@elevatorspaces.com.
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