On a Tuesday morning in Kankakee, Illinois, warehouse director Moises Vasquez Sosa and his crew are moving. Pallets staged. Labels printed. Ten thousand units bound for Amazon fulfillment centers, processed by five people in a warehouse in a city quietly rebuilding itself along the Kankakee River.
The product in those boxes is Spikeball, part volleyball, part foursquare, played two-on-two around a small net on the ground. It has a worldwide following. It ships to more than 35 countries.
“It’s cool to see our product coming out from this small city, Kankakee, to go all around the world,” Vasquez Sosa said.
Somewhere between Kankakee and the world, Spikeball is on its way. “Our warehouse here in Kankakee is what I’d consider the heartbeat of Spikeball,” Ruder said.
Spikeball CEO Chris Ruder was born and raised in Kankakee. He built Spikeball out of a Chicago basement, and when sales in the Amazon store took off, volume outgrew what one person could manage. Amazon’s seller tools meant he didn’t need a major market to compete in one. He chose Kankakee. “I personally wanted it here,” he said, “and even when we looked at the numbers, this was still absolutely the best place.”
Kankakee Mayor Christopher Curtis says that choice is part of a pattern. Companies that once would have left to grow are staying or coming back. “We’ve had companies start here or relocate to Kankakee and they stay here for the future,” he said. “Spikeball is a perfect example. They started in Chicago and they came back to their roots in the city of Kankakee and now they’re growing, they’re expanding, all because of the ability to use Amazon to get their product worldwide.”
In the last 18 months, Curtis said 175 new businesses have opened in the city, putting industrial vacancy at just under one percent. Historic downtown buildings are becoming mixed-use spaces. The riverfront is opening to the public. He credits Amazon’s investment in Illinois, more than $40 billion with fulfillment facilities less than 30 miles away, as part of what makes the vision viable. “Amazon provides jobs, they provide growth, they’re providing the infrastructure that we need to have our small businesses succeed in Kankakee County, not only here locally but worldwide,” he said. “They can start here, they can grow here, [and now] they never have to leave.”
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) handles logistics end-to-end: Spikeball sends inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon employees pick, pack, and ship orders to customers in the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond.
The infrastructure Curtis describes starts at the warehouse door. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) handles logistics end-to-end: Spikeball sends inventory to Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon employees pick, pack, and ship orders to customers in the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond. “Using FBA has been huge for us,” Ruder said. “It’s allowed our team at the warehouse here to focus on other parts of the business.” His team is already scoping additional countries to enter through Amazon’s network. “Amazon will make it way easier than us trying to do something on our own,” he said.
Back in the warehouse, Vasquez Sosa and his crew have another shipment to stage. The pallets are wrapped. The labels are on. Somewhere between Kankakee and the world, Spikeball is on its way. “Our warehouse here in Kankakee is what I’d consider the heartbeat of Spikeball,” Ruder said. “I can tell there’s a genuine sense of pride, and that means a ton.”