Bay Cities, a nationally recognized packaging and display company and one of the largest employee-owned (ESOP) packaging companies in the United States, has opened a 233,199 squarefoot packaging and fulfillment facility in Oak Forest, Illinois strategically positioned 25 minutes south of downtown Chicago and within reach of every major Midwest distribution hub.
The facility, known as Midwest Packout, is designed to serve brands that need a single, vertically integrated partner for packaging, kitting, assembly, display packout, and fulfillment eliminating the need for brokers, middlemen, or fragmented vendor relationships.
What Is Midwest Packout?
Most brands manage three to five vendors just to get a product packaged and shipped one for design, one for packaging, one for assembly, one for fulfillment, and sometimes a broker coordinating in the middle. Every handoff is a coordination headache. And when something goes wrong, everyone points fingers.
Midwest Packout eliminates that. Bay Cities handles the full cycle under one roof:
• Display Design and Manufacturing: Point-of-purchase displays, retail displays, and custom corrugated packaging designed, printed, and manufactured in-house.
• Kitting and Assembly: Multi-component product assembly, variety packs, promotional bundles, and gift-with-purchase programs.
• Contract Packaging and Fulfillment: Pick, pack, and ship operations for retail, e-commerce, and subscription programs.
• Retail Compliance and Chargeback Protection: Subject matter experts who understand the specific labeling, packaging, and delivery requirements for Walmart, Amazon, Kohl's, Target, and other major retailers.
• Direct Import Conversion: Located in a Chicago Foreign Trade Zone, allowing brands to convert imported products without paying tariffs until the product ships domestically.
• Temperature-Controlled Storage: Dedicated climate-controlled areas for chocolate, confections, and temperature-sensitive products.
Why the Midwest? Why Now?
The shift toward regional fulfillment is accelerating. Brands that once relied on coastal facilities are discovering that a centrally located Midwest hub dramatically reduces transit times, freight costs, and lead time pressure.
For brands shipping to Walmart, Target, Amazon, Costco, Meijer, or Kroger distribution centers across the Midwest, a centrally located partner eliminates days sometimes weeks of unnecessary lead time.
Certifications and Compliance
Midwest Packout isn't just a warehouse with labor. The facility operates as a registered ISTA testing laboratory with structural engineers certified for ISTA 6 the standard required by Amazon and Sam's Club. Without that certification, brands risk charge backs on every single shipment.
Additional certifications and capabilities include:
• FSC and SFI certified — sustainable forestry chain of custody
• BRC Global Standard — food safety and quality management
• USDA Organic certified
• Scope 1, 2, and 3 sustainability tracking —third-party verified for brands with 2030/2050 ESG commitments
• Retail compliance subject matter experts — team members with firsthand experience at Walmart, familiar with OTIF requirements,retailer-specific labeling rules, and charge back avoidance
Who Is Midwest Packout For?
The facility is designed for established brands that need more than a co-packer or a warehouse:
• CPG brands shipping to multiple retailers with different pack configurations (Meijer wants 6-packs, Walmart wants 24-packs, Amazon e-com wants something else entirely)
• E-commerce and subscription brands looking for a packaging + fulfillment partner that can scale with monthly order volume
• Brands importing products from overseas that need a centrally located conversion point with Foreign Trade Zone advantages
• Companies managing 3–5 packaging vendors that want to consolidate to one vertically integrated partner
• Brands launching retail display programs that need design, manufacturing, assembly, and compliant delivery handled by one team
Proven at Enterprise Scale
Bay Cities has handled complex, high-volume programs for brands including Amazon, Nintendo, Sony, Clorox, Ring, and Lindt including Amazon's Black Friday program involving one million devices with unique serial numbers, each tracked from receipt to specific store location.
"If we can handle a million devices with individual serial numbers for Amazon's biggest day of the year, your subscription box or retail display program is well within our wheelhouse."
Employee-Owned. Partner Mentality.
Bay Cities is an employee-owned company (ESOP). That means every person in the facility from the floor tomanagement has a direct stake in the quality of the work. It's not just a tagline. It changes how people show up every day.
The team's philosophy: partners, not just clients. When your packaging and fulfillment partner's employees are also owners, the accountability is built in.
Want to Learn More?
Midwest Packout is now accepting new partnership inquiries. Whether you need full-cycle packaging andfulfillment, retail display programs, e-commerce subscription support, or a consolidation partner for multi-retailer distribution, the facility is ready.
Bay Cities is a 100% employee-owned direct manufacturer of retail packaging, POP displays, and packout services. Preferred vendor at major retailers.
Have questions? Connect with our team or talk to Emma, our 24/7 assistant who can answer your questions and set up a conversation with the right person.
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